Choose Chicago counts some of the city’s most accomplished professionals among our board members, each committed to promoting Chicago as a premier leisure, meetings, and events destination. In conjunction with the Choose Chicago Executive Office, the Board of Directors serves as a primary source of communication, decision-making, initiative leadership, management, and execution to better serve the Chicago tourism industry.
Board of Directors
Officers
Glenn Eden
Board Chair
Strategic Communications Advisor
Marilynn Gardner
Vice Chair
President & CEO, Navy Pier
Liz Lombardo Stark
Treasurer & Chair of the Finance Committee
Director of Marketing & PR, Gibsons Restaurant Group
Jay Blunk
Secretary
Founding Partner, The College Athlete Partnership Alliance
Board of Directors
Board
Jeff Bethke
Managing Partner, Ingenuity Advising
Catherine De Orio
Executive Director, Kendall College Trust
Lisa Duarte
Partner, Croke Fairchild Morgan & Beres
Michael Fassnacht
Chief Marketing Office, City of Chicago and President & CEO, World Business Chicago
Richard Gamble
Chair of the Nominating Committee, Founder and President, Realized Value Collaborative, LLC
Nina Grondin
Co-Founder and Partner, Curioso
Erin Harkey
Commissioner, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
Patrick Hatton
General Manager, Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Chevy Humphrey
President & CEO, Museum of Science and Industry
Ayesha Jaco
Executive Director, West Side United
David Jacobs
General Manager, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
Michael Jacobson
President and CEO, Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association
Arthur "Art" Johnston
Co-Founder, Equality Illinois and Co-Owner, Sidetrack Bar
Kenneth Meyer
Commissioner of the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP)
Jerry Mickelson
Chairman and Co-Founder, Jam Productions
Eve Rodriguez Montoya
President and CEO, Rodriguez Media Communications, Inc.
Lynn Osmond
President and CEO
Choose Chicago
Gary Perinar
Executive Secretary – Treasurer
Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council
Maria Razumich-Zec
Regional Vice President and General Manager
The Peninsula Chicago
Robert G. Reiter, Jr.
President
Chicago Federation of Labor
Jamie L. Rhee
Commissioner
Chicago Department of Aviation
James Rondeau
President & Eloise W. Martin Director
The Art Institute of Chicago
Juan Salgado
Chancellor
City Colleges of Chicago
Manuel “Manny” Sanchez
Founding and Managing Partner
Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman LLP
Rebecca Shi
Founding Executive Director, American Business Immigration Coalition
Alexandra Sims
President & Founder
APS & Associates
Michael Strautmanis
Executive Vice President for Civic Engagement
Obama Foundation
Christie Tarantino-Dean
CEO
Institute of Food Technologists
Cherryl Thomas
Chief Strategy Officer
Ardmore Roderick
Sam Toia
President & CEO
Illinois Restaurant Association
John Wells
General Manager
Hilton Chicago
Nykia Wright
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Sun-Times
Elizabeth "Betsy" Ziegler
CEO
1871/CEC - Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center
Board
Ex-Officio
Kristin Richards
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
Rich Ashlin
VP O'Hare HUB Operations
American Airlines
Doreen Burse
SVP Worldwide Sales
United Airlines
Larita D. Clark
Chief Executive Officer
Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA)
Jason Ervin
Alderman, 28th Ward
Chicago City Council
Patrick Kelly
President & Business Manager
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399
Rich Levin
Managing Director, Consumer and Retail Corporate & Investment Banking
Bank of America
Ex-Officio
In Memoriam
Myrna Salazar
Co-Founder & Executive Director, Chicago Latino Theater Alliance
