Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, will talk to the Cigar Society about the history of the Chicago River and its present-day meaning to the City. 

Ms. Frisbie has been working to improve water-quality standards for the Chicago River system, guide responsible river-corridor development, and establish relationships with civic, corporate, and government leaders throughout the Chicago River watershed since she joined Friends of the Chicago River as executive director in 2005.  In this position, Frisbie has led the charge for new clean-water standards for the Chicago River system; initiated the Chicago River Blue project to educate, encourage, and reward developers, architects, and designers who employ river-sensitive tactics in developing or redeveloping sites along the Chicago and Calumet river systems.  She also created the Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel, in order to demonstrate that healthy habitats can exist in a built environment; launched the Chicago River Flatwater Classic, downtown Chicago’s first canoe and kayak race; and created the McCormick Bridge House and Chicago River Museum on the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

Frisbie is also a member of the board of directors of Friends of the Forest Preserves, where she is chair of the board governance committee, and is a member of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Council Technical and Policy Work Group and the Illinois River Coordinating Council. In 2010, the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago named Frisbie a Roman Nomitch Fellow.  Each year the HBS Club awards these fellowships to a select group of Chicago’s leading non-profit executives.  The Fellowships allow them to attend at no cost Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives for Non-Profit Managers course held on the School’s campus each July.