B i o g r a p h y
Shermin Kruse is an accomplished Chicago attorney, law professor, and thought leader with a long history of civic engagement.
Shermin Kruse has nearly two decades of experience working in strategic development, advocacy, brand protection, and dispute resolution as an attorney for international and Fortune 500 Companies, as well as a decade of parallel experience developing innovative fundraising plans, providing operational and leadership consulting, and producing thought-leadership events including TEDx conferences. In addition, she is a professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, teaching Cross-Border Transactions in the fall and 21st Century Leadership in the fall of 2020 and Leadership in the spring of 2021, among other courses.
Ms. Kruse is a frequent speaker on issues relating to change-agency, operational management, diversity and inclusion, complex negotiation, leadership and professional development, international relations, non-profit management, and civil and human rights.
In addition to authoring “Butterfly Stitching,” Ms. Kruse is also a contributing author for a variety of publications and journals and is frequently the subject of news and magazine articles. Ms. Kruse was recently named as the 2018 Woman Extraordinaire by the International Women Associates, featured by WomanScape Magazine for her global humanitarian work, and named one of the nation’s top 100 “Women to Watch” by BizWomen Magazine, one of Chicago’s most influential women by Chicago Business Journal, and one of Chicago’s Women of Inspiration by Today’s Chicago Magazine.
Dedicated to her local and global community, Ms. Kruse is a founder of Pasfarda Arts and Culture Exchange, a director of the ACLU of Illinois, a director of the international refugee center RefuSHE, and a founding member of the Chicago Council for the American Writers Museum.
Kruse's novel, Butterfly Stitching, was inspired by the true experiences of herself and the women in her family and circle of friends. The book remained in the “Top 10 Rated” and “Top Twenty Best Seller” lists by Amazon in the category of Middle East Literature every day for approximately eight months months.