Board Members
GEORGE D. ALPOGIANIS
MAYOR OF NILES, ILLINOIS
CO-OWNER AND OPERATOR, KAPPY’S AMERICAN GRILL
VICE PRESIDENT, TAG RESTAURANTS
George D. Alpogianis is the current mayor of Niles, a village directly neighboring the City of Chicago’s far northwest border in Cook County, Illinois. A resident of Niles for over 20 years, Alpogianis was sworn in as mayor on May 11, 2021 after serving two terms as Trustee on the Niles Village Board (2013-2017, 2017-2021). As Trustee, Alpogianis served as the Chairman of the Finance Committee as well as Chairman of the General Government and Information Technology Committee. He also served as a Commissioner on the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals from 2001 to 2009.
In addition to his mayoral role, Alpogianis is the co-owner and operator of Kappy’s American Grill in Morton Grove, Illinois. Representing the third generation of family owned and operated restaurants across Chicago, Alpogianis is a highly skilled and renowned chef who graduated from the prestigious Kendall College of Culinary Arts in Evanston, Illinois. He has worked alongside several legendary chefs within Chicago’s prolific restaurant scene.
Alpogianis is actively involved with numerous community support initiatives throughout Niles and speaks out locally to address such issues as teen violence and substance abuse. He maintains strong connections to St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church in Niles, where he has served as Parish Council President, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. In 2008, he founded Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack 821 and serves as Scoutmaster. Alpogianis also works alongside veterans as an S.A.L. (Sons of the American Legion) at Post 134, which serves Morton Grove and Niles. He is currently the president of the Niles Sister Cities Association, a 501(c)3 organization committed to developing international partnerships and networking through municipal, business, educational and cultural exchanges. In 2011, Alpogianis was named as the recipient of the prestigious Man of the Year award at Niles’ annual Night of Roses Awards Banquet, an honor for which he was nominated by the citizens of Niles.
He and his wife, Sophia, live in Niles and have five children – Evangeline, Costa, Kiki, Maria and Anna.
SCOTT BUHRMASTER
Scott Buhrmaster has been involved in the law enforcement training community for 30 years. His tenure began in 1989 when he initially signed on as the Director of Research and Business Development at Calibre Press, one of the leading law enforcement training and information providers in the industry. For 10 years he was involved in virtually every area of the business, from the planning, creation and marketing of the organization’s award-winning textbooks, training videos and online publications to developing and securing content for Calibre’s popular national training programs.
In 1999, Buhrmaster launched The Buhrmaster Group, an organization focused on helping law enforcement training companies and independent trainers develop, market and expand their training efforts. Among his clients was PoliceOne.com, the world’s largest online portal for law enforcement. After a brief consultative relationship, Buhrmaster was asked to join the organization full time as the Vice President of both the Training and Editorial Divisions. During that period, Scott was named to the National Advisory Board of the Force Science Institute, which at the time was a newly developing organization that was also among his list of clients. Following a seven-year tenure at PoliceOne, Scott signed on with Force Science full-time, initially as their Vice President of Operations and then progressing to Chief Operating Officer. After more than 10 years at the Institute, Scott accepted the position of CEO at Calibre Press where he currently serves.
Scott has written extensively for the law enforcement market, both in print and online, and helped launch two of the largest and most popular online publications in the industry: Street Survival Newsline® and Force Science News® . Scott was the Publisher of Police Marksman magazine and served as a Contributing Editor and consultant for Law Officer magazine. He was also a long-time contributor to PoliceOne.com and served as a marketing and editorial consultant for Looseleaf Law Publications in New York.
JOHN P. CAPESIUS JR.
Owner and Executive Director – Edison Restaurant Group, LLC DBA Tavern on the Point
Co-Founder and Director of Operations – CSM Capital, LLC
Co-Founder and Managing Director – CS Development Partners, LLC
League Director – Park Ridge Sports Inc.
