Leslie Darling

Leslie Darling was appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Sports Facilities by Governor J.B. Pritzker in March 2021 and has served on the Board of Trustees of ISFA since December 2019. She currently serves as the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Art Institute of Chicago where she oversees all legal business of the Museum and the School of the Art Institute.

Ms. Darling has extensive experience managing diverse legal issues in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Prior to joining the Art Institute of Chicago, she served as chief executive officer of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT), where she oversaw the strategic planning and implementation of innovative and complex infrastructure projects for the City of Chicago.  She also served as first assistant corporation counsel for the City of Chicago Department of Law, overseeing the City’s legal business and serving as a senior advisor on legislative and policy matters.

Before joining the City of Chicago, Ms. Darling was a partner at Ungaretti & Harris LLP and an associate at Mayer Brown.  Ms. Darling holds a law degree from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Bradley University.