The Chicago Network (TCN) is an American membership organization founded in 1979, for professional women in the Chicago metropolitan area who have reached the highest echelons of business, the arts, government, the professions and academia.
The goal of TCN is to provide a forum for friendship, to provide mutual support and counsel for member careers and to raise awareness of professional, political and social issues facing women. Each year, TCN publishes The Chicago Network Census to document the progress of women business leaders in Chicago's fifty largest public companies, as well as its largest nonprofit organizations. Currently, TCN has approximately 415 members.
Kate Bensen was named TCN's second executive director in April 2010, succeeding Amy Osler, who held the post for nearly 29 years. Bensen was previously a vice president at Conlon Public Strategies and a partner at Schiff Hardin LLP. A graduate of the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, Bensen has served as chair of the University of Chicago Women's Board and president of both the Chicago Finance Exchange and University of Chicago Alumni Board of Governors.