Emily Harris

Emily Harris, Executive Director of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, started her role with the Forum as a consultant to the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy in late 2019. She led development of and first steps to implement the Theory of Change, and is honored to work with Ford, Robert Wood Johnson and other foundations to build a new organization focused on disability inclusion in philanthropy.

Emily was the founding Executive Director of ADA 25 Advancing Leadership (now Disability Lead), the nation’s first disability civic leadership program. As a Senior Director at the Chicago Community Trust, she led ADA 25 Chicago, and engaged more than 200 local organizations in doing one thing to advance disability inclusion in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At the Trust, she also directed the Disabilities Fund, and facilitated a roundtable multi-sector coalition to advance equity in the construction industry. As Vice President of Metropolis Strategies, Emily focused on regional economic growth, open space conservation, early childhood education policy, and served as Executive Director of the Burnham Plan Centennial. Through her consulting firm, Harris Strategies LLC, Emily helped non-profit organizations, public agencies, businesses and philanthropies to develop strategic plans and move their ideas to action.

Emily earned a B.A. from Oberlin College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. She serves on the Forest Preserves of Cook County Conservation and Policy Council, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Chicago Advisory Board, and is President of the Board of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation. A member of Disability Lead, she is proud to be a part of the disability community.