Northwestern University Alumni

2023

Service to Northwestern

Presented to alumni in recognition of leadership and service excellence rendered to the University via the NAA, an affiliated alumni group, school, or unit, or other University-associated program.

Janet Pound Bilandic ’84 MBA

Janet Pound Bilandic is past president (2010–12 and 2014–16) of The Alumnae of Northwestern University. Over the past 22 years, Bilandic has been active in myriad committees for The Alumnae and currently co-manages the group’s website. Before retiring, she was executive director of the nonprofit Intercommunity Housing Corp. Earlier in her career, Bilandic worked in fundraising for various charitable organizations. She holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.

Rob Freedlander ’83

Rob Freedlander is president of the NU Club of Dallas/Ft. Worth. As a student, Freedlander served as president of the International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management (AIESEC) and was elected president of the Associated Student Government (ASG). In his ASG role, he frequently met with the University administration and initiated the program that allowed students to dine in all dormitories rather than just their dormitory of residence. Freedlander served on the Alumni Advisory Board for the School of Communication and was president of the NU Club of Orange County prior to his current role in Dallas. He has served the Alumni Admission Council since 1996. Freedlander has worked in finance for a variety of large multinational companies and currently has global tax compliance responsibilities with Fluor Corp. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and communication from Northwestern and an MBA from Boston University.

Club Leader of the Year

Presented to alumni in recognition of leadership and service excellence rendered to an affinity, international, and/or local club.

Barbara Rübel ’93 MBA
NU Club of Switzerland

Barbara Rübel has been president of the NU Club of Switzerland since 2022 and has served on its board since 2016. Although club activities were placed on hold during the pandemic years, the group reactivated with a highly successful general assembly in May 2022, when they also celebrated their 30th anniversary. As a team, the club’s board has steadily increased membership, expanded coverage of the Geneva area, established partnerships with other professional organizations, and doubled the number of events offered before the pandemic. Rübel has a bachelor’s degree in industrial administration from Kettering University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. She is a brand consultant, personal branding coach, and lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

The Rising ’Cat

Presented to alumni in recognition of emerging volunteer leadership in a current role.

Jeniece Fleming ’09, ’20 MA

Jeniece Fleming has been a board member of the Northwestern University Black Alumni Association since 2016. A former school counselor for Chicago Public Schools and current children’s pastor and graduate assistant, she proudly uses skills learned at Northwestern (in both social policy and learning sciences) for the work she does with students on campus at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and beyond. At UIC, Fleming coordinates the Call Me MISTER initiative, which supports men of color majoring in elementary education. The organization she runs, Nurtured by Nita, emphasizes spiritual wholeness, physical wellness, and generational wealth. In her devotional book, Lessons While Running, she provides inspiration for those wanting to build their spiritual faith while becoming a stronger runner. Fleming holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy.

The Rock

Presented to alumni in recognition of longtime service in a volunteer role and/or demonstrated advancement of alumni engagement at Northwestern.

Steven Fishman ’84, ’86 MD (’17, ’19, ’21 P)

Steven Fishman has co-chaired the Northwestern University Leadership Circle Boston Regional Board for the past five years. An alumnus of the Honors Program in Medical Education, Fishman is professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, where he has practiced and taught pediatric surgery for more than three decades. He also has served in numerous leadership roles at Boston Children’s Hospital, and currently is chief of surgery and the Stuart and Jane Weitzman Family Chair in Surgery. Additionally, he co-directs the Vascular Anomalies Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. Fishman and his wife, Laurie, are proud parents of three children, all of whom are Northwestern graduates.

NAA Campus Partner Award

This award is given to the unit, school or program that serves as a valuable and key player in partnering with the NAA on various initiatives to cultivate alumni relationships and connections to Northwestern.

Charla Wilson

Charla Wilson is the inaugural archivist for the Black Experience for Northwestern University Libraries, a position she began in 2017. In this role, she partners with community members to collect, preserve, and make accessible physical collections and oral histories that tell the history of Northwestern’s Black student life and Black faculty, staff, and alums. Wilson promotes the use of these collections through research guides, digital and physical exhibits, programming, publications, audio tours, and presentations; she consults with researchers, students, and faculty who are conducting research utilizing these collections. She also collaborated with community members and campus partners to commemorate the 50th anniversaries of the 1968 Bursar’s Office Takeover, helped establish the student choral group Northwestern Community Ensemble, and manages the photo description project I Know Them. Wilson has a bachelor's degree in American studies from Scripps College, as well as master’s degrees in education from Claremont Graduate University and history from California State University San Marcos.

NAA Staff Appreciation Award

The NAA has a team of dedicated individuals that work to ensure diverse and robust programming and engagement opportunities throughout the year and around the world on behalf of all Northwestern alumni. The NAA Staff Appreciation award is given each year to recognize one member of the professional staff who embodies that vision for an engaged global alumni community.

Caitlin Wyler

Caitlin Wyler is senior associate director of career advancement for the Northwestern Alumni Association (NAA), where she manages mentorship programs and connects alumni and students with fellow Wildcats to support their career exploration and professional development. Wyler has more than a decade of experience in alumni and student engagement and career advancement programming. Her portfolio includes the Northwestern Network Mentorship Program, the Northwestern Externship (NEXT) Program, and the Affinity Leaders and Learners (ALL) Mentorship Program. She joined Northwestern in July 2014 as the inaugural assistant director of student to alumni transition. In that role, she focused on expanding the NAA’s resources and programs for graduating seniors and recent graduates during their transition out of Northwestern and launched the New Chapter. NU Neighbors., Renting Essentials, and Financial Foundations event series. Previously, Wyler was a development associate at the University of Chicago, where she supported alumni career services and affinity clubs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in museum education from Tufts University.

Clubs of the Year

Presented to alumni clubs who have had exemplary alumni impact as well as club growth and innovation. Winning clubs must have also excelled in governance, finance/scholarship, programming, membership, and communication and achieved either the Wildcat or Arch levels in the Leading Strategies Model (LSM) in fiscal year 2023 (September 1, 2022–August 31, 2023).

NU Club of Coachella Valley

NU Club of Colorado

NU-A5

NU-Kellogg Club of France