LGC Programs

LGC SIGNATURE FELLOWS PROGRAM

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The application cycle for the LGC Signature Fellows Program Class of 2026 is now open. Candidates are required to complete an online application, which includes two required letters of recommendation. For candidates who have a disability, please email our team to request accommodation(s) to ensure full participation in the process.

Each year, a diverse group of Chicago's most promising professionals and leaders are selected as Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows. The 10-month long experience is the area’s premier civic leadership development program, immersing participants in the major socioeconomic issues facing the City of Chicago and the Greater Chicago Region. Since 1983, the LGC Signature Fellows Program has equipped participants with the resources they need to understand how decisions are made, how complex policies are shaped, and how to influence meaningful change. Using the city as a classroom, LGC Fellows learn through interactions with private, public, and nonprofit decision-makers, and work as a group to develop critical thinking, analytical, governance and leadership skills.

Through retreats, full-day seminars, site visits, discussion groups, conversations with leaders and experts, service projects, and cultural events, Fellows seek to better understand the systems that influence how Chicago and the region function, as well as how an individual’s personal values, biases, and approaches to working with others can shape their impact and the outcomes they achieve. Together, LGC Fellows explore critical community challenges, examine themselves as leaders, and build transformative relationships of trust and collaboration.

LGC provides reasonable accommodations for any participant who self-identifies as a person with a disability (visible, invisible, or acquired).

To learn more about the Signature Fellows Program, click here.

WHY LEADERSHIP GREATER CHICAGO?

The Network – As an LGC Fellow, you will gain access to high-level professionals in all sectors and join an engaged network of nearly 1,500 accomplished leaders who are dedicated to improving the Greater Chicago Region.

The Knowledge – Fellows immerse themselves in an intensive 10-month long exploration of current socioeconomic issues that provides the foundation for a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. Through dynamic education and experiental activities, Fellows gain first-hand insights from discussions with leaders at the forefront of social change.

The Insights – Fellows learn from a diversity of opinions, styles, and world views, and develop the capacity to approach and break down complex problems to drive transformative change in effective and collaborative ways.

The LGC Signature Fellows Program is an intensive, 10-month long engagement that requires significant investment from both the Fellow and their sponsoring organization. Acceptance into the Program is contingent on a commitment to the following requirements:

• Attendance at the 2025 Recognition Ceremony (Inaugration on July 31, 2025), the Mid-Year Dinner (January 22, 2026) and the 2026 Recognition Ceremony (Fellow Recognition on July 30, 2026)
• Attendance at the Opening Retreat (September 4-5, 2025) and Closing Retreat (June 4-5, 2026)
• Attendance at eight First Friday Sessions (the first Friday of each month, excluding holidays; October 2025 – May 2026) listed below: 
  -October 17, 2025 
  -November 7, 2025
  -December 4 and 5, 2025
  -January 9, 2026
  -February 6, 2026
  -March 6, 2026
  -April 10, 2026
  -May 1, 2026
• Attendance at four of the six monthly hybrid Leadership Series sessions (once a month excluding January and March; generally Thursdays; October 2025 – May 2026)
• Active engagement and participation in supplemental programming, including Neighborhood Exploration Groups, site visits, cultural events and social activities
• A financial contribution from your sponsoring organization ($20,000 for private sponsors and large nonprofits; amount scaled for smaller nonprofits, entrepreneurs and government institutions) due by August 1, 2025
• An individual financial contribution of $1,500 due by August 1, 2025

COST
A financial contribution from the sponsoring organization of $20,000 (for private sponsors and large nonprofits; amount scaled for smaller nonprofits, government, educational institutions, and entrepreneurs), and an individual contribution of $1,500, is for approximately 200 hours of leadership development, individual coaching, travel, lodging, and meals, and access to the LGC Fellowship and cross-program events. Payment in full for both contributions is required before the start of the Program.

QUESTIONS?
Contact our team at programs@lgcchicago.org or 312.565.0300.

© 2024 LEADERSHIP GREATER CHICAGO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE DANIEL BURNHAM FELLOWSHIP©

In February 2019, Leadership Greater Chicago proudly announced the launch of The Daniel Burnham Fellowship© - an accelerated civic onboarding experience for senior executives who in their roles are able to play a part in shaping the future of Chicago. While beneficial to any executive, it is especially beneficial for those who are new to Chicago and provides a rich introduction to an executive new to their role and with market facing responsibilities. This exclusive program has been designed as a fast-track introduction to the Chicago business community for newly relocated or promoted executives in the Greater Chicago Region. The Daniel Burnham Fellowship©, which consists of five sessions, is designed to inspire new executive leaders to mobilize and exert their combined influence and intellect by immersing themselves in the civic fabric of Chicago to positively impact the region.  

The ideal candidate profile is:

• CEO, C-suite or Senior Executive
• Executive who is directly responsible for making strategic financial investments
• Executive who has authority to make decisions as they relate to workforce and workforce development
• Executive who would benefit from understanding the civic and business networks and socioeconomic aspects of doing business in the City of Chicago and Greater Chicago Region
• Executive who has responsibility for building relationships that lead to collaborations or strategic partnerships advancing your organization's business objectives and mission
• Recently relocated to Chicago (suburban, U.S. or international relocation) or assigned to a new executive leadership role, and need to learn about the city and its business community

For more information about the The Daniel Burnham Fellowship©, click here.
For The Daniel Burnham Fellowship© brochure, click here.

To recommend a candidate or for additional information about The Daniel Burnham Fellowship©, please contact our team at programs@lgcchicago.org.

© 2024 LEADERSHIP GREATER CHICAGO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED