Northwestern names new alumni regent chair and three regents

Northwestern has appointed Candy Deemer ’76, ’77 M.S. as chair of the alumni regents. Joining her are three newly appointed regents. Karen Jackson Evans ’71, Karen Zak Kent ’78, ’78 M.S., ’82 DDS, and Kelly Kuhn ’87 will represent the University in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Los Angeles and the United Kingdom, respectively.

Alumni regents serve as ambassadors for Northwestern in their respective regions, representing the University at the presidential inaugurations of other colleges and universities. They also provide strategic insights to the leaders of the Northwestern Alumni Association and collaborate with volunteer leaders in their region to strengthen alumni engagement.

These alumni have been selected for their exceptional commitment to the Northwestern community. Each of the new regents will serve a four-year term that began in September, while Deemer will serve a five-year term as chair.

“We welcome our new Alumni Regents, who will be outstanding ambassadors for Northwestern among our alumni and external communities,” Deemer said. “We look forward to the great work that they, as well as continuing regents, will do as representatives of Northwestern. I am proud to serve as chair of the Alumni Regents and to help further the University’s strategic vision and goals.”

With these new appointments, there are now 21 alumni regents and 55 emeriti regents.

Meet the new alumni regents

Candy Deemer is an executive coach and partner at Growth Leaders Group. She has served as alumni regent for Los Angeles since 2018. A founding member and past co-chair of the Council of One Hundred, she has served on the board of advisers of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement in 1997.

Karen Jackson Evans (Minnesota: Twin Cities) is a retired attorney. She also is vice chair of the board of trustees for Westminster Presbyterian Church, is on the board of The Advocates for Human Rights and was board chair of Washburn Center for Children. With The Advocates, she fought for human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Karen Zak Kent (California: Los Angeles) is a retired general dentist who serves on the Agoura Hills Cultural Arts Council and volunteers in fossil preparation at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. A longtime member of the NU Club of Los Angeles, Kent has been on several Reunion committees and is a Northwestern University Leadership Circle board member.

Kelly Kuhn (United Kingdom: London) is a non-executive director, adviser and executive leadership coach supporting several international organizations. She has 35 years of senior executive experience in global commercial and operating leadership roles. At CWT, a leading global corporate travel management company, Kuhn held multiple senior positions and was the company’s first-ever chief customer officer.