Supporters
Letters of Support
(Click the link to the left to read the letters)
- Mayor Daley
- Senator Durbin
- Congressman Davis
- Congressman Rush
- Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.
- State Senator Hendon
- Cook County Commissioner Robert Steele
- Alderman Robert Fioretti
- Alderman Walter Burnett
- Alderman Pat Dowell
- Illinois Arts Council
- Mr. Herb Kent, aka "The Cool Gent"
- Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
- Roosevelt University
- The Field Museum
- School of Social Service Administration
- Arne Duncan, Chicago Public Schools
- National Museum of African American History
Leadership Groups
A Board of Directors and Steering Committee are currently providing support and strategic guidance during the Museum’s planning and start-up phase. These leadership groups are building a wide base of support for the Museum, which will include current leadership of the CHA’s Local Advisory Committees and CHA alumni. An Advisory Committee for the Museum is providing additional guidance as the Museum builds national support.
Board of Directors | |
| Founding Chair Ms. Deverra Beverly President LAC Local Advisory Council | Sunny Fischer Executive Director The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation |
| President Fred L. Bonner Founder and President Bonheur Development Corp. | Senator Mattie Hunter 3rd District, State of Illinois Senate |
| Vice President Crystal Palmer President Henry Horner Local Advisory Council | Zenobia Johnson-Black Retired Housing Official |
Secretary | Lisa Lee Director Jane Addams Hull-House Museum |
| Treasurer Chuck Thurow Executive Director Hyde Park Art Center | Lisa D. Lenoir Director of Development Human Resources Development Institute, Inc. |
| Mary Baldwin President Rockwell Gardens Local Advisory Council | Dr. Alaka Wali John Nuveen Curator in Anthropology Director, Center for Cultural Understanding and Change, Field Museum |
| Roberta Feldman Director, City Design Center University of Illinois at Chicago | Francine Washington President Stateway Gardens Local Advisory Council |
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Advisory Committee | |
| Ruth Abram President and Founder Lower East Side Tenement Museum | Herb Kent V103 Radio Personality |
| Rolf Achilles Chair, Landmarks Illinois Faculty, School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Alex Kotlowitz Author and Journalist |
| Dr. Carol Adams Secretary Illinois Department of Human Services | Rosanna A. Márquez President Eleanor Foundation |
| Amina Dickerson Director of Corporate Contributions Kraft Foods |
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| Edwin Eisendrath Former Director, Region V Office U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Anne Roosevelt Vice President Global Corporate Citizenship Boeing Corporation |
| Graham C. Grady Partner, Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP Former Chief Executive Chicago Housing Authority | Jackie Taylor Founder and Executive Director Black Ensemble Theater |
| Ronne Hartfield Museum Consultant Formerly Executive Director of Education Art Institute of Chicago | |
Steering Committee | |
| Donna Epstein Barrows Chairman of the Board, Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies | Brad Hunt Assistant Professor of Social Science Roosevelt University |
| Mrs. Deverra Beverly President ABLA Local Advisory Committee | Lisa Lee Director Jane Addams Hull-House Museum |
| Michelle Boone Program Officer, Culture Joyce Foundation | Tracye Matthews Associate Director, Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture The University of Chicago |
| Robert Bruegmann Professor of Art History, Architecture, and Planning University of Illinois at Chicago | Peter Pero Teacher, Community Developer and Board member, Maxwell Street Foundation |
| Susan Campbell Associate Vice President Office of Community Affairs University of Chicago | Lesley Slavitt Director, Programs for Nonprofit Civic Engagement Roosevelt University |
| Sunny Fischer Executive Director The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation | David M. Thompson Independent Consultant |
| Rev. Marshall Hatch New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church |