Women United Annual Breakfast 2026

A trailblazing leader, Megan Ross, Ph.D. serves as President and CEO of Chicago’s iconic Lincoln Park Zoo. As the first woman and first scientist to lead the urban zoo and science center, Ross drives the zoo’s mission and vision of being open, accessible, and welcoming for guests from all around the globe. Since joining Lincoln Park Zoo in 2000, she has served in leadership roles in nearly every department. As CEO, she centers her work on four pillars: care, conservation, community, and culture.

A passionate, published scientist and committed environmentalist, she incorporates her broader perspective into improving animal welfare and helping zoo visitors connect with nature. She is widely regarded as an expert on zoo ethics as the former chair of the ethics board for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and a former AZA board member. Locally, she is a member of Leadership Greater Chicago’s inaugural Daniel Burnham Fellowship cohort, The Chicago Network, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives’ Club and the Commercial Club of Chicago. She is currently taking part in the CEO Perspectives program offered by the Corporate Leadership Center.

Dr. Ross has a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology and lives in the Chicago area with her two children.

Marilynn Gardner is President and CEO of Navy Pier, where she oversees the operations, programming, and long-term vision of the Midwest’s most visited destination, welcoming more than 8 million guests annually.

A lifelong Chicagoan, Gardner has spent more than three decades at Navy Pier, advancing through multiple leadership roles before becoming its first CEO in 2011. She played a central role in the Pier’s $400 million redevelopment and led its transition into an independent, non-governmental nonprofit organization.

Throughout her career, Gardner has focused on sustaining Navy Pier as a year-round destination through long-term capital investment and a continuously refreshed mix of cultural programming and guest experiences curated to reflect the best of Chicago.

Gardner has overseen a series of major transformational initiatives, including Navy Pier’s Centennial Vision, which combined philanthropic investment and capital development to create Polk Bros Park and the Centennial Ferris Wheel. She has also guided the introduction of significant new on-Pier experiences, including the 233-room Sable hotel, Offshore Rooftop, Flyover Chicago, and the Navy Pier Marina.

Recognizing Navy Pier’s role as an economic catalyst, Gardner has strengthened the Pier’s business ecosystem, supporting more than 70 on-site tenant businesses that collectively employ over 3,000 people. Her work emphasizes small-business development, workforce opportunity, and the ongoing vitality of one of Chicago’s most prominent public spaces.

She currently serves on the boards of the Chicago Chapter of The Ireland Funds, the City Club of Chicago, the Chicago Sports Commission, and the Magnificent Mile Association, and was recently appointed to the Advisory Council of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

Elizabeth C. Babcock, PhD, joined the Adler Planetarium as its President & CEO in October 2025. Prior to joining the Adler, Babcock served as the Founding Director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in Washington D.C., where she laid the groundwork for a new national museum focused on women’s history, advanced a multimillion-dollar campaign, and expanded national support for the museum. Prior to her time at the Smithsonian, Babcock served as the inaugural President and CEO of Forever Balboa, the city of San Diego’s private partner stewarding a 1,200-acre urban park and cultural destination. For over a decade Babcock served as the Chief Public Engagement Officer and Roberts-Wilson Dean of Education at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. There, she directed the Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization Studio and public-facing programs that reached over 20 million learners worldwide and secured significant philanthropic support for science education. In Chicago, Babcock previously served as Vice President of Education and Library Collections at the Field Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Babcock has received several awards, most recently the 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, along with her team, for the California Academy of Science’s Careers in Science internship program. Elizabeth received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020 by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Babcock was recognized in 2013 as a White House Champion of Change by the Obama Administration and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in 2011, she was named as one of the Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times.

Dr. Babcock holds a PhD and MA in Cultural Anthropology from Indiana University. She also holds a Certificate in E-learning Design and Development from San Francisco State University, and a BA in Psychology and a BM in Music Education from Northwestern University.

Bridget C. Coughlin, PhD serves as President & CEO of Shedd Aquarium, providing strategic vision, oversight and direction to all activities and initiatives for the world-class institution. Her experience is dedicated to stewarding the legacy of the historic aquarium while accelerating its mission to meet the needs of today’s world.

Upon joining the aquarium, Dr. Coughlin led the organization through a strategic planning effort, launching Shedd’s Centennial Commitment in 2022 to evolve and modernize the aquarium experience while simultaneously investing in more conservation science, environmental education programs and community partnerships. This strategic plan will take the aquarium to its centennial year in 2030 and prepare Shedd for the next 100 years of mission impact. Her strong passion for conservation of the animal world coupled with her business acumen and running $500M of endowment investments helped Shedd Aquarium establish an ESG investment private equity portfolio dedicated to environmental companies.

Dr. Coughlin is a deeply respected voice in Chicago’s civic, cultural and business communities. She is a member of the Chicago Commercial Club, the Executives Club of Chicago and the Chicago Club and serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Economic Club. She serves on the Advisory Board for After School Matters and has been recognized for her leadership with several accolades, including Crain’s Chicago Business’s “Who’s Who” list and “Women of Note” distinctions.

Dr. Coughlin is also sought out as a leader in the conservation community. This includes serving on the Board of Directors for organizations like Alaska Sea Life Center, visiting legislators in Washington D.C. to advise on conservation policy needs and keynoting internationally recognized conferences like Aspen Ideas: Climate, alongside Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. She has worked on large science policy reports while at the National Academy of Sciences and held research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Both professionally and personally, Dr. Coughlin is passionate about the need to encourage greater representation in leadership and in STEM careers. This led her to become an ambassador through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN program, where she has been a mentor for young people to envision themselves as future leaders and scientists. Her involvement in this mentorship program has led to several exciting and highly visible moments including a feature in Marie Claire Magazine and a life-size 3-D printed sculpture of Dr. Coughlin being installed alongside others at the Smithsonian Museum to honor Women’s History Month.

Dr. Coughlin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Knox College, and a doctorate in biochemistry and infectious diseases from the University of Iowa where she was a Howard Hughes Medical fellow. She enjoys all types of outdoor activities, clocks lots of vertical feet skiing, and hiking and relaxes but looking at life beneath the water line while floating and snorkeling. She, her husband and three boys own dozens of board games and play them regularly with a healthy dose of loving competition.

Kristie is a board director on three private company boards, including First Women’s Bank, where she serves as the Audit Chair and is a member of the Risk and Compensation committees. She also serves as the Audit Chair on the Smithbucklin board - a Chicago-based association management company, and for the board of NCCI, which provides state workers’ compensation rate and loss cost recommendations. At NCCI, she additionally serves as a member of the Nom/Gov committee. Kristie is a member of NACD, attaining Certified Board Director status. She recently joined the NACD Chicago Chapter board. 

Kristie works part-time for the Illinois Business Consulting (IBC) program at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business. As an Associate Director at the college, she acts as an Executive Mentor for corporate IBC student projects. 

She is a board member for the Chicago chapter of the International Women’s Forum, a member of Women Corporate Directors and of EWOB – Extradordinary Women on Boards. 

She sits on the United Way of Metro Chicago emeritus board of directors and the board of Eastern National. Kristie received her BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois and has an Executive MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.