Colleen D. Egan

Executive Director

Colleen serves as the Executive Director of Chicago Community Sculling. Prior to CCS, she served as President and CEO of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, leading tech based economic development across the state.  A former Registered Nurse, turned serial entrepreneur, she has been a founder, co-founder and C-Suite executive leading numerous companies across multiple sectors. She’s a founding member of The Women In Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University (WEI) and is an angel investor in women led startups. She serves on multiple boards, councils, committees, and mentoring organizations including Chicago Tech Academy, Chicago Innovation, Chicago:Blend, Current Blue Economy Advisory Council, and U.S. Congresswoman Robin Kelly’s (IL-02) LGBTQ task force. 

She speaks regularly on youth development, entrepreneurship, women’s economic empowerment, STEM education, and LGTQIA issues and has been recognized for her work receiving the 2018 Illinois Technology Association Prominent Woman in Tech award, 2018 Connected World Woman of IoT award, Crain’s Chicago Business Notable LGBTQ Executive in 2018, 2019 and 2021, the Irish Echo Community Champion award in 2022 and Chicago Innovation’s Woman in Innovation award in 2024.