About
Us
We are a transformative organization invested in the advancement
of women’s leadership, now and in the future.
Our Story
Lincoln Road Enterprises (LRE) is a transformative organization. We’re invested in creating a better world for everyone. We think that starts by recognizing, valuing, and (most of all) using the innate gifts women bring to leadership.
Our vision is a future in which women are at the forefront of business, science, design, technology, and discovery. We think we can make that happen by supporting new talent, improving systems, and encouraging bold ideas. We think it must happen now because we can’t address all the issues humanity must if we ignore half of what humanity has to offer.
Women matter. We’ve always had the capacities—the heart and intellect—to take on big challenges and ask tough questions. And, as daughters, sisters, mothers and partners, we’ve always cared deeply about making the world better. It’s who we are and what we do.
And now, it’s time.
OUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP—NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
- Vision + Ideas
- Energy + Direction
- Influence + Power
- Human Capital
- Partnerships
- Financial Capital
Our Founder
Ann Drake is President and Founder of Lincoln Road Enterprises, an operational philanthropic organization focused on elevating women’s leadership and creating a future in which women are at the forefront of improving the world we live in. Lincoln Road advances key initiatives and affiliated nonprofits with the purpose of impacting women’s leadership in the following fields: business, global supply chain, engineering and technology, infrastructure and design, and space and astrophysics. Ann has been recognized as one of the country’s leading women executives, honored for her vision and ability to engage others in meaningful dialogue and collaboration toward positive change.
Before launching Lincoln Road Enterprises, Ann was Chairman and CEO of DSC Logistics, an innovative supply chain and logistics management partner to some of the world’s leading companies. Under her guidance, DSC helped transform the business of supply chain management from a commodity service into a critical business strategy based on collaborative partnerships. Ann founded AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management and Education) in 2013, which is today the preeminent community for senior women in supply chain.
Recognizing and elevating the role of women has been a passion of Ann’s most of her life. “I’ve been interested in women in business for more than 30 years,” she says, “because I saw how often the gifts, insight and drive women possess weren’t getting utilized. I realized I wanted to throw my wholehearted support behind helping women succeed in areas that I think are crucial to shaping our future—and making that future better for everyone.”
Envisioning the future as a world without barriers to excellence, one in which women’s particular contributions are recognized and valued in making the world a better place, Ann founded the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay, located on the shores of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. Designed by Studio Gang, led by award-winning architect Jeanne Gang, the center will encourage innovation by bringing together accomplished women in an extraordinary space dedicated to collaborating and generating solutions to complex problems. The center is scheduled to open in 2025.
Ann is a graduate of the University of Iowa and received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
ANN DRAKE’S AWARDS
- Salzberg Medallion for Lifetime Achievement—Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University (2019)
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award—Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (2018)
- Luminary Award as Entrepreneurial Champion—Committee of 200 (2018)
- Schultz Award (for advancing women in transportation and logistics)—McCormick School, Northwestern University (2015)
- “Women Who Make a Difference” Award—International Women’s Forum (IWF) (2014)
- Distinguished Service Award—Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) (2012)
- “Industry Leader of the Year”—Illinois Institute of Technology (2009)
AREAS OF SERVICE
- Kellogg School Global Advisory Board—Northwestern University
- Board of Trustees—New World Symphony, Miami Beach
- Board of Trustees—Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
- Civic Committee Transportation Task Force (an affiliate of the Commercial Club of Chicago)
- Board of Trustees—Chicago Architecture Center
- Past Member, Board of Governors—Chicago Metropolitan Planning Council
- Past Member, Board of Directors—A.M. Castle Company
- Past Member, Board of Governors—Committee of 200
- Former Vice Chair, Business Advisory Council—Northwestern University Transportation Center (NUTC)
Our Inspiration
To us, Lincoln Road is more than a destination. It’s also an inspiration—an idea, a way of being, a kind of spirit and spark.
Before it was any of those things, though, Lincoln Road was . . . well, just a road. It began in 1912 as a thoroughfare carved through tangled mangrove forest. Miami then was a city of just a few thousand souls. The original Lincoln Road cut a route from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to Biscayne Bay on the west, through what would become the famed South Beach neighborhood.
Years of expansion and struggle followed, as Lincoln Road endured a building rush, the Great Depression, hurricanes, world wars, decline and renewal. In the 1950s, architect Morris Lapidus reimagined Lincoln Road as an iconic urban zone encompassing fountains, gardens, luxury stores, and fine dining. He transformed Lincoln Road into one of the first pedestrian districts in the nation.
Today, Lincoln Road is celebrated for its unique blend of culture, commerce, architecture, and history. Called by some “the heart and soul of Miami Beach,” Lincoln Road was named to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It pulses with energy 24 hours a day, fueled by restaurants, luxury stores, cafes, open public spaces, and art galleries. Just as important, Lincoln Road is where the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center lives. This extraordinary venue is home to the New World Symphony, a post-graduate orchestra academy under the direction of Grammy-winning conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. In this way—by weaving together public spaces encouraging engagement, expression and interaction—Lincoln Road has come to exemplify the potential for continual urban transformation.
Simply, Lincoln Road is a place that celebrates the art of the possible—where creativity flourishes, where beauty meets boundless energy, where walls come down and dreams rise. It is a place dedicated to transformation and culture and making new things happen—to people realizing their potential. Just as women now are claiming their gifts, challenging boundaries, expressing new ideas, and taking risks, so is boldness honored here. This place has become a national symbol of imagination, invention, renewal, and reinvention.
On Lincoln Road—as it is when women take their place in the world as leaders—anything and everything can happen.