Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is made up of recognized and respected leaders in the business and civic community. Their dedicated counsel provides guidance, insight and accountability as we strive to assure the best for all babies’ development.
CHAIR
Shirley W. Ryan
Mrs. Ryan is a long-time advocate for persons with physical and sensory issues. With expert knowledge and counsel, she co-created and inspired Pathways Center (1985), a best-practices outpatient pediatric treatment center for infants and children, to unlock their physical and sensory movement abilities. She has been appointed by two United States Presidents to the National Council on Disability in Washington, and served for nine years on the council, which advises the President and Congress on issues of disability. Mrs. Ryan has served as chair and executive committee member of the Chicago Community Trust and serves on its Committee for Persons with Disabilities Fund.
Mrs. Ryan holds boards of trustees or executive committee positions which include Notre Dame University, the Chicago Council on Global Relations, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Alain Locke Charter Academy in Chicago, the Foundation of Education, and WTTW.
For her deep commitment and passion which empowers her to action, Mrs. Ryan has received multiple awards, including the Northwestern University Service Award, the Harvard Club of Chicago Statesman of the Year Award, and the Kids Count Award from Voices of Illinois Children.
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Margaret C. Daley
Maggie Daley, the former first lady of Chicago and one of the city's leading advocates for children and youth, became publicly involved in disability issues in 1988 when she became President of Pathways Awareness Foundation. Now President Emeritus, Mrs. Daley works on providing teenagers in Chicago with engaging activities during the after-school hours through After School Matters (ASM), which this year will reach 22,000 teens. She also helped establish Chicago's Gallery 37, which this year merged with ASM, a cultural facility that employs arts programming to empower people of all ages with creative and vocational skills. The gallery has been replicated in several cities in the United States and abroad.
