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Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA)

Chicago Loop Alliance proactively establishes and promotes policies, procedures, and programs that affirm diversity, equity, and inclusion for the benefit of the Loop and beyond.


Since establishing the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee in 2020, Chicago Loop Alliance began strategizing how our organization, and in turn the Loop, will become more equitable in the next few years.

Committee Members

Amy Boonstra
Executive Director of the Center for Decision Research at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago

Michael Edwards
President & CEO, Chicago Loop Alliance
Tangela Enyia
ComEd 
Nora Gainer
Director of Tourism Marketing and Partnerships, The Art Institute of Chicago
Rich Gamble
President, Realized Value Collaborative
Board Chair, Chicago Loop Alliance Board of Directors
Ariella Gibson
Director of Marketing and Communications, Chicago Loop Alliance
Judie Green
Chief Development Office, Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University

Ralph Hughes
Honorary Board member

Kearby Kaiser
Director, Millennium Park Plaza 
La Verne Morris
Resident Owner & Senior Jury Consultant of JuryThink LLC.


Daisy Ruiz
Marketing and Communications Manager, Chicago Loop Alliance
Charles Smith
Principal, CannonDesign

James Turner
Managing Director, CIBC U.S.
Past Chair, Chicago Loop Alliance Board of Directors

Strategic Plan

Our strategic plan will be incorporated into the daily work of Chicago Loop Alliance. The work begins from the top, and we are making strides towards the goal of a board that is more racially and ethnically representative of the demographics of the city of Chicago as whole, not just the Loop. And this is only the beginning.

In our work with the Kaleidoscope Group, Chicago Loop Alliance staff and leadership completed conscious inclusion training, that was both insightful and collaborative. We were all able to gain a deeper understanding of our unconscious biases, as well as take a look inward at the intricacies of our lives that affect how we see each other, and how we are seen.

We believe transparency and accountability is crucial in this type of work. So, we will continue to share progress updates on the work of the IDEA Committee and Chicago Loop Alliance . 

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