Alumni Achievement Awards

2023 Alumni Achievement Award Presentations

Brenda Butler ’71

• Journalist with more than 30 years of experience as a reporter, copy editor, and senior features editor.
• First African American at the Chicago Tribune to hold the position of associate managing editor where she was involved in the conception and development of award-winning newspaper sections and magazines.
• Served as Executive Director of Columbia College–Columbia Links, a Chicago public high school journalism and media literacy program.
• Three-term president of the National Association of Black Journalists–Chicago Chapter.
• Volunteers regularly for Knox, providing professional mentoring and career advisement to students.

Jeremy Butler ’95

• CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), whose mission is to support and empower post 9/11 veterans, including combating veteran suicide, modernizing the VA, and supporting women veterans.
• Served as an officer in the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval War College with a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.
• Served in the Persian Gulf War after 9/11 up until the end of combat operations in Iraq.
• Later worked for the Department of Homeland Security, the Joint Staff, and the Department of the Navy.
• Regularly interviewed as an expert regarding veteran's affairs and racial injustice.

Christopher DeWald ’83

• A board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in spinal deformity and scoliosis surgical procedures for both pediatric and adult patients.
• Mentor to Knox students pursuing medical careers, and host for several job shadowing clinics allowing students to work with medical staff and engage with patients.
• Lectured both nationally and internationally on advanced techniques in spinal surgery.
• Served as a fellow in the elite Chicago Spine Fellowship with responsibilities to both Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and Shriner's Hospital for Children.
• Voted among the top 15% of Top Doctors in America by U.S. News & World Report.

2023 Young Alumni Achievement Award Presentations

Ladipo Lawani ’08

• Named one of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 as one of Africa's "most promising young change-makers."
• Founder of L&L Foods, a food processing and packaging company focusing on the Nigerian market, sourcing products from local farmers.
• Winner of the 2016 Columbia Business School Shark Tank Competition and the 2017 Nigerian Economic Summit startup competition.
• Board member of Bethesda Child Support Agency, which provides free quality education to orphans and vulnerable children.