Nathaniel Ekman is the Director of Development for Equality Illinois. He brings to his role more than 20 years of experience as an executive director, fundraiser, and consultant to nonprofits. A mission-driven, community-minded leader, Nathaniel has spent his career helping society’s most underserved groups, including people with mental illness and related disabilities. He is a nationwide mental health advocate, has led support groups for individuals in recovery, was Vice President of the Board and Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Cook County North Suburban, and speaks publicly through NAMI’s signature speakers’ bureau, In Our Own Voice. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the Chicago Dance Health Fund, which supports a healthy and thriving dance community at the intersection of health care, philanthropy, and the arts.

He has done extensive work in strategic planning, board development, and policy implementation with organizations across Illinois and beyond. Nathaniel’s background includes membership in the NorthShore University Health System Community Advisory Committee and in the Advocate Aurora Health Community Health Council. He is a past Chair of the Skokie Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Roundtable. From 2015 – 2018, he served on the board of Angles for Sexual Health, Identity, and Education, and played a leading role in the organization’s merger with Youth Services of Glenview / Northbrook. He is a 2010 Fellow of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Chicago Chapter.

Nathaniel holds a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Northwestern and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Harvard.