August 14, 2020 – The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has chosen Sargent & Lundy Project Manager Jon Horek for its highly competitive Class of 2021 Emerging Leaders Program. Founded in 1922, the Chicago Council is a nonpartisan organization that convenes business, civic, nonprofit, and political leaders to debate U.S. engagement in the world.

Chicago Council Emerging Leaders learn to communicate with government officials by researching and developing policy memos. Horek will spend a year honing his leadership skills and improving his knowledge of U.S. foreign policy. With his cohort of 21 up-and-coming Chicago professionals, he will participate in focused mentorship, skills training, policy discussions, and site visits, including a trip to Washington, D.C. Topics will include global security, economic inequality, food insecurity, and the influential role played by major global cities such as Chicago.

Horek has been interested in policy issues since high school. In 2000, as an engineering undergraduate at the University of Illinois, he participated in the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering program. Though Horek has pursued an engineering career for nearly 20 years, WISE formally began his “parallel interest in policy.” He was a Young Professional Ambassador for the Chicago Council from 2012 to 2016 and a delegate to the 2012 NATO Young Atlanticist Summit. Horek has since taken on additional volunteer opportunities that reflect his values, through organizations such as Advanced Energy Group and Upwardly Global.

Horek believes his participation in the Emerging Leaders Program will create additional opportunities for Sargent & Lundy. Inclusion in civic organizations amplifies the firm’s reputation for understanding both engineering issues and broader energy policy matters. Horek particularly looks forward to discussing these issues within the program. For example, “There are expected to be two billion additional people on the planet by 2050, all aspiring to a comfortable standard of living,” he says. “To care for that number of people, we must focus on infrastructure and environmental considerations.”Images used with permission from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs

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