Northwestern University has appointed four new Alumni Regents: Jim Berra ’94; Gita Blumentals Budd ’76, ’78 MBA; Alex Idichandy ’90; and Julie Schonberger White ’92 (’25, ’27 P).
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 (NAA) and collaborate with volunteer leaders in their region to strengthen alumni engagement.
These esteemed 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 2026. Candy Deemer ’76, ’77 MS will continue as chair and is currently in the second year of her five-year term.
With these new appointments, there are now 21 Alumni Regents and 59 emeriti regents.
“Our Alumni Regents embody the strength, reach, and spirit of the Northwestern community,” Deemer said. “As ambassadors for the University, we help foster meaningful connections with alumni around the world and represent Northwestern with distinction in their regions. I look forward to working alongside our new and continuing regents as we advance the University’s mission and support Northwestern’s continued success.”
Meet the new regents
Jim Berra ’94; Florida: Southeast
Berra serves as chief commercial officer for Princess Cruises. In this role, he leads the global sales and marketing team, overseeing six functional alignment areas including revenue management, ship deployment and market planning, marketing, global sales, reservations and service operations, and web and e-commerce. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees in economics and philosophy from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
Gita Blumentals Budd ’76, ’78 MBA; Greater Washington, DC Area
Budd is a retired management consultant and executive leader who worked for more than 35 years developing future-oriented strategic and financial plans for health-care providers. She graduated from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned her MBA with a concentration in health services management from the Kellogg School of Management. In 2015, Budd received Northwestern Alumni Association’s Service Award.
Alex Idichandy ’90; Georgia: Atlanta
Idichandy is a retired executive vice president of Wells Fargo Bank. Over his more than 30-year career, he led teams in Corporate & Investment Banking and Commercial Banking. His expertise includes M&A financing, corporate finance and capital markets advisory, lending and risk management, and other financial solutions for large corporate and middle-market clients. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Julie Schonberger White ’92 (’25, ’27 P); New York: Greater New York City
White’s career has spanned nonprofit development work for social service agencies and community relations and philanthropy roles for publicly traded corporations in Chicago, Dallas, and New York City. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and a Master of Arts in Policy Analysis and Evaluation from Stanford Graduate School of Education.
Alumni Regents reappointed to a second term
Kathryn Kimura Mlsna ’74, ’77 JD (’03, ’09, ’12 P); Florida: Southwest
Kathryn Kimura Mlsna has had an extensive career in business and law, serving in senior management positions at McDonald’s Corporation and organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, and the American Academy of Periodontology. She serves as president of the NU Club of Southwest Florida and as advisory director of the Northwestern University Asian and Asian American Alumni Association. She is a past member of Northwestern’s Board of Trustees and past president of the Northwestern Alumni Association. Mlsna is a graduate of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and studied at the Kellogg School of Management’s executive education program.
PK Kilty ’85; Washington: Seattle
PK Kilty is president of Kravitz Properties, LLC, a multistate holding company of quick service and casual dining properties. Throughout his corporate career, Kilty held operations leadership positions at Abbott Laboratories, several startups, and Visa Inc., where he oversaw multiple global operations departments with teams across the Americas, Asia, and Europe. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the McCormick School of Engineering and went on to receive an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Kilty is president of the NU Club of Seattle, which was awarded the 2024 NU Club of the Year.
Visit the Northwestern Alumni Association website to read full bios of current Northwestern Alumni Regents.
