Chicago is famous for the propensity of its native sons and daughters to remain Chicagolanders their entire lives. Sharon O’Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center, is no exception. She grew up in Bucktown, a Polish neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side where over 100 relatives lived within a dozen blocks. (Notwithstanding the Irish surname, she is 100 percent Polish.) As “North Siders,” she and her brother often cut school to see Cubs games since there were no night games at Wrigley Field. After starting her career as a staff nurse at Loyola University Medical Center she was thrilled when a job opportunity arose at renowned Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Her mother’s response: “I can’t believe you could not find work in Chicago.” Eventually she got a lot more work in Chicago including as president of Loyola University Medical Center after stints as executive VP and COO at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, leadership roles at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, as senior VP for operations at the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore and as senior manager for healthcare at Ernst & Young. Ms. O’Keefe earned her bachelor’s in nursing from Northern Illinois University and master’s in nursing from Loyola University Chicago. With her husband and daughter, Ms. O’Keefe enjoys the city, its cultural offerings and its sports, including, of course, the Cubs. [hide for=”all” exclude=”logged”]CONTINUE READING[/hide][hide for=”logged”][LOGIN TO VIEW LINK][/hide]