Ellen S. Alberding

Ellen Alberding is president and a board member of the Joyce Foundation, which has assets of $750 million and makes grants of $40 million a year for projects to improve the quality of life in the Great Lakes region. The Foundation is a major funder of environmental groups in the Midwest, with a particular focus on water and air quality. Other Foundation priorities include improving educational outcomes for low-income children; employment and workforce issues; and other initiatives that promote democracy and a diverse and thriving culture.

Ms. Alberding is a founder and board member of Advance Illinois, which advocates for public education reform in Illinois. She is a board member of Independent Sector, where she has worked to establish improved accountability and governance standards for non-profits. She is a board member of the Economic Club of Chicago as well as a trustee of the National Park Foundation. She has served as president and chairman of the investment committee for the Chicago Park District pension fund (1993-2001); trustee of Aon Funds (2000-2003); trustee of the American University of Paris (2007-2008); treasurer of Grantmakers in the Arts (a national organization of arts funders); member of the Public Trust Task Force for the Donors Forum of Chicago; and member of the Cultural Advisory Board for the City of Chicago. She is a member of the Commercial Club, the Chicago Network, and serves on the advisory boards of several nonprofit organizations. Ms. Alberding holds an honors degree in English from Brown University and a Masters of Management in finance and marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.