Louis Carr was named President of BET Networks in 2025 after a sterling four-decade-long career with the organization. In 1974, he was part of a record-setting mile relay team that helped Lane Tech win the State title, and today he sets records on corporate revenue growth, generating over $10 billion in sales and solidifying BET as a market-leading brand for Black audiences.

Carr is also an active philanthropist, dedicated to the education and professional development of young people nationwide through his Louis Carr Internship Foundation, which has provided more than 300 paid internships and created career pathways for many of its participants. He has authored Dirty Little Secrets and Little Black Book: Daily Motivations for Business and Personal Growth. Through his WayMaker platform, he also provides resources and experiences designed to inspire personal and professional growth, including the WayMaker Journal, Men’s Summit and Blueprint Connect Podcast.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame, and serves on several corporate boards, the Drake University Board of Trustees, and the United States Track and Field Foundation. In 2026, Carr received an honorary doctorate degree from Chicago State University in recognition of his accomplishments and contributions.

A loyal Laneite, Carr has also devoted time to working with Lane students, never misses a track team reunion, and delivered the keynote address at the dedication of Fritz Pollard Field in 2022.

A distinguished aerospace executive, researcher, and educator, Tom’s career reflects a lifelong dedication to advancing complex engineering systems and scientific discovery. Earning his doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Tom built a pioneering career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, culminating in his role as Chief Technologist and Senior Technology Strategist. Across decades of service, he directed laboratory-wide technology portfolios, shaped high-performance computing initiatives, and advanced critical space and Earth-observing missions. An IEEE Fellow and AIAA Associate Fellow, he is widely recognized for his strategic vision in bridging advanced research with mission-critical deployment.

Beyond his contributions to space exploration, Tom is deeply committed to academic leadership, currently serving as an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, where he mentors the next generation of engineers and technologists. Grounded by his Chicago roots and a lifelong curiosity about how things work, he balances his rigorous professional life with a passion for the outdoors, restoring classic machinery, and family. Throughout his career, Tom has combined technical excellence with collaborative leadership, proving that groundbreaking achievement is rooted in steady persistence, continuous learning, and a genuine connection to the community.

Sasha Gerritson is a highly sought after opera and musical theater stage director, most widely known for her leadership with the Opera Festival of Chicago and Music Theater Works.

She served as the Opera and Music Theatre director of Northeastern Illinois University from 2010-2022, as well as Opera Piccola, DePaul University, The Cherub Music Theatre program for Northwestern University, and various other summer programs in the Chicago area. A protégé of Lane Tech’s George Rico, Gerritson is also a choral conductor and singer in her position as the Director of Music Ministries for the Park Ridge Community Church.

Gerritson is a proud Chicagoan and civic leader, serving on a number of boards including The Brookfield Zoo, The Navy Pier Foundation, and The Goodman Theatre.  She is a DePaul University School of Music graduate who is co-chair of DePaul’s Board of Trustees and on the School of Music Advisory Board. In 2005, she was honored with DePaul’s Distinguished Alumna of the Year award. An engaged Lane alumna, Gerritson has demonstrated her support as a volunteer, a music scholarship sponsor, and donor. Sasha is firmly committed to education and the arts and making great music more accessible to thousands of children and adults. Her steadfast support as a philanthropist has enriched the cultural landscape of Lane Tech, the City of Chicago, and the nation.

Instead of making the move from the Sedgwick building to the new Lane at Addison and Western, Cavarretta spent what would have been his senior year of high school in the Cubs farm program. By the time he turned 18 he was playing in the majors, beginning what would be a 19-year tenure with the Cubs. “Number 44” was an MLB All-Star  from 1944-1947. In 1945 he earned the National League MVP and batting champ titles, hitting .355 and contributing to the Cubs winning the pennant. Cavarretta played in the 1935, 1938 and 1945 World Series in which he hit .462 in 1938 and .317 in 1945. He was the last living ball player to play against Babe Ruth in a major league game and is a member of the Cubs Hall of Fame. Cavarretta served as player-manager his last three years with the Cubs and went on to coach and scout for other teams until his retirement in 1972. He died from complications from a stroke in 2010.

After Lane Tech, Lufrano graduated summa cum laude from U of I and cum laude from Harvard Law School.  In the early 90s he served as Special Assistant to President, Bill Clinton and as Hall Director for the 1996 Democratic Convention in Chicago.  As Executive Vice President of Community, Government and Legal Affairs with the Cubs, Lufrano has had a hand in shaping the ballpark, the Wrigleyville neighborhood, and the City of Chicago. Under his leadership, Cubs Charities has donated more than 51M to organizations throughout Chicago focused on sports development, education, and health & wellness. That philanthropy has been generously extended to Lane Tech through grants and the gift of Kerry Wood Field which serves as the home field for Lane’s baseball team. But perhaps his most memorable gesture was to bring the 2016 World Series Trophy to Lane Tech for a once-in-a-lifetime pep rally.

