Joseph Cari, Jr

Family and education

Cari, an Italian American, was born on October 8, 1952 and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Dr. Joseph and Elaine Cari, who had 3 other children: Patricia, Kathleen, & John. Joseph Cari Sr. was a prominent physician and surgeon in Chicago who headed the Department of Family Medicine at Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Cari was also the author of "The Delivery of Emergency Care" who served on the faculty of University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School, and as the chief medical officer for the Chicago Fire Department. Mrs. Elaine Cari served as a member of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Mercy Hospital & Medical Center. She was a homemaker and mother of five children.

In 1974, Cari graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. degree in Sociology. As an undergraduate at Notre Dame, he was a member of the Varsity baseball team, and was president of Fisher Hall. In 1978 he earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Cari was awarded, and completed, a fellowship at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Personal life

Cari married Rita Bahr, a corporate lawyer who specialized in mergers and acquisitions for Motorola Corporation. Cari was widowed in 2002 when his wife, Rita Bahr Cari, died of cancer. Cari has one daughter, Nicole.

Business career

Cari's professional career has spanned the worlds of merchant banking, media, public policy, politics, law and education. Cari was chairman and CEO of Integration Capital & Trade Global (ICTG), an international merchant co-development bank with offices in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Muscat (Oman), Mumbai (India), London (England), and New York City (United States). Cari is also chairman and CEO of Castellini Partners (a family office), which focus on investments in healthcare, media, financial services, alternative energy & technology.

The Affordable World Security Conference: Member of the Sterling Committee/Participant, March 2012 Conference

Integration Capital & Trade Global: Consultant 2006–2011; Chairman and CEO, Member of the board of directors, 2011–2013

Castellini Partners: Chairman, 2006 – 2014

The Good Wife – An American TV Series: Consultant, 2010–2011

Healthpoint Capital LLC: Managing Director 2002–2005; Board of Directors 2002–2005

Ungaretti & Harris: Member of the Executive Committee 1993–1996, 1998–2005; Partner – Regulatory/Corporate Practice 1983–2005; Associate – Litigation Section 1983

Hinshaw & Culbertson: Associate – Litigation Section 1978–1983

Boards Of directors / advisory boards

MedCap Fundamental: board of directors 2013–present

Amana Creative, Inc: board of directors, 2009 – 2013

One Medical Place, LLC: member advisory board: 2007 - 2014

Vanguard Medical Concepts: member, board of directors, 2002–2005

Healthpoint Capital LLC: member, board of directors, 2002–2005

Success National Bank: member, board of directors, 1998–2003

The World Policy Institute: advisory board, 2010– 2012; board of directors 2012–present; chairman of the board 2013–present

Council On Foreign Affairs: member, 2003 – present

Woodrow Wilson Center For International Scholars: chairman of the board of trustees (1995–2003), advisory board, member (2003 – present)

Chicago Urban League: board of directors, member, 1992–2002

Mercy Hospital & Medical Center: advisory board, member, 1980–1996

Charitable activities

Rita Bahr Scholarship Fund:

When Rita Bahr Cari died in 2003, Joseph Cari created a living memorial in honor of his late wife that underscored her commitment to international human rights, particularly in the Central and South American region, where she spent a considerable amount of time as a child. Joseph Cari established the Rita Bahr Cari Memorial Fund at Notre Dame University’s Center for Civil and Human Rights. The fund is used to advance the Center’s mission to aid victims of human rights violations and “will enable the center to enhance its innovative and internationally renowned contributions in teaching, research, and service on behalf of human rights. Many of its graduates (a number of whom are from Central and South America) are an integral part of an international network of lawyers who, through their teaching and practice, strive to develop a global human rights culture. The fund provides scholarships to students outside of the United States who wish to study at the University of Notre Dame Law School program on International Human Rights. 2001–present

Rita Bahr Scholars for 2012:

Audrey Mena (Colombia) is an Afro-Colombian human rights lawyer who earned her law degree from the Technological University of Chocó in 2010. Inhabited largely by the descendants of African slaves brought by Colombia’s Spanish colonizers, the department of Chocó is economically, ethnically and culturally distinct from the majority population in Colombia. Ms. Mena’s research and advocacy focus on the human rights violations experienced by Afro-Colombians in Chocó, which result from crushing poverty, socio-environmental conflicts that result from illegal gold mining, and violence from guerillas and paramilitaries who seek to control this remote jungle for coca cultivation and drug smuggling routes. In 2009, the U.S. Embassy in Bogota awarded Ms. Mena the Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship for Young Afro-Colombian Leaders, recognizing her exceptional potential as an advocate for racial and environmental justice in Colombia.

