Delta Soror Andrea Zopp to lead Chicago Urban League

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The Chicago Urban League today will name Andrea Zopp as the eighth president and chief executive in the civil rights organization’s 94-year history.

Zopp, 53, has been with Exelon Corp. since 2006, serving most recently as its executive vice president and general counsel. She also has held corporate jobs with Sears Holdings Corp. and Sara Lee Corp.

But she came into the public eye in the 1990s, when she was the first assistant Cook County state’s attorney, running the office day-to-day and handling high-profile prosecutions.

Zopp said the legal and business background will help her as she addresses what she called the Urban League’s most critical need: money. She said the organization has suffered financially as other nonprofits have and needs to “diversify its revenue base and reconnect with a lot of its sources in fund-raising.”

She also said the league needs to speak out more on violence affecting African-American communities and to emphasize programs it offers to address the problem. The programs include mentoring for black males and advice for entrepreneurs.

Active with the National Urban League, Zopp said she has long respected the Chicago group. “Really, it was the history of this organization and its importance in the African-American community that led me to this job, along with the recognition of the skills I bring that can help it along,” she said.

Known to friends as Andy, Zopp is a Beverly resident who is married and has three children.

The chairman of the Chicago Urban League’s board, Jim Reynolds, praised her “legal expertise, business acumen and heartfelt passion for building stronger communities.” Reynolds, chairman of Loop Capital Markets, said Zopp will lead the group “to a higher standard of excellence in its program delivery, advocacy and resource development.”

Zopp succeeds Cheryle Jackson, who left the organization to compete in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Jackson became vice president of government affairs for aviation supplier AAR Corp.

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