Nancy Paridy

Nancy E. Paridy, JD, LLM President & Chief Administrative Officer Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Nancy Paridy, JD, LLM, is a healthcare executive who brings diverse experience and insights to her multifaceted role. Nancy serves as President & Chief Administrative Officer at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). For more than 30 years, Nancy has held various roles with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the global leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation for adults and children with the most severe, complex conditions. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab has been named the #1 rehabilitation hospital by U.S. News & World Report every year since 1991. Nancy became General Counsel of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in 1995. In addition to her role as an executive leadership member, she remains the General Counsel, Corporate Secretary as well as responsible for various areas including government affairs, community affairs, corporate compliance and integrity, ethics, facilities, environment of care, security, and food/nutrition. In addition, she led Human Resources for approximately ten years until October 2024 in order to focus on the strategic growth initiatives. Nancy’s leadership in healthcare and law has been honored through various awards. Most recently, she has been named twice as one of the 2025 Chicago Titan 100, an award that recognizes the city’s most accomplished business leaders in their industry. In 2021, Nancy was named as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and to the National Law Journal’s list of Healthcare/Life Sciences Trailblazers. In 2020, she was a winner of the Salute! Women in Law Awards, which recognizes the top 50 exceptional women lawyers nationwide. She also received the Top Women Lawyers in Leadership Award from the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois in 2018, which recognizes elite women lawyers who have created growth in their field and fostered new pathways through mentoring. In addition, she received the First Chair Award for “Top General Counsel” in its inaugural year, 2011, and again in 2016. Nancy has also served and chaired various Boards including but not limited to Loyola Academy and Georgetown’s School of Health. In addition, she has taught at Northwestern University School of Law, Loyola University School of Law and speaks extensively on various healthcare issues as well as leadership and career development.