Sara Milena Ferrer (Colombia), also an Afro-Colombian human rights lawyer, earned her law degree from the University of Cartagena in 2008. After graduation, Ms. Ferrer became the first graduate of her law school to receive a clerkship with the Colombian Constitutional Court, one of the most highly regarded constitutional tribunals in the world. As a clerk for Justice Sierra Porto, her work includes writing draft decisions for cases involving economic, social and cultural rights violations. Ms. Ferrer also works for Racial Discrimination Watch in Bogota, where she provides guidance to Afro-Colombian organizations in their effort to seek reparations for victims of extrajudicial violence from Colombia’s armed conflict.

Christian Gonzalez (Guatemala) earned his LL.B. magna cum laude from the Jesuit Rafael Landivar University in 2010, where he is also completing an M.A. in Philosophy. Mr. Gonzalez became involved in human rights work through assisting two alumni of the CCHR’s human rights program in successfully representing the family of Florencio Chitay Nech before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; the Court held Guatemala responsible for the 1981 forced disappearance of Mr. Chitay Nech, an indigenous Mayan political leader. Currently, Mr. Gonzalez works for a law firm where he represents victims of human rights violations and government corruption before domestic tribunals. His pro bono work includes presenting workshops on HIV transmission on behalf of the National Council for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS and promoting access to justice in rural indigenous communities.

Rita Bahr Children's Art for Haiti, University Of Notre Dame, ACE program in Haiti: Cari sponsored the Children's Art for Haiti Program which supports meals for children of Basile Moreau School and fosters creativity by sharing the beauty of their artwork and their dreams for the future. 2008 – 2013

Save Venice Foundation: Member, 2011–2014

Broadway Cares: Supporter, 2011–2013

Educational affiliations

Villanova University / Center for Public Policy and Research: Lecturer - "Foreign Policy and US Presidential Politics", 2011

Loyola Marymount University, Institute for Leadership Studies: chairman, advisory board; Lecturer - "American Presidential Politics and the Role of Women", Cari was awarded “The Service & Leadership Award” by The Institute for Leadership Studies of Loyola Marymount University, 2011 – present

Lebanese American University: lecturer - "American Foreign Policy and U.S. Presidential Politics", 2010 – present

The American University Center For Global Peace: senior advisor, 2008–2011

St. Anne's Grammar School: instructor – government & politics, 2006–2008

University of Notre Dame: guest lecturer - "Transformations in Life", 2005

University of Notre Dame Law School: member, advisory board 2003–2005

Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business: John F. Foster Center for Private Equity, advisory board 2003–2005

Harvard University School of Public Health: leadership council, member 2003–2005

University of Notre Dame: Kroc Institute for Conflict Resolution, chairman, advisory board 2001–2003

University of Notre Dame Law School: guest lecturer - "Life in Big Law Firms" 1998

John Marshall Law School: visiting professor – Uniform Commercial Code 1981

Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows Program - 1985-1986

Political service

From 1980 to 2005, Cari was an active member of the Democratic Party, and held several senior positions at the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and 5 Democratic presidential campaigns.

Democratic National Committee, member, 2000–2005.

Democratic National Committee, member of executive committee, 2000.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, vice chairman of finance committee, 1995.

Democratic National Committee, general counsel to rules committee, 1980 & 1984.

Democratic National Committee, member of Platform Accountability Commission, 1983.

Presidential campaigns

Gore for President, national finance chairman, 2000.

Kerrey (D-Neb.) for President, finance committee member, 1991–1992.

Biden for President, Mid-West political director, 1987.

Mondale for President, associate general counsel, 1984.

