Donovan W. Pepper
Mr. Pepper is the National Director of Local Government Relations and oversees local legislative, regulatory and advocacy efforts for Walgreen Co. at the municipal, county and other local units of governments in all 50 states, including the District of Columbus, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens is one of the nation's largest drugstore chains and operates 8,175 drugstores.
Prior to this position, Mr. Pepper served as the Director of Government Relations for the Illinois Restaurant Association, a food-service trade association representing thousands of restaurants andhospitality industry operations across Illinois. He has worked for Illinois’ leading telecommunications provider, SBC (now AT&T), the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Amtrak, and served on the Appropriations and Substantive Committee Staff for Illinois Speaker of the House, Michael J. Madigan, where he focused on areas of transportation, higher education and consumer protection.
Mr. Pepper currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Civic Federation, the Magnificent Mile Association, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Chicago-Cook Workforce Partnership, Lake County Partners and the HFS Chicago Scholars Program. He is the Chairman of the New York Metropolitan Retail Association, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce’s Political Action Committee and is a member of the City Club of Chicago. Mr. Pepper is a gubernatorial appointee to the Illinois Bicentennial Commission to oversee the planning and execution of a statewide celebration ofIllinois’ 200th birthday.
Mr. Pepper is the past Co-Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Business Council and past board member of the University of Illinois Alumni Association, where he served as chair of the Advocacy Committee. Lastly, he is past Chairman of Communities Health Charities of Illinois and past President of the Chicago Area Public Affairs Group. He has been recognized and honored by President Barack Obama and the Corporation for National Public Service, the University of Illinois Alumni Association, the Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Boys and Girls Club, State Representative Arthur Turner, Jr., and was recently inducted into the Samuel K. Gove Illinois Legislative Internship Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Triton College Alumni “Wall of Fame”.
Mr. Pepper has a Master’s Degree in Political Studies from the University of Illinois-Springfield, and aBachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Sangamon State University. In 2014, Mr. Pepper delivered the Commencement Address at his alma mater, the University of Illinois-Springfield. Mr. Pepper is married with two children, and resides in Oak Park, IL.