Grossman influenced the course of American folk and rock music on a national scale behind the scenes as a promoter, and as one of the first elite talent managers. His entertainment career began in the late fifties when Grossman co-owned a club in Chicago called “The Gate of Horn” where he introduced the public to folk, blues, and jazz, artists. His client roster in the 60s and 70s included Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, but he also managed Peter, Paul & Mary, Roger McGuinn, Richie Havens, The Band, John Lee Hooker and Gordon Lightfoot among others. He co-founded the Newport Folk Festival, igniting interest in a whole new genre of music and musicians. Grossman purchased a home in Woodstock in 1963, attracting many artists to the area including Bob Dylan and The Band. His home, recording studio, and theater still exist today. He died in 1986 on the Concorde during a flight to London.

Nakamura is a versatile artist who performs on stage, television, and in film. From her many TV roles, to the debut of Broadway’s all-female farce, POTUS, she is a respected actor and improv veteran who got her start in Chicago with the Asian American theater company, MinaSama-No. Her involvement in promoting AANHPI artists and projects continued in Los Angeles where she was honored with the East West Players Visionary Award in 2018 for her contributions. Since the late nineties, she has created a treasure trove of both comedic and dramatic characters in projects including Dead to Me, Snowfall, Avenue 5, Dr. Ken, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The West Wing. Nakamura attended Columbia College and honed her skills further at The Second City. When she joined the iconic group in 1991, she was the first Asian American female cast member at the venerable comedy institution. She was also part of The Second City’s national touring and Detroit companies.

Presidential Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, Co-Chair of the Obama Presidential Transition Team, and Chairman of the Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign, Podesta has a long and storied resume in politics and governance. In addition to his work in presidential administrations, he has worked as an attorney for the Department of Justice, an advisor to Senate Committees, and as a visiting professor at his other alma mater, Georgetown University Law School. In 2003 he founded the Center for American Progress; a Washington DC think tank. After the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Podesta served as Senior Advisor to President Biden, overseeing the disbursement of billions of dollars of clean energy incentives and tax credits. In January of 2024, he was named Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy, a global diplomatic position focused on climate and energy issues, punctuating a career focused on shaping policy and improving the lives of working Americans for more than fifty years.

Arriving in Chicago in 2003 as a young boy from Jamaica, Tomlinson knew little of American football, but it didn’t take him long to catch on. By his senior year he not only played football at Lane, but he achieved MVP status, helped win a city championship, made All-city twice, All-conference four times and All-state his senior year. He also won City in the discus throw with track & field. He continued at Duke where he started all four years. He was named an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the men’s ACC Athlete of the Year. Tomlinson graduated in 2015 with a B.A. in evolutionary anthropology and a B.S. in psychology. He was a first-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in 2015 and traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. As a 49er, Tomlinson played left guard in the 2019 Super Bowl. He continued his football career with the N.Y Jets and the Seattle Seahawks and is known as one of the brainiest players in the NFL.

Creating prosthetics for wounded WWII veterans at Hines VA Hospital started John Chambers on a truly unique career path culminating with an Academy Award in 1969 for his groundbreaking work as the makeup artist for the “Planet of the Apes” franchise. He also created makeup for “The Munsters”, Mr. Spock’s famous ears, and many other films and television shows. He played a key role in the CIA-led rescue mission of six diplomat-refugees during the Iran Hostage Crisis and was portrayed in the film “Argo” by actor John Goodman. His collaboration with the CIA continued after the mission, and his work is included in the American Spy Museum.

As a Partner in the world-renowned architecture & engineering firm of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Efstathiou was the design team leader on projects in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, South America, Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He was the Chief Architect of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and several other towers in the Middle East. He was named as one of the most influential architects and Architect of the Year in the Middle East. He was honored with Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects and is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Ronald Johnson was an early, natural leader as Vice President of his class, JROTC Brigade Commander and recipient of the prestigious Bronze Cross Legion of Valor award.  After graduating from West Point he embarked on a stellar, 32-year military career, including executing the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund Program. He also led the Army Corp of Engineers in the reconstruction efforts for the gulf-coast after Hurricane Katrina. After retirement, Johnson was recruited to re-engineer officiating performance standards at the NBA. Today he is Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Faculty Leadership Fellow at Georgia Tech.