John P. Capesius Jr. is a Chicago-based entrepreneur and business owner with extensive multi-sector experience in the financial, real estate, construction, technology, marketing, and hospitality industries. He is the Founder, Owner, and Executive Director of Operations at Tavern on the Point, a high volume 7,500 square foot tavern located in Edison Park, Illinois which features the community’s first rooftop outdoor space along with a street level patio. John and his brother, Joseph Capesius, built the tavern themselves and dedicated it to first responders and the community. Throughout nearly 30 years in the hospitality industry, Capesius has held management and ownership roles at several successful Chicago area dining establishments.
In addition to owning and operating Tavern on the Point, Capesius is the co-founder and Managing Director of CSM Capital, LLC, a private capital organization that he founded with his brother following the financial crisis of 2008. With a multi-million-dollar portfolio, CSM Capital provides real estate investors, builders, and developers with the timely capital they need to acquire real estate and complete various construction and development projects. After the success of CSM Capital, the Capesius brothers then formed CS Development Partners, LLC, a private equity company investment firm focusing on joint venture investments. CS Development Partners targets overlooked and undervalued assets in emerging and high demand locations and transforms them into strategic real estate developments. In this capacity, Capesius currently owns and manages a portfolio in the tri-state areas of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin and previously held locations in Miami and Los Angeles. CS Development Partners also provides fully integrated in-house resources to quickly execute all facets of various real estate transactions, including legal, architectural, construction, and asset management departments.
Capesius is also a League Director and Board of Directors member for Park Ridge Sports, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that has served Park Ridge, Illinois, and neighboring communities for over 50 years. The organization has helped tens of thousands of young men and women to discover and develop their passion for football and cheerleading with an emphasis on developing strength of character and building self-esteem. Capesius has been involved in the program as a coach and trainer volunteer since 2012. Capesius also coaches the community youth in other sports including baseball and basketball.
Capesius graduated from Chicago’s Saint Patrick High School and attended Northern Illinois University. His diverse interests also include sales, advertising, marketing, sports medicine, and public services.
Patricia Casey
RETIRED POLICE COMMANDER, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT
CERTIFIED PEER SUPPORT MEMBER
CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINED & M.A POLICE PSYCHOLOGY
Patricia ( Patty) Casey is a retired police officer who served over thirty-two (32) years with the Chicago Police Department. Her assignments ranged from working in patrol, to working on both a gang and tactical team, to working in the Detective Division where she spent much of her career .Her last six years on the department were dedicated to working with youth. She spent time as both the Commanding Officer of the Juvenile Intervention and Support Center and the Special Investigations Unit, where cases of sexual abuse against children were investigated. Her last two years were spent as the Commander of the Youth Division, where she was tasked with working on challenges that our youth currently face including poverty, being at risk of incarceration, and human trafficking. She also worked closely with many community groups who advocated for children.
During her time in Youth Investigations, Patricia was involved in the training of new detectives, newly promoted supervisors, and officers in Crisis Intervention classes on Youth related subjects, including signs of abuse, recognizing troubled youth, and services which were available.
Patricia has been a certified Peer Support Member for over twenty years and is the Co-founder of the Chicago Police Department’s Peer Support group for Families with Special Needs. She volunteers at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital Parent-Wise and Project Doc programs and is a contributor to the Parent Strong organization’ Project Child’.
Patricia is the matriarch of a Police Family with her husband and three of her four children following her lead to all become Police Officer’s. Her youngest daughter has special needs which has provided Patricia motivation to use her experience to help others.
Patricia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law Enforcement Management from St. Josephs Calumet College and a Master of Arts degree in Police Psychology from The Adler School of Psychology. She is a graduate of The Police Executive Research Forum in Boston, Massachusetts.
JOE COOK
Joe Cook currently works as a Principal Attorney at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Joe previously served as a Cook County State’s Attorney in the Gang Crimes Unit, the Narcotics Prosecution Bureau and the Criminal Appeals Division. Joe also serves as a Major in the United States Air Force JAG Corps, where he is currently assigned to the WI Air National Guard and drills out of the 128th ARW. Joe was elected the Democratic Committeeperson of the 41st Ward of Chicago in March of 2020. Joe was born and raised on the northwest side of Chicago, where he and his wife Jenny are now raising their four young daughters.
