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Gerald “Jerry” W. Adelmann is an American civic and environmental leader. Adelmann served as the director, and later the President and CEO, of Openlands between 1988 and 2023. Previously, he served as the President of The Canal Corridor Association.

Career

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.

Adelmann played a leadership role in founding the 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 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.

References

1. "Jerry Adelmann to retire as President and CEO of Openlands this year". Openlands. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
2. Legner, Linda (March 1982). “National Park Here? Why Not, says Chicago’s Super-Salesman,” Historic Preservation, Vol. 34., Issue 2, pp. 26-31. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
3. Malone-France, Katherine (17 March 2015),""All in the Family: Barbara Donnelley Dishes About Lockport's Gaylord Building,"". National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2023-10-30. U.S. Department of the Interior, Historic Conservation and Recreation Service (1980).""Lockport, Illinois: an HCRS Project Report."" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-10-30. Sullivan, Barbara (30 January 1993).""Place with a Past,"". Chicago Tribune. 30 January 1993. Chicago Tribune.
4. Platt, Rutherford (17 May 2006).""Chicago Wilderness: Flagship of the Urban Biodiversity Movement."" (PDF).
5. "Chicago Making Up For Lost Time To Replace Trees - CBS Chicago". Cbsnews. 27 May 2014.
6. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crain-twi-download/1058201/field_issue_upload
7. ^ "Gerald Adelmann". Columbia.edu.
8. "FORESTS, PRAIRIES AND THE GREAT LAKES". Northern Illinois University.
9. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4823186.pdf
10. https://www.csu.edu/cerc/documents/calumetarealanduseplan.pdf
11. "Gerald W. Adelmann". Center for Humans and Nature.
12. https://www.asla.org/IndividualAward.aspx?id=3814
13. "Jerry Adelmann: The Natural". Classic Chicago Magazine. 1 July 2016.
14. https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/inpc/documents/239-agenda.pdf
15. Center for US-China Arts Exchange, ""Weishan City and Heritage Valley Project."".
16. Bross, Judy Carmack (14 October 2023).""Jerry Adelmann: Generosity of Professional Spirit,"". 14 October 2023. Classic Chicago Magazine. Vitali, Marc and Linda Qiu (12 May 2015)
17. ""Art of Papercutting Opens Window into China and Chicago,"". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
18. Bowman, Dale (2 June 2023).""Openlands' Jerry Adelmann follows long journey while staying close to his roots,"". 2 June 2023. Chicago Sun-Times.

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• American civil rights activists
• American environmentalists
• Living people