Member Spotlight: Kathy ’92 GME and Ron Sonenthal (’15, ’21 P)

Posted on Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Northwestern roots run deep in the Sonenthal family. Kathy ’92 GME and her husband Ron (’15, ’21 P), and their three daughters, Lindsay, Haley ’15, ’21 MBA, and Mallory ’21 DPT, have four Northwestern degrees between them. Kathy completed a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 1992, middle daughter Haley graduated from the School of Education and Social Policy in 2015 and later earned her master’s in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management in 2021, while youngest daughter Mallory obtained her doctorate in physical therapy from Feinberg School of Medicine in 2021.

Born in Michigan, Kathy moved to Highland Park, Illinois, in middle school, while Ron grew up in Skokie and attended Evanston Township High School. They stayed in the Midwest and currently live in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Today, Kathy is an allergist in private practice and a volunteer for Stroger Hospital and the Lake County Board of Health. Ron is a partner with Deloitte in Chicago, supporting the firm’s global risk organization. Lindsay is a lawyer, working in Peoria for Prairie State Legal Services, providing legal help to individuals who cannot afford an attorney on their own. After graduating from Kellogg, Haley joined Deloitte as a senior consultant. Mallory is a physical therapist at Rush University Medical Center working in inpatient rehab.

Kathy and Ron are gold-level members of NU Loyal with 13 consecutive years of giving. Even before their daughters considered attending Northwestern, the Sonenthals were thinking about what kind of impact their family could have on future generations. They recalled a good friend who received financial aid as a Northwestern undergraduate in need of financial help. “When our friend’s father passed away during college, she thought she would have to transfer because the family could no longer afford to send her to school. Northwestern leadership worked with her, and she was able to stay and finish her degree,” Ron says. “Her story resonated with us. It made us appreciate the school even more, and we give so that others in similar situations won’t have to leave.”

With so many different Northwestern interests in the family, the Sonenthals have supported annual funds across the University over the years, but their focus is now on the physical therapy program. “This is a top-notch program with outstanding faculty who are very supportive and student-focused. Our daughter had a great experience, and we want to see that others can benefit in the same way,” says Kathy. That’s why the Sonenthals feel it is important to give back within Northwestern—and beyond. “We consider ourselves very lucky and have been able to give back to all of the higher-education institutions that have helped our family. We want others to have the same opportunities that we could provide for our family,” says Ron. This aligns with what they want for Northwestern in the future, he says. “We hope Northwestern continues to be at the forefront of education and finds a way to ensure that every deserving student can attend—irrespective of their ability to pay.”