2026 Grand Marshal: Kelsey LeFevour
Kelsey LeFevour is the Manager of the Adaptive Sports Program at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, where she and an incredible team provide year-round adaptive sports and recreation opportunities for youth and adults with physical disabilities. As a Chicago native, Kelsey is passionate about the ways sport can be a catalyst to build confidence, foster independence and create community for people with disabilities in her own hometown. Her work includes collaborations with community organizations, healthcare providers, and national partners to expand adaptive sports opportunities and create pathways for lifelong participation. 
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Kelsey first discovered adaptive sports through the very program she now leads. As a high school student, she was introduced to adaptive skiing, SCUBA diving, and a memorable rafting and camping trip on the Colorado River. Those experiences transformed her understanding of what was possible, and today she is proud to help create those same opportunities for others. Empowered by her own lived experience as a woman with a disability, she believes disability is an identity to be celebrated and that when barriers are removed and opportunities are created, people have the chance to pursue lives defined by their own goals, choices and aspirations. 

Kelsey earned her bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and Communication and master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a student-athlete, she competed in both wheelchair basketball and wheelchair track and field before dedicating her athletic career to the track. A two-time Paralympian, she represented Team USA in para track and field at the 2016 Rio and 2020 TokyoParalympic Games.

Outside of work, Kelsey enjoys exploring the trails with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s adaptive mountain bike program, finding time to ski each winter, and searching for her next live concert or favorite neighborhood coffee shop in Chicago.

Past Grand Marshals
2004 Yoshiko Dart
2005 Steven Brown
2006 Robert David Hall
2007 Kathy Martinez
2008 Tony Coelho
2009 Amber Smock
2010 Eli Clare
2011 Catherine Odette
2012 Linda E. Miller
2013 Karen Meyer
2014 Gary Arnold
2015 Senator Tom Harkin
2016 Kris Lenzo
2017 Karen Tamley (with husband Kevin Irvine and daughter Dominika Tamley)
2018 Brittany Renee King
2019 Ginger Lane
No in-person parades were held in 2020 or 2021, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Various online events were held, instead.
2022 Alec Cabacungan
2023 Constantine "Gus" Zografopoulos
2024 Genevieve Ramos 
2025 Rachel Arfa