Sports executive, official, coach and philanthropist, Leese is a football and wrestling icon in Illinois. As coach, he holds the winningest record in history at East Leyden High School, including a state title in 1977. His influence stretches far and wide, having coached hundreds of athletes including Mike Shanahan, former Denver Broncos Head Coach. He is an inductee in the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, plus the Halls of Fame for Illinois Coaches & Officials, Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials, Illinois Football Coaches, and National Wrestling.  A loyal alumnus of Lane Tech and Northwestern, Leese helped start the Lane Tech ‘49ers group.

Tracy Baim was the co-publisher of the Chicago Reader who guided the weekly newspaper to non-profit status in 2022 and is the co-founder of Windy City Times. Baim received the 2013 Chicago Headline Club Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, she was inducted into the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Hall of Fame. She is also in the Association for Women Journalists-Chicago Chapter Hall of Fame and the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. She is a film producer and the author/co-author of 13 books.

Cousin has graced Forbes “100 Most Powerful Women” list, TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” list, and the list of the “500 Most Powerful People on the Planet” by Foreign Policy magazine. As one of the first female students at Lane, this trailblazer’s career has focused on global agriculture and food insecurity. Cousin served as Executive Director of the UN World Food Program from 2012-2017. Prior to that, she was U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

David James was an original Tuskegee Airmen, flying combat missions over Europe during WWII.  He was the first African American attorney hired by the ABA and served as Illinois Deputy Director for the War on Poverty which led to the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. James was the first African American homeowner in Winnetka and worked tirelessly to improve race relations through various organizations including TWIG summer camp for youth from the city and north shore, which he founded and remains active today.

One of the things that makes Lane unique is our school song, Go Lane Go! Surprisingly, many Laneites are unaware that it is an original composition written by Jack T. Nelson, Class of 1915.  Nelson was the assistant conductor of the orchestra and manager of the Glee Club, as well as one of the first editors of the school newspaper. His song debuted on December 15,1914 and was quickly adopted by the student body. Go Jack Go!

As Deputy Chief Technologist at NASA Glenn Research Center, Sacksteder has dedicated his 40-year career to aerospace innovations that predict the effects of extreme environments on aerospace materials. Microgravity combustion systems, equipment for planetary surface mining, and sustainable energy storage systems called Thermal Wadis are just a few of the breakthrough projects Sacksteder has coordinated. The results of his work enable NASA to explore the Moon and Mars more efficiently and for longer periods of time.

Winiarski is a Napa Valley resident, former winery owner/winemaker, grape grower, and philanthropist. He and wife, Barbara, co-founded Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1970 and their first commercial release, the 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon, edged out French top Bordeaux wines and took first place for red wines at the Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976. A bottle of his winning wine is part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.

James Ascot, 1969

Franz Benteler, 1943

William J. Cormack, 1951

Anna Davlantes, 1988

Admiral Robert F. Dunn, 1946

John Gianopulos, 1949

Evon Greanias, 1940

John Herrera, 1974

Bernard Joseph, 1940

Robert Juengling, 1958

General Donald Kutyna, 1951

Chuck Logan, 1960

Aloysius Mazewski, 1934

Harrell McDemmond, 1938

Admiral Richard W. Mies, 1962

Edgar Muenzer, 1945

Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard, 1912

Marty Robinson, 1950

Mitchell L. Saranow, 1963

John Schwan, 1961

Ted Schwartz, 1971

Howard K. Soehrmann, 1941

John C. Stetson, 1938

Carl Giammarese  1962-1965

Francesco LoVecchio (Frankie Laine)  1926-1930

Johnny Weissmuller  1918

Carl Barnickol: PE Faculty, Coach, Athletic Director who established intramural sports and the Letterman’s Club

William Bogan: First Principal of Lane Tech, Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools

Mina Del Castillo: Architecture Faculty, first woman certified to teach technical subjects in Chicago

Maurice Golden: Music Faculty, Band Director

William Lewis ‘53: Chemistry Faculty, Cross Country and Track & Field Coach including the 1974 State Championship team

Percy Moore: PE Faculty, Coach, known as Mr. Baseball, he guided 85 players into the minor leagues and 10 players into the MLB, including Phil Cavaretta

All LTAA members are welcome to nominate a classmate, fellow alumnus, or even themselves. The LTAA Hall of Fame Committee and the Board of Directors will determine the finalists. Inductees will have demonstrated exceptional contributions in their fields and exemplify our Champion spirit.

Inductees will be named each year at the beginning of each academic year.