After six years of distinguished service, including the past four years as Board Chair, Heidi Yernberg retired from Morgan Park Academy’s Board of Trustees this summer. Kishore Paluri assumes the role of Board Chair.
Yernberg has been an Academy trustee since 2016 and Board Chair since 2018.
“Heidi has been a compassionate, thoughtful leader for Morgan Park Academy,” Head of School Mercedes Z. Sheppard said. “Her commitment to our mission has been evident in positioning the Academy for the future. I am pleased that she will continue to be part of our community as a parent and an alumni parent.”
Yernberg has more than 20 years of legal experience practicing information technology and data privacy law. She is a partner in an intellectual property and data privacy law firm with offices in Chicago, New York, and Miami. Her practice covers transactional, compliance, and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on privacy and security of health information.
Two of her three children graduated from the Academy in 2020 and 2022, respectively; the youngest is in Middle School.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the MPA community these last several years,” Yernberg said. “It has been a unique and extraordinary time in our history, and I appreciate the chance to work with Mrs. Sheppard as we navigated uncertain times. Her commitment to excellence and innovative thinking never wavered, and the Academy is well-positioned to begin its next 150 years. I am confident in Mrs. Sheppard’s leadership, and I am excited to see the Academy continue to flourish.”
The Board of Trustees unanimously elected Paluri chair at their June meeting. He has served as a trustee since 2018, most recently as Vice President.
“On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, I would like to express our gratitude to Heidi for her leadership and unwavering dedication to our school’s mission,” Paluri said. “As a parent and trustee, she always focused on the well-being of the students, faculty, staff and the broader MPA community. She always brought her strong intellect and compassion in supporting MPA in every possible way.
“On a personal note, I am particularly grateful for her support during this transition, and I am honored to succeed her in this role as Board chair. The Academy is a better place because of Heidi and her family’s commitment to our school.”
Paluri, a Frankfort resident, is a VP of Transformation at Innio Waukesha, a manufacturer of energy-efficient gas engines.
Prior to this role, he was an Associate Partner in the Private Equity Group at the management consulting firm Bain & Company, focusing on operations due diligence and post-acquisition value improvement initiatives.
He previously was Chief Procurement Officer at ATW, a trailer manufacturing and distribution company, leading their procurement and logistics groups. He also spent 13 years at AlixPartners, a management consulting firm, focusing on operations improvements across several industries, including industrial, restaurant, retail, automotive, and CPG.
Paluri holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
He and his wife, Dr. Aparna Palakodeti, have two children at the Academy, a rising freshman and a rising senior.
“Kishore has been a dedicated member of the Board for several years,” Yernberg said. “He has demonstrated a consistent commitment to the Academy and has been an outstanding leader at the Board level, serving on numerous committees and leading several Board initiatives. Kishore embodies so much of the MPA mission and vision; he is an independent thinker and he pushes us to a higher level of excellence. We are lucky to have him at the helm going forward.”
Said Sheppard: “Kishore’s leadership skills, his personal style, and his deep experiences as a Morgan Park Academy trustee and parent make him a natural fit to excel into this role. We are confident in his leadership and excited to continue building on the Academy’s legacy of excellence.”
