Executive Director, Civic Consulting Alliance

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Fabes is executive director of the Civic Consulting Alliance (CCA),
a firm that brings private sector resources to bear upon public sector challenges across Chicago. As CCA’s chief executive, Dr. Fabes is responsible for developing staff, securing resources from external constituents, and creating partnerships across the corporate, philanthropic, educational, and government sectors.

Before joining CCA, Dr. Fabes was senior vice president at National-Louis University, where he was responsible for defining possible future directions for the institution, including negotiations with for-profit and not-for-profit merger partners. Prior to this, Dr. Fabes was acting provost, where he had responsibility for a $60 million budget and over 500 employees.
 
Dr. Fabes initially joined NLU as vice president for planning in 2002.
In that role he helped restore financial viability to NLU by leading the trustees, president, CFO, provost, deans, and faculty in a university-wide strategic planning effort. As a result of that effort NLU reversed a $2.5 million (3 percent) deficit in the first year and has run surplus budgets in each year thereafter. Dr. Fabes also was responsible for negotiating online learning partnerships with third parties, developing new tuition and financial aid policies, and modifying the annual budgeting process to be consistent with strategic planning goals.
 
Dr. Fabes came to NLU from McKinsey & Company, where he had been an associate from 1994-1996, was on leave at the University of Arizona in 1997, became engagement manager from 1998-2000, and was elected associate principal in 2000. At McKinsey Dr. Fabes co-led the formation and growth of the North American Product Development Practice, and was a leader in Chicago's Healthcare Practice. His primary work was in the area of product development and product/market strategy, with a particular emphasis on healthcare and high technology clients. These included companies in the medical products, biologics, diagnostics, and rehabilitation services, as well as computer hardware industries.

While at McKinsey Dr. Fabes was a strong advocate for the firm's involvement, on a pro bono basis, in not-for-profit organizations. His not-for-profit clients included the Chicago Housing Authority, Seoul National University in Korea, Northwestern University in Chicago, and the Grand Boulevard Federation, a union of social service providers on Chicago’s South Side.

After earning a Ph.D. in 1987, Dr. Fabes taught as an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Arizona, where he was promoted to associate professor, with tenure, in 1993. At the University of Arizona he was part of a team that built a new department of materials science and engineering, more than doubling research funding, tripling the number of students, and winning a variety of awards for teaching and research, including recognition from the NRC as the most improved program in the nation. In addition to chairing the committee that redesigned the undergraduate curriculum, Dr. Fabes built a research laboratory and secured funding to support a team of graduate and undergraduate students investigating issues in ceramic science and processing. Together they published more than 45 papers, 13 in refereed journals.
 
Dr. Fabes earned B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 and 1987, respectively. He was nominated for the university-wide Five Star Faculty Teaching Award at the University of Arizona in 1990, and awarded the university-wide Burlington Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1993. In 2000
Dr. Fabes was selected as a fellow for Leadership Greater Chicago, one of 30 community leaders who worked together to study urban problems in the greater metropolitan area.
 
Dr. Fabes and his wife, Lisa, share a love of long-distance cycling, food, and wine. Both are actively involved in community service in Chicago, as will be their son, Asher, who to date shares their love of food.