BIO
Christopher Nelson, 49, has served as village president (mayor) of the Village of West Dundee since 2013. President Nelson serves as the head of government for this suburban Chicago community of 8,000 with an annual operating budget of $10 million.
As a function of his elected role, President Nelson serves on a variety of boards, including those of the Illinois Municipal League (IML), Metro Mayor’s Caucus (MMC), the Kane-Kendall Council of Mayors, Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC), and the Metro West Council of Governments. Nationally, President Nelson is an active member of the National League of Cities (NLC), serving on both the Information Technology and the Small Cities committees.
Prior to his election in West Dundee, President Nelson worked in administration in local government for a decade, specifically in the Illinois communities of Sycamore, Schaumburg, and Hoffman Estates.
During his tenure in West Dundee, President Nelson helped to obtain a $50 million renovation of the Spring Hill Mall, a regional shopping center that is the economic center of northern Kane County. Overall, President Nelson and his team at West Dundee have attracted more than $325 million in private investment in the community, comprised in part by the recruitment of three corporate (North American) headquarters for multinational firms as well as the substantial renovation of West Dundee’s historic downtown.
President Nelson is also a board member of the Dundee Township Boys and Girls Club and the NIU Political Science Department Advisory Commission. He is the immediate past-president of the Grand Pointe Meadows Homeowners Association, where he remains on the board.
Additionally, in 2013, President Nelson was also selected as a Fellow for World Business Chicago, the economic development arm of the City of Chicago. In 2014, President Nelson received the “Service Above Self Award” from Rotary International’s Dundee chapter.
And, in 2018, President Nelson received the Daniel Witt Service Award from the Northern Illinois University Department of Political Science. The award recognizes President Nelson’s continued contribution to the political science educational mission of the department.
In addition to his duties at West Dundee, President Nelson currently serves at Comcast as Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs for the Greater Chicago Region. Having been with the company since 2003, President Nelson is a member of a team that coordinates relations between Comcast and communities in the suburbs of Chicago, in addition to a multitude of legislative districts.
A native of the Chicago area, President Nelson received both his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and his Master's in Municipal Management from Northern Illinois University. He is married with two daughters.