Laurene von Klan

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At play, Laurene might be found out (trying) to meditate beside her backyard rain garden. At home and indoors, she spends a lot of time tying to fix her recycled fixtures and electronics. “I love fixing things that are otherwise throwaways,” she says. “I feel like I beat the system.” In an effort to live a more sustainable lifestyle, she’s pledged not to buy anything new for an entire year.

At work, as President and CEO of the Chicago Academy of Sciences' Notebaert Nature Museum, Laurene rubs elbows with many of the city’s governmental, cultural, and business elites. She thinks the elites are very nice but takes real pride in the fact that, for 150 years now, the Academy has been delivering high quality environmental and science education to all comers, a tradition that, since 1999, has been carried on by the Museum. Today the Museum’s programs and exhibits, including its world-class Judy Istock Butterfly Haven, annually serve some 2,000 teachers, 400 schools, and nearly 200,000 visitors.

Prior to joining the Museum, Laurene served for 13 years as the Executive Director of Friends of the Chicago River. Under her leadership, the organization became known as a leader in urban river restoration and, was selected for a Brookings Institution study on high-performing non-profits. Laurene holds a B.A. in Economics from Williams College and a M.A. in International Relations from The University of Chicago. She studied political science in Brussels, Belgium, and taught at Northeastern Illinois University. She is proud of her Czecho-Peruvian heritage but embarrassed by her largish car and occasional use of hair gel.