Carter for President, Illinois general counsel, 1980.

Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars

In 1995, Cari was appointed by U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton to serve as chairman of the board of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars; a federally funded institute whose mission intersects the worlds of education, public policy and politics. The Wilson Center works with various U.S. Federal Departments, such as State, Education and Commerce to provide insights on international issues from a social, religious, economic and political viewpoint. Chairman Cari played a central role in strategic planning of the center and recruited the Honorable Lee Hamilton as the Director of the Center and supported Congressman Hamilton's appointment to co-chair the 9/11 Commission with former Secretary of State, James Baker. Chairman Cari was widely recognized for leading a bi-partisan board, increasing funding for the Center and having strong working relationship with a Republican-controlled Congress. Cari also worked with UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke on the issue of US funding of the UN. He worked closely with authors & editors of books published by the Wilson Center Press, driving thought leadership in the subjects of politics, culture, society and history between the years 1995 and 2002, including the following titles:

Bridled Ambition: Why Countries Constrain Their Nuclear Capabilities. Mitchell Reiss, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1995.

Race: The History of an Idea in the West. Ivan Hannaford, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1996.

Funding the Modern American State, 1941–1995. W. Eliot Brownlee, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1996.

The Politics of Elections in Southeast Asia. R.H. Taylor, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1996.

Preparing for the Urban Future. Michael A. Cohen, Blair A. Ruble, Joseph S. Tulchin and Allison M. Garland, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1996.

The Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Hopes of Peace. Sumit Ganguly, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

For Democracy's Sake. Kevin F. Quigley, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

Reconstructed Lives: Women and Iran's Islamic Revolution. Haleh Esfandiari, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

American Diplomacy and the End of the Cold War. Robert L. Hutchings, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

The Historical Imagination in Early Modern Britain. Donald R. Kelley and David Harris Sacks, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

Beyond the Monolith. Peter J. Stavrakis, Joan DeBardeleben and Larry Black, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

Beyond Gender. Betty Friedan, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

Churchill as Peacemaker. James W. Miller, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1997.

Brothers in Arms: The Rise and Fall of the Sino-Soviet Alliance 1945-1963-Cold War International History Project Series. Odd Arne Westad, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1998.

India and Pakistan: The First Fifty Years. Selig S. Harrison, Paul Kreisberg and Dennis Kux, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1998.

At the End of the American Century. Robert L. Hutchings, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1998.

Dilemmas of Scale in America's Federal Democracy. Martha Derthick, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1998.

Race, Self-Employment, and Upward Mobility. Timothy Bates, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1998.

In the Face of the Facts. Robert Whitman Fox and Robert B. Westbrook, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1998.

The Quest for Sustained Growth: Southeast Asian and Southeast European Cases. Samuel F. Wells Jr., Barry M. Hager, Keith Crane, Paul Tibbitts and Karen Zietlow, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Taking Stock: American Government in the Twentieth Century. Morton Keller and R. Shep Melnick, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Reading Mixed Signals: Ambivalence in American Public Opinion about Government. Albert H. Cantril and Susan Davis Cantril, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Strategic Balance and Confidence Building Measures in the Americas. Joseph S. Tulchin, Francisco Rojas Aravena and Ralph H. Espach, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Paradoxes of Democracy. S. N. Eisenstadt, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Welfare Reform: A Race to the Bottom?. Sanford F. Schram and Samuel H. Beer, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

The American Planning Tradition: Culture and Policy. Robert Fishman, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Inventing Grand Strategy and Teaching Command: The Classic Works of Alfred Thayer Mahan Reconsidered. Jon Tetsuro Sumida, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America. Cynthia J. Arnson, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

Rabin and Israel's National Security. Efraim Inbar, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1999.

NetPolicy.com: Public Agenda for a Digital World. Leslie David Simon, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2000.

The Future of Merit: Twenty Years after the Civil Service Reform Act. James P. Pfiffner and Douglas A. Brook, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2000.

Rogue States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Containment after the Cold War. Robert S. Litwak, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2000.

Combating Corruption in Latin America. Joseph S. Tulchin and Ralph H. Espach, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2000.

