A Watershed Moment: Shedd Aquarium Celebrates Momentum for its Strategic Plan and for Chicago

Bridget C. Coughlin, PhD serves as President & CEO of Shedd Aquarium, providing strategic vision, oversight and direction to all activities and initiatives for the world-class institution. Her experience is dedicated to stewarding the legacy of the historic aquarium while accelerating its mission to meet the needs of today’s world. 

Upon joining the aquarium, Dr. Coughlin led the organization through a strategic planning effort, launching Shedd’s Centennial Commitment in 2022 to evolve and modernize the aquarium experience while simultaneously investing in more conservation science, environmental education programs and community partnerships. This strategic plan will take the aquarium to its centennial year in 2030 and prepare Shedd for the next 100 years of mission impact. Her strong passion for conservation of the animal world coupled with her business acumen and running $500M of endowment investments helped Shedd Aquarium establish an ESG investment private equity portfolio dedicated to environmental companies. 

Dr. Coughlin is a deeply respected voice in Chicago’s civic, cultural and business communities. She is a member of the Chicago Commercial Club, the Executives Club of Chicago and the Chicago Club and serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Economic Club. She serves on the Advisory Board for After School Matters and has been recognized for her leadership with several accolades, including Crain’s Chicago Business’s “Who’s Who” list and “Women of Note” distinctions. 

Dr. Coughlin is also sought out as a leader in the conservation community. This includes serving on the Board of Directors for organizations like Alaska Sea Life Center, visiting legislators in Washington D.C. to advise on conservation policy needs and keynoting internationally recognized conferences like Aspen Ideas: Climate, alongside Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. She has worked on large science policy reports while at the National Academy of Sciences and held research grants from the National Institutes of Health. 

Both professionally and personally, Dr. Coughlin is passionate about the need to encourage greater representation in leadership and in STEM careers. This led her to become an ambassador through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN program, where she has been a mentor for young people to envision themselves as future leaders and scientists. Her involvement in this mentorship program has led to several exciting and highly visible moments including a feature in Marie Claire Magazine and a life-size 3-D printed sculpture of Dr. Coughlin being installed alongside others at the Smithsonian Museum to honor Women’s History Month. 

Dr. Coughlin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Knox College, and a doctorate in biochemistry and infectious diseases from the University of Iowa where she was a Howard Hughes Medical fellow. She enjoys all types of outdoor activities, clocks lots of vertical feet skiing, and hiking and relaxes but looking at life beneath the water line while floating and snorkeling. She, her husband and three boys own dozens of board games and play them regularly with a healthy dose of loving competition.