Laura Ricketts is a Director of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball Club as well as Chairman of the Board for Chicago Cubs Charities. In addition to her Board duties, much of her work with the Cubs is focused on community relations, government relations, and philanthropy.
Ms. Ricketts practiced law at the Chicago law firm of Schiff, Hardin & Waite (now Schiff Hardin LLP) where she was an associate in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group and concentrated her practice in mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and general corporate and securities law matters. She left the practice of law to co-found Ecotravel, LLC. Dedicated to fostering and promoting ecotourism worldwide, Ecotravel, LLC operated Ecotravel.com, an online magazine of ecotourism news and information and directory of ecotourism service providers. Since 2010, Ms. Ricketts has been a full time mother to her young daughter and son. Ms. Ricketts served on the Democratic National Committee’s Executive Committee from 2015-2017, and was Co-Chair of the DNC National Finance Committee’s LGBT Leadership Council from 2009-2013. She is a co-founder and Chairman of the Board of LPAC, the only national lesbian political action committee that builds the political power of lesbians by electing candidates who champion LGBTQ rights, women’s equality, and social justice. Ms. Ricketts also serves on the board of EMILY’s List.
Ms. Ricketts is actively engaged with several charitable organizations in the Chicago-area community and beyond. In 2013 President Barack Obama appointed Ms. Ricketts to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees. She is also a member of the Inclusion Council for the Obama Foundation. She serves on the National Leadership Council for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national nonprofit organization that litigates, educates, and engages in public policy work on behalf of LGBTQ civil rights. She is also on the Board of Advisors for Opportunity Education, an international charitable foundation that provides educational programming and technological tools to help educate children and train teachers in over 1,000 schools across Africa and Asia. Recognized for her volunteer and advocacy work on behalf of the LGBTQ community, she was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the 2012 Center on Halsted Human First Award, the 2011 Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago Vanguard Award, and the 2010 Equality Illinois Freedom Award.
Ms. Ricketts earned an A.B. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She lives in Wilmette, Illinois with her wife and children.
See our complete list: Chicago’s 25 Most Powerful Women 2019
