Where It Began

The Women’s Leadership Center grew out of a lifetime of experiences for its founder, Ann McIlrath Drake. For more than 30 years, Ann was CEO of DSC Logistics, guiding DSC to become an innovative leader in the supply chain field and a business partner to some of the world’s leading companies.

For much of that time, she was also one of very few women in the room. That inspired her to found AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management, and Education) in 2013 to support women in the field and help them gain greater opportunities and recognition. AWESOME eventually became a community of approximately 1,500 women leaders.

When Ann retired from DSC, she widened that work beyond a single industry. She founded Lincoln Road Enterprises in 2019 to invest in and support women’s contributions and influence across fields shaping our future.

An active philanthropist, Ann serves on the Global Advisory Board of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the Board of Directors of the International Women’s Forum. She is also a trustee of the New World Symphony, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, and the Chicago Architecture Center.

A Vision Takes Shape

In 2019, Ann visited 8.6 acres of woodland along Geneva Lake, once part of the original Yerkes Observatory campus. Standing on the property, she imagined something new: a place created for women to come together across fields, generations, and experiences.

That moment became the beginning of the Women’s Leadership Center.

Ann turned to architect Jeanne Gang and Studio Gang to bring the idea to life. Together, they envisioned a campus designed around what would happen here — consequential conversations, unexpected connections, new thinking — and a deep relationship between the buildings and the surrounding landscape.

Groundbreaking took place in March 2024, with Pepper Construction leading construction and OLIN shaping the gardens and grounds. Sustainability and the restoration of the land informed the work throughout.

The WLC Today

Seven years after Ann first walked this land, women are gathering here just as she imagined. 

The Women’s Leadership Center opened in summer 2026, welcoming individuals and organizations for convenings shaped around the work they want to advance. What begins here lives on through the relationships formed, the ideas tested, and the work women go on to do together. We hope you’ll be part of it.