Gorski Eleanor Esser

Eleanor Esser Gorski

CEO and President, Chicago Architecture Center

Eleanor Esser Gorski, AIA is the CEO & President of the Chicago Architecture Center, the leading organization devoted to celebrating Chicago as a center of architectural innovation and education. The CAC serves 700,000+ patrons annually, and has cemented Chicago as the “City of Architecture.” Gorski, a licensed architect, brings to this role more than 25 years in architecture, historic preservation and urban planning; a passion for equity through design; and a wealth of Chicago knowledge, including key city leadership roles under three mayoral administrations. Gorski is a fellow of the American Academy of Rome, has received the Rome Prize for Historic Preservation from the American Academy, AIA Chicago’s Distinguished Service Award, the ULI Chicago Breakthrough Award, and recognition from C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and Landmarks Illinois. She graduated Summa cum Laude from Penn State University and received her Master’s in Architecture from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a fellow of the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, sits on the Local Advisory Board of USC Chicago, Urban Land Institute Chicago board, the alumni board of the University of Illinois School of Architecture and the Board of the Illinois Medical District. She is a proud mom to two teenage boys and lives in Chicago.