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Fay Hartog-Levin

Distinguished Fellow; Council Board Member

Council expert Fay Hartog-Levin

About Fay Hartog-Levin

Fay Hartog-Levin is a distinguished fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where she works on a variety of political, international, and environmental issues. She also serves as a trustee of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in Baltimore, MD. From 2013 to 2017 she was a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, teaching a course on federalism and state social policy.

From 2009-2011, she was the 65th ambassador of the United States of America to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In that capacity, she was chief of mission of an embassy which included 15 federal agencies, 4 locations, and over 250 employees.

Prior to her appointment as ambassador, Hartog-Levin was a senior consultant at Res Publica Group, a public relations and government affairs consultancy in Chicago. At Res Publica, she advised clients on all aspects of internal and external communications and relationship building, emphasizing the nonprofit and cultural sector.

Previously, at Chicago's Field Museum, Hartog-Levin served on the executive management team as vice president of external affairs. In that capacity, she led the museum's campaign for public funding. She also was the museum's liaison to all city, state, and federal governments and led the museum's outreach activities to a variety of community organization.

Ambassador Hartog-Levin began her career as a legal advisor at the Illinois State Board of Education, advising the state superintendent and regional superintendents of education on the interpretation and application of the Illinois School Code. In private practice, she joined the law firm Seyfarth Shaw, representing primarily school boards, private and public colleges, and social service agencies. She published many articles and was a frequent speaker on a variety of topics related to school and employment law, and crisis management.

Ambassador Hartog-Levin is a member of the board of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, WWCI (WTTW-WFMT), the Foundation for the National Archives, Washington, DC, and the Roosevelt Institute, New York, New York. She is a member of the Harris School of Public Policy's Leadership Council, the board of the American Friends of the Mauritshuis, and the board of Netherlands-America Foundation.

Previously, Hartog-Levin was a member of the Arts Alliance Illinois board of directors, and served as its chairman. She also served on the board of trustees of the Merit School of Music, DePaul University, and Columbia College Chicago.

Ambassador Hartog-Levin was honored with the Illinois Arts Alliance's "Citizen Advocate Award" in 2013 and was the 2016 recipient of Loyola Law School's Damen Award for distinguished community service. In 2018, the King of the Netherlands awarded her the royal decoration of Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for her commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationships between the United States and the Netherlands.

Ambassador Hartog-Levin is a graduate of Northwestern University with a BA in Russian language and literature. She received her JD from Loyola University School of Law, and an honorary LLM from Knox College in 2017.