Staff + Boards

Who are we? Designers and makers and accountants and innovators and educators and business leaders and artists and investors and students and lawyers and the list goes on… 

Our staff is small but mighty. Team members include:

Tanner Woodford, Founder & Executive Director
Kevin Reader, Executive Director of Programming & Operations
Olivia Kosciusko Tritschler, Development Manager
Haoyu Lu, Project Manager

The Design Museum is governed by the Board of Directors and supported by a growing Auxiliary Board.

Board of Directors

Chair: Wendy Manning, Demeter Strategy Design
Vice Chair: Rana Komar, RUTH
Ex-Officio Chair: Bill Beach, SECRIST | BEACH
Secretary: Andrea Kramer, ASKramer Law
Treasurer: Ruth Goran, Ruth Goran CPA

Charles Adler, Kickstarter & Center for Lost Arts
Helyn Goldenberg, Sotheby’s
Sarah Haque, Recon Analytics
Scott Hurst, Gensler
Sam Landers, Trope
Ashley Lukasik, Murmur Ring
Rob McKay, Connect Gallery & The Silver Room
Irv Michaels, Michaels Consulting Ltd.
Karen Lilly Mozer, Jordan Mozer & Associates, Ltd
Kate Neisser, Independent Writer & Editor
Bud Rodecker, Span
Steve Ryan, Substance Collective
Arlene Semel, Semel-Snow
Lisa Skolnik, Purpose Brand
Eugene Varnado II, YoojDesign
Tanner Woodford, Design Museum of Chicago

Auxiliary Board

Marlene Paez Dukes, People's Action Institute, Co-Chair
Justin Redding, UJAMAA Construction, Co-Chair

Deaa Bataineh, IIT Institute of Design
Laura Sofia Cardozo, Breakout
Alexandria Eregbu, FINDING IJEOMA
Mejay Gula, Site Design Group, Inaugural Member
Amanda Harth, Monday Coffee
Sharlene King, Salesforce
Chris Rudd, ChiByDesign

Jon Veal, alt Space Chicago, Emeritus Member

Our Story

Formerly the Chicago Design Museum, the organization was founded in 2012 as an entirely volunteer-run organization that planned and executed pop-up exhibitions. In 2014, after two years of successful itinerant programming, more than 500 backers supported a Kickstarter campaign to provide funding for the museum to operate year-round. Beginning with a single staff member, the museum now mounts at least 3 exhibitions per year, has hosted hundreds of public programs, and engaged with millions of visitors. 

We make our best effort to keep all programming free or low-cost. Each exhibition is uniquely designed in concert with the exhibition themes, and the gallery space undergoes a complete transformation for each show. From undulating MDF “hills” for a show on Chicago’s bicycle culture to a behind-the-scenes environment for a show on design in theatre, the exhibition design always responds to and supports its content in a unique way. As a result, visitors are greeted with a new, unexpected experience every visit, and are inspired to see the exceptional within the simple. The museum is committed to creative solutions that elevate humble materials.

Organizational Information

Mission

Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC) inspires, educates, and fosters innovation through design. 

990 Filings and Nonprofit Status

DMoC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

Employer Identification Number (EIN): 46-1516739

Form 990 filings: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

Additional financial documents, including audited financial statements, are available upon request.

Transparency:
The Design Museum of Chicago holds the GuideStar Gold Seal of Transparency. You can view our full profile here.

Governance:
Design Museum of Chicago is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors that provides strategic and financial oversight. To view our Board and staff, visit the About page. For questions about governance or financial information, contact: info@designchicago.org

Accessibility:
We are committed to ensuring our exhibitions, programs, and digital platforms are accessible. To request accommodations or share feedback, please email info@designchicago.org

Land Acknowledgement

The Design Museum of Chicago exists on the traditional homelands of the Three Fire Peoples, the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadmi, as well as many other Tribal Nations who gathered, traded, healed, and built community here.

This land was forcibly purchased following years of conflict and the 1821 Treaty of Chicago, which came after a pan-Indigenous effort to protect the Great Lakes region. Today, more than 75,000 Native people call Illinois home, including members of the Ho-Chunk, Miami, Inoka, Menominee, Sac, Fox, and many other Tribal Nations. Chicago continues to be one of the largest and most diverse urban Native communities in the United States.

We recognize Indigenous peoples as the original and ongoing stewards of this land. Our work aims to support Indigenous artists and community members, challenge systems built through colonization, and help build a more just future rooted in sovereignty and self-determination.

Non-discrimination policy

The Design Museum of Chicago does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations.

 Contact Us

Gallery & mailing address:
72 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601

Phone number:
1-312-894-6263

General inquiries:
info@designchicago.org