Marilynn Gardner

传：Navy Pier President and CEO Marilynn Gardner oversees the complex operations, programming, long-term visioning, and fiscal wellbeing of one of Chicago’s greatest recreational assets and the Midwest’s most visited destination. An enthusiastic ambassador and advocate for her native Chicago, Gardner has applied her passion for Navy Pier into a three-decade career, spanning several leadership roles. She is recognized as the driving force behind the ever-evolving landmark’s $400+ million redevelopment and was instrumental in adapting the Pier into an independent nongovernmental nonprofit organization as its first CEO in 2011. Gardner’s insights on business and board development, tourism, placemaking, and programming are often sought after by peer institutions, media outlets, and such organizations as YPO Gold, City Club of Chicago, and Global Cultural Districts Network. She serves as Vice Chair of Choose Chicago, Executive Committee member of the Chicago Sports Commission, and is a second-generation board member of CURE Epilepsy, a cause close to her family’s heart, and she remains committed to her alma mater university and high school, previously serving on the board of St. Ignatius College Prep as well as previously serving on the National Alumni Board of Marquette University, where she earned her B.A. in journalism.