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Save the Date for the 2025 Openlands Annual Luncheon
Friday, October 17, 2025
Hilton Chicago
720 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago
11:00am to Noon: Networking Reception
Noon to 1:30pm: Lunch and Openlands Program
1:30pm to 2:15pm: Post-luncheon Networking
Join Openlands for the 2025 Annual Luncheon, where we unite the conservation community. Last year, we celebrated with 800+ influential individuals, including elected officials, civic and environmental leaders, and community partners. The 2025 event lineup assures another dynamic occasion you will not want to miss. For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Laura Mueller at lmueller@openlands.org.

2025 Gerald W. Adelmann Conservation Leadership Award Recipient: Blair Kamin
Pulitzer Prize winner Blair Kamin will receive the 2025 Gerald W. Adelmann
Conservation Leadership Award. For 28 years, Kamin used his platform as
the Chicago Tribune architecture critic to shape civic debate and advocate
for the public good through “activist criticism.” His work influenced the built
environment at every scale—from skyscrapers and museums to parks and
public housing—always with an eye toward the commons.
In his 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on the Chicago lakefront, Kamin courageously contrasted its often-dismal state with its sterling reputation, envisioning a revitalized public space that would serve all citizens equally, adapt to shifting demographics, and promote a more vital democracy. Kamin has earned nearly 50 awards and honorary doctorates and has authored five books, including the recent Who Is the City For?, a critical look at how the built environment can unite or divide communities. His work embodies the spirit of the Gerald W. Adelmann Conservation Leadership Award, which honors those whose advocacy and vision help protect nature and ensure its access for all.

2025 Keynote Speaker: Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, HASLA
Carol Ross Barney, the distinguished 2023 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal recipient, is a visionary architect, urbanist, mentor, and educator, and has relentlessly advocated that excellent design is a right, not a privilege. Through her unwavering dedication to crafting public buildings and spaces that elevate our daily lives, she has produced distinctive structures and places that have become cultural icons.
Notable projects include design of the new Oklahoma City Federal Building replacing the bombed Murrah Federal Building for the U.S. General Services Administration; Chicago Riverwalk; McDonald’s Chicago and Disney World Flagship Restaurants; Searle Visitor Center at the Lincoln Park Zoo; JRC Synagogue; CTA Cermak and Morgan Street Stations; UMD Civil Engineering Building; Multi-Modal Terminal at O’Hare International Airport; NASA Aerospace Communications Facility; Railyard Park in Rogers, AR and Chicago’s new DuSable Park.
Honors include over 200 major design awards, including the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Award; fourteen National American Institute of Architects Honor Awards for Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design; two AIA Committee on the Environment, Top Ten Project Awards for sustainably designed buildings and over 45 AIA Chicago Awards.
Carol is a graduate of the University of Illinois and served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica planning national parks. She has taught an advanced Design Studio at the Illinois Institute of Technology for over thirty years.
Carol has left an indelible mark on the architectural community. Her influence is a testament to her unparalleled skill, innovative spirit, and commitment to making design accessible to all.
Supporters
Our deepest gratitude goes to our luncheon co-chairs.
Thank you to our sponsors who make our Annual Luncheon possible.
Premier Sponsors
The Negaunee Foundation
Emerald Sponsors
Kimberly Duchossois
Platinum Sponsors










Gold Sponsor


















Silver Sponsors

























Decor Sponsors

Advocate Sponsors







List of Donors





















In-Kind Sponsors



Luncheon Host Committee
Gloria Castillo and Steve Koch, Co-Chairs
Jerry Adelmann
MarySue Barret
Allan Bell
Lee Bey
Tim Brown & Jill Riddell
Joe Ferguson
Denise Gardner
Sean Garret
Eleanor Gorski
Graham Grady
Amanda Hanley
Patrick Hanley
Martina Keller
Suzanne Malec-McKenna
Hank & Wendy Paulson
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle
Margot and Thomas Pritzker
Alexa Rice
Carol Ross Barney
Laura and Ricardo Rosenkranz
John Rogner
Adele Simmons
Judith Stockdale/Jonathan Boyer
Nancy Sutherland/Jim Mikkelsen
Doug Voigt
Karen Weigert
Chris Wu
Learn more about past Openlands Annual Luncheons
The Openlands 2024 Annual Luncheon
The Openlands 2024 Conservation Leadership Award Ceremony honored Arnold L. Randall with the inaugural Gerald W. Adelmann Conservation Leadership Award.
The Openlands 2023 Annual Luncheon
The Openlands 2023 Annual Luncheon honored outgoing President and CEO Jerry Adelmann’s unparalleled legacy and celebrated Openlands’ 60th anniversary.
The Openlands 2022 Annual Luncheon
The Openlands 2022 Conservation Leadership Award Ceremony honored Adele Simmons lifelong leadership on climate issues.
The Openlands 2021 Annual Luncheon
The Openlands 2021 Conservation Leadership Award Ceremony honored U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s environmental and conservation legacy.
The Openlands 2020 Annual Luncheon
The 2020 virtual journey honored Debby Moskovits for her impactful legacy of conservation and celebrated large landscape preservation around the world.