Three Weinberg College Alumni have been named Alumni Regents, who represent Northwestern in communities across the globe.
Alumni Regents exist in areas that are home to large alumni populations. They work to engage fellow alumni volunteers and represent the University president at the inaugurations of other college and university presidents. The regents also represent the Northwestern Alumni Association’s (NAA) strategic direction and related initiatives, all while seeking opportunities to collaborate with other volunteer leaders and organizations.
The new regents will join 16 other regional appointees and serve 4-year terms.
Chad Abraham ’91 (’21, ’25 P)
Chad Abraham graduated from Weinberg College in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science. After graduating, he initially spent 14 years on the West Coast as a technology investment banker.
Abraham currently serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Piper Sandler, an investment bank and institutional securities firm, and he sits on the board of trustees for The Nature Conservancy’s Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota chapter, as well as for the Blake School in Minneapolis.
Additionally, he is a member of the Northwestern University Leadership Circle and served as a volunteer on Northwestern’s Minnesota Regional Campaign Committee during We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern.
Barbara Keller ’68
Barbara Keller graduated from Weinberg College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1968. She is a retired Los Angeles attorney and college professor, and now counsels students on college admissions and summer enrichment programs.
Over the past 40 years, Keller has been active in civic and cultural organizations in Southern California, serving as a board member of ARCS® Foundation, Orange County Chapter.
Keller has also been a member of the NU Club of Los Angeles, an officer of the NU Club of Orange County, and a member of the Class of 1968 reunion committees. She currently serves on the Northwestern University Leadership Circle Los Angeles Regional Board.
Jane Peterson Kroot ’88
Jane Peterson Kroot graduated from Weinberg College in 1988 with a degree in political science.
Kroot has volunteered at the Northwestern Alumni Association for many years, primarily by interviewing Northwestern University student applicants through the Alumni Admissions Council. She is a retired attorney who initially practiced securities law in the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps before transitioning to the in-house counsel team for a major telecommunications company.
She and her husband, Barry Kroot ’88, a graduate of the School of Education and Social Policy, are members of the Northwestern University Leadership Circle and supporters of the Wildcat Fund. Together with her husband and seven sons, Kroot is a founding member of Passkey-South Sudan Inc. — an organization that facilitates aid, family placement, and educational opportunities in the United States for imperiled South Sudanese youth.
Read more about the Alumni Regents in Northwestern Now.