Barbara Gaines is the founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she has directed more than 30 of Shakespeare's plays. Honors include: the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre; and Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production (Hamlet, Cymbeline, King Lear and The Comedy of Errors), and for Best Director (Cymbeline, King Lear and The Comedy of Errors). In 2005, Ms. Gaines was awarded the prestigious Honorary OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her contributions strengthening British-American cultural relations. She received the Public Humanities Award from the Illinois Humanities Council, and is the recipient of the Spirit of Loyola Award. Ms. Gaines received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Dominican University and this spring received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Lake Forest College. Ms. Gaines serves on the Shakespearean Council of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and is a Life Trustee of Northwestern University. She is a member of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Board for the City of Chicago and has served on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts.