Illinois e-News Release

Marvet Sweis will continue to serve as a Member of the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.* Sweis is a trial attorney who concentrates her practice in the areas of catastrophic injury and wrongful death. In 2015, she received the prestigious Top 40 Attorneys Under 40 Award by Chicago Lawyer Magazine and was named an Illinois Rising Star from 2014-2022. In 2024, she was selected to the elite Super Lawyers List, a designation awarded to the top 5% of lawyers in the state. Sweis’ steadfast civic engagement and judicious leadership have resulted in several honors. In 2020, two Chicago bar associations presented Sweis with the Community MVP Building Bridges Award. And, in 2021, Justice Jesse G. Reyes of the Illinois Appellate Court honored her with the Advocate for Diversity Award. She is past President of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois and currently sits on its Board of Directors. As a current member of the Commission, she serves as Chair of the Commission’s Understanding Hate Committee. She was appointed by the former Mayor of Chicago to serve on the MENA Advisory Council and was also appointed by the Honorable William J. Haddad (ret.) to serve as Vice Chair of the American Middle East Voter’s Alliance. Sweis received a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University and Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois’ Chicago School of Law.

Erika Lowe Mullins will serve as a Member of the Western Illinois University Board of Trustees.* Lowe Mullins currently serves as the Executive Director of Philanthropy for The Art Institute of Chicago. In this role, she leads the Major Gifts team, emphasizing the critical need to both build and maintain strong relationships while also leading with a metrics-driven mindset. She previously served The Art Institute as the Director of Philanthropy and as the Philanthropic Advisor for Major Gifts. Prior to joining The Art Institute of Chicago, Lowe Mullins fundraised with the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and the University of Southern Carolina. Lowe Mullins received a Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University and a Master of Education from the University of South Carolina.

Trinas Neely will serve as a Member of the Southwestern Illinois Development Authority.* Neely has over fifteen years of experience in providing high quality insurance aid so that those in her community are able to develop their long-term financial goals. Neely is a self-employed Personal Financial Representative with Allstate Insurance. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Missouri.