Alaina J. Harkness

Alaina leads Current, the Chicago-based water innovation hub, and Great Lakes RENEW, the National Science Foundation-supported Great Lakes Water Innovation Engine. Prior, she held impactful roles at the John D. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation, the Brookings Institution, RW Ventures, and the Chicago Community Trust. She has published commentary for the Brookings Institution, Chicago Tribune, CityLab, Crain’s, and the San Francisco Federal Reserve. Alaina holds appointments to the Illinois Workforce Investment Board and the Illinois Energy Workforce Advisory Council, and serves as an advisory board member of the Prairie Research Institute. She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, a Crain’s Notable Leader in Sustainability (2024), and a 2014 fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago.