Darnell Shields
Executive Director
A passionate builder of relationships and innovative developments, Darnell is a lifelong Austin resident and co-owner of HairTech the Salon, a local business he started with his wife.
In 2010, Darnell joined ACT as a volunteer, helping the organization improve its technology and business operations. It wasn’t long after that he was offered a full-time position moving him from IT to Director of Operations and in 2016, the board nominated him to become the Executive Director of ACT. Throughout his time at ACT, Darnell has been able to galvanize hundreds of organizations and community leaders to take on Austin’s challenges with passion and commitment. In 2022, ACT was named Nonprofit Of The Year by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Chicago as a result of ACT’s excellence, accomplishments, leadership, and community impact.
Under his leadership, ACT has helped the Austin community become a United Way Neighborhood Network, where ACT leads a community hub initiative to develop a referral network of service providers that will help maximize social supports for Austin residents. ACT has also led an unprecedented effort in partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC Chicago) to bring together over 500 Austin community stakeholders to design and publish ‘Austin Forward. Together.’ (AFT) the Austin community’s first-ever quality-of-life plan. The plan is a five-year comprehensive strategy comprised of 23 strategies and 80+ actions to address seven issue areas identified by the community: Community Narrative, Economic Development, Education, Housing, Public Safety, Youth Empowerment, and Civic Engagement.
Since publishing the plan, ACT and AFT have received four awards for excellence and attracted over $50 million in new investments toward plan implementation in just under four years.
Darnell holds two Associate degrees from Wilbur Wright-City Colleges of Chicago (Applied Sciences & Liberal Arts) and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was named an inaugural Fellow of the Civic Leadership Academy at Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago in 2015. In addition to this distinction, Darnell has received the following awards: the Community Leadership Award in 2017 from the United Way of Metro Chicago, the Martin Luther King – Keepers Of The Dream Award in 2019 from the Leaders Network, the 2019 Community Service Award by the Austin African American Business Networking Association, recognized by the Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management as one of the top 20 nonprofit executives who demonstrate outstanding work, service, and leadership in the nonprofit sector in 2019, and named a 2022 Notable Black Leader and Executive by Crain’s Business Chicago. He was also designated as Co-Chair of Mayor Lightfoot’s Business, Economic and Neighborhood Development Transition Committee and honored with the Mayor’s Medal Of Honor in recognition of his leadership as a founding member of the city’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Team.
Darnell currently serves as Vice Chairman on the board of directors of the Jane Addams Resource Corporation and is a board member of several other organizations including Friends of the Children’s Chicago chapter, AMPT, The Austin Renaissance Council, and Growing Community Media.
(773) 417-8613
dshields@austincomingtogether.org
