Excellence in Governance - 2022

Richardson has served for 18 years on the board of Advocate Aurora and its predecessor entities. She is founder and president of Higher Education Advocates, which helps students navigate the college admissions process. Her board work began in 2004 at a small community hospital then operated by Advocate Health Care. In 2018, Advocate and Aurora Health Care merged to create Advocate Aurora. Richardson was a key player in creating what is now a 26-hospital, $13 billion system. She was named chair earlier this year after advising on a number of initiatives, including the creation of Chicago’s South Side Healthy Community Organization, a collaboration with a dozen care providers to address health challenges facing the city’s South Side. She also helped create inclusion councils and hiring initiatives that doubled Advocate Aurora’s pool of diverse job candidates in the past three years.