See biographies of current Chicago Wilderness Alliance Steering Committee members here. For information about our leadership, email Laura Reilly. 

Chair: Elizabeth S. Kessler, McHenry County Conservation District

Vice-Chair: Victoria Wittig, PhD, Northwest Indiana Urban Waters Federal Partnership 

Treasurer: Emily Reusswig, Openlands

Isaiah Ballinger, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Leslie Dorworth, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
Laura Guderyahn, The Field Museum
Ted Haffner, Climate Change Consultant
Vincent J. Mosca, Hey and Associates
Phil Nicodemus, Urban Rivers
Nathanael J. Pilla, Midwest Biological Survey, LLC
Maggie Soliz, Kane-Dupage Soil and Water Conservation District, AIWSCD
Sergio Vargas, Illinois Environmental Council
Debra Walker Johnson, Forest Preserve Foundation
John Wasik, Lake County Forest Preserve District

Laura Reilly, Managing Director

Chicago Wilderness Alliance Executive Council

The Chicago Wilderness Alliance Executive Council reviews progress toward the Chicago Wilderness vision and mission, sets the strategic focus and establishes objectives, approves leadership of teams and committees, admits new partners, develops external relationships, and performs other duties. Executive Council meetings are open to all Chicago Wilderness partners. Executive Council meeting packets and recordings are available here. Check our Community Calendar to register for upcoming Executive Council meetings; all are welcome to attend. 

Animalia Project

Applied Ecological Services/Resource Environmental Solutions

Atrium

Audubon Great Lakes

Center for Humans and Nature

The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning

Chicago Park District

ComEd

Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo

DePaul University, Environmental Science Program

The Field Museum

Forest Preserves of Cook County

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Forest Preserve District of Kane County

Forest Preserve District of Will County

Hey and Associates

Illinois Audubon Society

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Illinois Natural History Survey 

Illinois Nature Preserves Commission

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program

Kane County Development and Community Service Department

Kendall County Forest Preserve District

Lake County Forest Preserves (IL)

Liberty Prairie Foundation

McHenry County Conservation District

McHenry County Conservation Foundation

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

The Morton Arboretum

Nicor Gas

The Nature Conservancy – Illinois 

Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission

Openlands

Orbis Environmental Consulting

Riverwoods Preservation Council

Shedd Aquarium

Shirley Heinze Land Trust

Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter

St. Charles Park District

Tallgrass Restoration

Tetra Tech

University of Illinois at Chicago

US Army Corps of Engineers

US Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory

USDA APHIS Wildlife Services

USDA Forest Service

US Fish and Wildlife Service

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

USDI National Park Service/Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

The Wetlands Initiative