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Gerald “Jerry” W. Adelmann is an American civic and environmental leader. Adelmann currently serves as the President and CEO of Openlands, a Chicago-based non-profit conservation organization founded in 1963 that protects land, water, and wildlife throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Previously, he served as the President of The Canal Corridor Association, leading an effort to establish the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Area.

Early life and education
Jerry Adelmann was born and raised in Lockport, Illinois and is a sixth-generation resident. He graduated from Joliet Catholic High School in 1967, then attended Georgetown University, where he was the first graduate with a major in the history of art and architecture, earning a BA degree in 1971. As part of his undergraduate honors thesis, he worked with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to support an exhibit on the art of Romaine Brooks, an American-born artist who lived most of her life in Paris. After graduation, he spent several years in Europe and took classes in architectural and urban history at the Sorbonne. During this time, he became interested in European models of landscape-scale conservation and historic preservation, especially the reuse and modernization of buildings.

Upon his return to the U.S. in 1973, he enrolled at George Washington University with the support of a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Smithsonian, and eventually earned an MPhil degree in American Studies in 1985. He received an honorary doctorate from Lewis University in 1986.

Canal Corridor Association and Lockport Historic Preservation
In 1980, Adelmann partnered with the Open Lands Project (later Openlands). In 1982, Adelmann founded the Upper Illinois Valley Association, which was later renamed the Canal Corridor Association. Two years later, the association’s work led to federal designation of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Area, the first of 62 federally-protected National Heritage Areas in the U.S. Before and during his tenure at Canal Corridor Association, Adelmann also worked to preserve historic sites in Lockport, including Central Square, the Gaylord Building, and the Adelmann Block.

Openlands
In 1988, Adelmann assumed the role of executive director of Openlands and was later named its president and CEO. Under Adelmann’s leadership, Openlands experienced a period of expanded growth and influence by fostering a collective approach to environmental stewardship through collaborations with diverse stakeholders, including governmental bodies, local communities, environmental advocates, and private sector partners.

Adelmann played a leadership role in the founding of Chicago Wilderness Alliance, a coalition of over 250 partner organizations encompassing roughly 6,000 conservation practitioners across the region. He led the creation of several Openlands initiatives focused on improving ecosystems in the City of Chicago, including Treekeepers (1991), and Space to Grow (2014).

Adelmann collaborated on several major Chicago regional planning initiatives, including the the 21st Century Open Space Plan (1990), The Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways Plan (1992), the Northeastern Illinois Water Trails Plan (1999), the Calumet Area Land Use Plan (1999), and Where Worlds Connect: A New Vision for Chicago’s Museum Campus (2022).

Adelmann has chaired the City of Chicago’s Nature and Wildlife Committee and served as Chair and Vice Chair at the Center for Humans and Nature. He is emeritus member of National Board of Advisors of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He also served as the Vice Chair of the board of the Illinois State Museum and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.

Collaborations with China and Myanmar
In the 1990s, Adelmann worked on historical preservation and conservation projects in Yunnan Province in China under the Center for US-China Arts Exchange at Columbia University, where he served on their advisory board then headed by Professor Chou Wen-chung. He brought collaborators to the project including The Field Museum of Natural History and the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and many others.

He facilitated collaborations between local art scenes and governmental bodies in Beijing and Chicago, including the art installation “City Windows” by Qiao Xiaoguang at O’Hare International Airport depicting paper cut outs of Chicago and Beijing landmarks.

Since 2005, Adelmann has served as an international advisor to the Yangon Heritage Trust in Myanmar, which works on the comprehensive planning of the historical capital including the preservation of buildings in the historical core of Yangon.

Awards and Recognition

 * 2023 Openlands Conservation Leadership Award
 * 2023 Crain’s Chicago Business Notable Leader in Sustainability
 * 2013 Frances K. Hutchinson Medal, Garden Club of America, for distinguished service to conservation
 * 2012 Chicago Botanical Gardens Chicago Botanic Garden Hutchinson Medal
 * 2002 Kodak American Greenways Outstanding Achievement Award

Selected publications

 * Adelmann, Gerald, and Rochelle Davis (2015). “Green Schoolyards: A Growing Movement Supporting Health, Education and Connection with Nature.” Edited by Claire Marcy and Jaime Zaplatosch. Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands.
 * Adelmann, Gerald (1998). “Reworking the Landscape, Chicago Style.” The Hastings Center Report 28, no. 6 (1998): S6–11.
 * Davis, Rochelle, and Gerald Adelmann (7 June 2022). “Is It Time to Reimagine the American Schoolyard?” Next City.
 * Adelmann, Gerald (30 March 2023) “Opinion: The next mayoral administration must take the environment off the back burner,” Crain’s Chicago Business.
 * Adelmann, Gerald, Judy Pollock, Annette Prince and Douglas Stotz (14 March 2022), “A Casino on Chicago’s lakefront? That’s a deadly gamble for migratory birds,” Chicago Tribune.
 * "Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Yunnan Province," published by the Center for US-China Arts Exchange.
 * Stotz, Douglas F, Emily J Harris, Debra K Moskovits, Ken Hao, Shaoliang Yi, and Gerald W Adelmann, editors (April 2003) "Rapid Biological and Social Inventories, Volume 4: China: Yunnan, Southern Gaoligongshan," The Field Museum of Natural History.