Denise Gardner

Denise Garder is chair of the Art Institute of Chicago’s board of trustees. Her history with the museum dates back to 1995, when she began her decades-long involvement with the Leadership Advisory Committee. Denise joined the museum’s board in 2006 and has been a member of the governing board of the School of the Art Institute since 2011. In addition to her work with the Art Institute, Denise is a member of the boards of the Arts Club of Chicago and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and previously served on the executive committee of the Chicago Community Trust, the board of visitors of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, and the boards of the Chicago Humanities Festival and the Chicago Public Library.

A former marketer and advertiser, she was president of the research-based marketing and strategic planning firm Insights & Opportunities, co-founder of Namaste Laboratories, and a former VP of Marketing at Soft Sheen Products Company. She holds a BSJ in advertising and an MBA from Northwestern University. She and her husband, Gary, are avid art collectors with a strong interest in African American art and works by Chicago artists.