Bio Details

Cheryl “Cheri” Bustos became a Director in 2023. Ms. Bustos is currently a Partner and Co-Chair of Mercury LLC, a Public Strategy Company. She also is head of their Illinois operations. Bustos served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Congresswoman from Illinois's 17th Congressional District. She served on the powerful Appropriations Committee and on its Energy and Water Subcommittee. She also served on the House Agriculture Committee and chaired its General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee. She was a member of House Leadership for more than half of her tenure in Congress. Prior to serving in Congress, Bustos was a Vice President of a multi billion-dollar non-profit health system. Bustos began her career as a journalist, becoming a highly respected investigative reporter and newspaper editor. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park and holds a Master’s in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Bustos comes from a long line of family farmers and is a life-long resident of the state of Illinois.