Nationalism and the Crowd in Liberal Hungary, 1848–1914. Alice Freifeld, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2000.

The United States and Pakistan, 1947–2000: Disenchanted Allies. Dennis Kux, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka. Blair A. Ruble, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Asian Americans and Politics: Perspectives, Experiences, Prospects. Gordon H. Chang, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

The Breakdown of Class Politics: A Debate on Post-Industrial Stratification. Terry Nichols Clark and Seymour Martin Lipset, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Economic Cold War: America's Embargo against China and the Sino-Soviet Alliance, 1949-1963-Cold War International History Project Series. Shu Guang Zhang, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Between the State and Islam. Charles E. Butterworth and I. William Zartman, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Kinship and Capitalism: Marriage, Family, and Business in the English-speaking World, 1580–1740. Richard Grassby, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Regional Russia in Transition: Studies from Yaroslavl. Jeffrey W. Hahn, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Congress and the People. Donald R. Wolfensberger, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

Commerce in Russian Urban Culture 1861–1914. William Craft Brumfield, Boris V. Anan'ich and Yuri A. Petrov, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

European Defense Cooperation: Asset or Threat to NATO?. Michael Quinlan, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2001.

A Revolutionary Year: The Middle East in 1958. Wm. Roger Louis and Owen Roger, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Political Parties after Communism: Developments in East-Central Europe. Tomáš Kostelecký, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Replicating Microfinance in the United States. James H. Carr and Zhong Yi Tong, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Entangled Evolutions: Media and Democratization in Eastern Europe. Peter Gross, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union. Anthony Pagden, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Fragmented Space in the Russian Federation. Blair A. Ruble, Jodi Koehn and Nancy Popson, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

The Communitarian Persuasion. Philip Selznick, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions since 1947. Sumit Ganguly, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Beyond State Crisis? Post-Colonial Africa and Post-Soviet Eurasia in Comparative Perspective. Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Rural Reform in Post-Soviet Russia. David J. O'Brien and Stephen K. Wegren, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Uncle Sam and Us: Globalization, Neoconservatism, and the Canadian State. Stephen Clarkson, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

A Creative Tension: The Foreign Policy Roles of the President and the Congress. Lee H. Hamilton and Jordan Tama, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Environmental Peacemaking. Ken Conca and Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Democracy and the Internet: Allies or Adversaries?. Javier Coralles, Donald R. Wolfensberger and Leslie David Simon, Washington D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Press (Copub: Johns Hopkins University Press), 2002.

Additional public service

In addition to his work at the Wilson Center, Cari has a track record of actively contributing to public service initiatives for a variety of organizations, including:

Participated in the Affordable World Security Conference. Washington DC. March 2012

Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, advisory board, 2002 – present.

St. Anne’s Grammar School, Chicago Il., instructor, 2005–2008.

University of Notre Dame School of Law, member of advisory board, 2003–2005.

Kroc Institute of Peace, University of Notre Dame, chairman of advisory board, 2002.

Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, chairman of board of directors, 1998–2002 (appointed by President Bill Clinton).

Chicago Public Library, member of board of directors, 1989–2000. (appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley)

Chicago Urban League, member of board of directors, 1994–2000.

Illinois Public Action Council, member of board of directors, 1985–1990.

Mercy Medical Center, Chicago, Il., member of advisory board, 1980–2000.

United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Narcotics, special counsel, 1987. (appointed by US Senator Joseph Biden)

United States Senate Judiciary Committee, member of advisory board, 1988–1992. (appointed by US Senator Joseph Biden)

Mayoral Commission on Consumer Services, Chicago, Il., member, 1984–1987.

State of Illinois, special assistant attorney general, 1990–1992.

State’s Attorney of Cook County, Illinois, special assistant, 1981–1990.

US Congressman Martin Russo (D-Illinois), legislative assistant, 1974–1975.

Federal plea agreement

In 2005, after full cooperation with the US Attorney's office in Chicago, Cari entered into a plea agreement for violation of 18 U.S.C § 1951. The Court, with the agreement of the government, commuted Cari's case on April 24, 2013.