Janice Dillon
Janice Dillon comes from a third generation Chicago Police family and proudly served the City of Chicago for over twenty-eight years. She holds an Associates Degree of Science in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Criminal Justice. Janice started her own security company,
HLSA, Inc. in 2013 and employs retired law enforcement officers and off-duty officers. She works closely with Blue Star Security, Ltd. to provide support and resources to officers and their families. Janice is a dedicated, career public servant.
John L. Folino, Jr.
John L. Folino, Jr. retired from the Chicago Police Department in 2022 after serving since 1999. After being promoted to Detective in 2005, John spent 7 years investigating homicides and officer-involved shootings. After his promotion to Sergeant in 2012, John served with the 25th Police District. Assigned to the Intelligence Counter-Terrorism Section in 2014, John led a team of officers and detectives who investigated high-profile cases involving organized crime enterprises. In 2018, he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the 16th Police District. He served most recently in the Narcotics Division and retired in 2022.
John has also been a television and featured film consultant for over 10 years, advising hundreds of actors in police procedure, policy and tactics. He serves as the Director of Productions for Blue Star Security and oversees security for sets, locations, casts and crews.
John has a MBA in Financial Fraud Examination and Management and is certified in Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.
BRIAN McCORMACK
Founder and Manager, McCormack Capital, LLC
Co-Founder, Cresco Labs
Senior Advisor, GigNet
Brian McCormack is a Chicago-based entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist and founder of McCormack Capital, LLC, a leading investment firm.
McCormack was one of the earliest investors in Groupon, an enterprise which became the fastest growing billion-dollar company in history. McCormack Capital was an early investor in Echo Global Logistics, a company launched in 2005 to simplify the transportation needs of businesses by connecting them to insured carriers across all modes of transport. McCormack Capital was also an early investor in Lightbank, a startup incubator that specializes in seeding venture capital investments in “disruptive” technology companies across the United States.
Earlier in his career, McCormack founded InnerWorkings, a marketing agency that provides branded merchandise, direct mail and print procurement solutions to retail and healthcare sectors. As the founder and director, McCormack helped build the company into one of the largest printing firms in the world, with more than $1 billion in sales and nearly 2,000 employees in offices around the world.
In 2013, McCormack co-founded pioneering cannabis company Cresco Labs and helped to build the company into one of the largest multi-state cannabis operations in the United States, controlling everything from cultivation, manufacturing, extraction, and packaging – from seed to sales. Cresco Labs went public on the Canadian Stock Exchange in December 2018 and currently has a market cap above $4 billion. McCormack helped to establish Cresco Labs’ Social Equity & Educational Development (SEED) program in 2019, the cannabis industry’s first national social equity initiative promoting inclusion, expungement, equality, and community engagement. McCormack served as Vice Chairman of Cresco Labs until July 2020 and remains the company’s largest stockholder.
In May 2021, McCormack was named as Senior Advisor to the board of GigNet, a digital infrastructure company with an extensive fiber-optic network in the Mexican Caribbean region.
Other McCormack Capital notable investments include Sentry Technology, biotech firm Tempus and the purchase and sale of Chicago’s famous Wrigley Building.
McCormack is a long-time supporter of Maryville Academy, a childcare organization based in Des Plaines, both through his financial generosity and as a decade-long director on their board. His philanthropic endeavors extend to mental health initiatives as well, including the Noreen McCormack Charitable Trust, for which he serves as Executive Chairman. The Noreen P. McCormack Foundation pledges up to $3 million annually to various causes, including the development of educational platforms for underprivileged communities.
Jennifer W. Russell
Senior Partner, Piiq Risk Partners Inc
Patrick Walsh
Patrick Walsh is currently an Asset Protection Manager and has extensive experience leading major investigations and recovery efforts for high-end retailers throughout the U.S. A Chicago native, Patrick was raised in a law enforcement family and studied Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Administration at Northern Michigan University and Oakton Community College. He is currently a board member of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Regional Organized Crime Task Force, a public and private sector organization created to combat organized retail crime. In this capacity, Patrick has trained law enforcement officers and prosecutors in retail product fencing and money laundering investigations. He is also a member of the Midwest Gang Investigators Association and the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators.