Neighborhood
Event Schedule
We are still finalizing plans with some of our fabulous speakers. The schedule below is subject to change.
9:00 am – Opening Plenary • Feinberg Theater
Monday, September 29
6:00 pm – Welcome Reception • Gallery 10Tuesday, September 30
8:15 am – Registration & Breakfast • The Landing9:00 am – Opening Plenary • Feinberg Theater
Welcome to Chicago, a mirror of the American economy showcasing the opportunities and challenges we face together.
Allison Clark
MacArthur Foundation
David Erickson
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Jahmal Cole
My Block, My Hood, My City
Heather Worthington
Urban3, formerly City of Minneapolis
Tim Soerens
Neighborhood Economics
Rosa Lee Harden
Neighborhood Economics
11:00 am – Refreshment Break • The Landing
10:45 am – Breakouts
CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Finance Academy Offers Training to Equip Communities
Meet the training initiative equipping entrepreneurs and organizers with the know-how to reverse disinvestment through community-led systems change.
Stephanie Swepson Twitty
Eagle Market Streets Dev. Corp.
Stephen Shaff
Community Vision Solutions
Bill Huston
CrowdMax
Rebecca Melançon
Local Business Institute
CATALYTIC CAPITAL
New Ways for Individuals to Invest in Local Communities
New tools are channeling retirement savings and philanthropy into local entrepreneurs and community wealth.
Chris Miller
NC3
Michael Shuman
Main Street Journal
Brent Forsberg
Holmes & Pleasant Grove
Pierre Clark
NuMillennium
HEALTH
Soft Capital to Make Owning a Home Affordable
Empower families to build equity from day one with soft capital models that lower barriers to home ownership.
Derek Peebles
American Sustainable Business Network
Steve Wanta
JUST Community
Sam Centellas
CDFI Friendly South Bend
Aisha Weeks
Dearfield Fund
11:45 am – Lunch on Your Own • Recommendations coming soon
1:00 pm – Breakouts
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Weaving the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Discover how connecting Chicago’s entrepreneurs, resources, and partners can transform a fragmented system into a thriving ecosystem.
Pamela Roussos
WeavingImpact
Jay Nwachu
Innovation Works, Ignite Capital
Jahmal Cole
My Block, My Hood, My City
Megan Christenson
REDF
CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Drawing on Old Ideas to Put New Money into Neighborhoods
Join the movement transforming a popular collaborative savings practice with an infusion of tech and new partnerships.
Steve Wanta
JUST Community
Olena Borova
Community Investment Trust
CATALYTIC CAPITAL / ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Nonprofits’ Path to Freedom
Turn government funding cuts into opportunity for your nonprofit by making the transition to more resilient earned-income funding models.
Stephanie Swepson Twitty
Eagle Market Streets Dev. Corp.
Charlie Uihlein
Teens Grow Greens
2:00 pm – Plenary • Feinberg Theater
Repairing local economies will not happen overnight. Let’s explore the breakthroughs and triumphs of steadfast work over decades.
Jonathan Brooks
Lawndale Christian Community Church
Kevin Jones
Neighborhood Economics
Lyneir Richardson
Chicago TREND
David Bank
ImpactAlpha
Chris Miller
NC3
Napoleon Wallace
Partners in Equity
David Doig
Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives
Richard Townsell
Lawndale Christian Development Corporation
3:30 pm – Refreshment Break • The Landing
4:00 pm – Breakouts
4:00 pm – Breakouts
CATALYTIC CAPITAL / REAL ESTATE
Neighborhood Economics Tools to Take Home
There is now a playbook for economic justice solutions. The answers for creating thriving communities are proven and ready to be applied locally in your hometown.
Lindsay Smalling
Mission Driven Finance
David Bank
ImpactAlpha
Lyneir Richardson
Chicago TREND
Talib Graves-Mann
Partners in Equity
FAITH / HEALTH
The Lawndale Miracle
Uncover lessons from a profound Chicago case study: the transformation of North Lawndale through faith-based institutions partnering for community development.
Jonathan Brooks
Lawndale Christian Community Church
Richard Townsell
Lawndale Christian Development Corporation
Whittney Smith
Lawndale Christian Development Corporation
REAL ESTATE
Unfair Taxes Can Be Made Fair For Everyone
Poor neighborhoods routinely subsidize the property taxes of affluent ones. But in Chicago, the tax assessor and a leading analyst firm are working to make taxes fair throughout Chicago.
Heather Worthington
Urban3, formerly City of Minneapolis
Chris Berry
University of Chicago
Fritz Kaegi
Cook County
5:00 pm – Breakouts
REAL ESTATE / HEALTH
The Reclaiming Chicago Campaign: Building 2000 Homes for Working Families
Lawndale CDC, partnering with the Steen Foundation, has an ambitious plan to build 2000 homes using innovative methods that make housing more affordable than traditional affordable housing.
Richard Townsell
Lawndale Christian Development Corporation
Patricia Ford
Steans Family Foundation
ENTREPRENEURSHIP / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Ideas for Pooling Resources to Invest in Your Neighborhood
Hear how crowdfunding and collective purchasing are coming together to make life more affordable.
Tom Llewellyn
Shareable
Rebecca Dray
Purchasing with Purpose
Bill Huston
CrowdMax
FAITH / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Investing to Accelerate Community Impact Through Adaptive Reuse of Sacred Space
Survey a host of models for reimagining sacred space to prevent closure and benefit community resilience.
Peter Beeson
Realize
Luke Lingle
New Chapter Ventures
Emily Sajdak
Partners for Sacred Places
Clark Harris
New Chapter Ventures
Wednesday, October 1
8:15 am – Registration & Breakfast • The Landing
9:00 am – Plenary • Feinberg Theater
Shifting our imagination requires we shift our attention to what’s working, both in Chicago and beyond.
Tim Freundlich
ImpactAssets
Luke Lingle
New Chapter Ventures
Doug Jutte
Build Healthy Places Network
Mark Sampson
Rooted Good
May Yu
Trinity Church
Clark Harris
New Chapter Ventures
Stephanie Swepson Twitty
Eagle Market Streets Dev. Corp.
Michael Shuman
Main Street Journal
Sidney Williams
Crossing Capital Group, Oikos Institute for Social Impact
10:30 am – Refreshment Break • The Landing
11:00 am – Breakouts
HEALTH / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Anchor Institutions and Community Investment: Driving Economic and Health Equity in Chicago’s Westside
Hear how a medical system is improving local health by investing in neighborhood food systems.
Doug Jutte
Build Healthy Places Network
Julia Bassett
Eve Shapiro
Ian Hughes
ENTREPRENEURSHIP / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Finding the Capital for Early Stage Entrepreneurs
Learn about innovative financing models that help entrepreneurs stuck in the “missing middle” grow and thrive.
Curt Lyon
Transform Finance
Jeremiah Robinson
Dogwood Health Trust
Matthew Revere
Pursuit
William Towns
Kellogg School of Management
CATALYTIC CAPITAL / REAL ESTATE
Buying Your Building: Raising the Missing Capital
Partners in Equity provides the missing catalytic equity to unlock loans for under-represented businesses that lack the collateral to buy their building.
David Bank
ImpactAlpha
Wilson Lester
Partners in Equity
11:45 am – Lunch on Your Own • Recommendations coming soon
1:00 pm – Breakouts
1:00 pm – Breakouts
FAITH / ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A Match Made in Heaven: Faith-Based Organizations and Employment Social Enterprises
Explore the trend of faith communities helping provide jobs, training, and other empowerment to people rebuilding their lives after incarceration and homelessness.
Katie Mulcahy
Owens Foundation
Debbie Chou
REDF
Laura Zumdahl
New Moms
REAL ESTATE / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
The Corridor Approach to Saving Neighborhoods
Discover the template strengthening the social fabric in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Baltimore: stop displacement by investing in neighborhood corridors.
Collete English Dixon
Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate
Jay Nwachu
Innovation Works, Ignite Capital
Damien Goodmon
Downtown Crenshaw Rising
Ja'Net Defell
Community Desk Chicago
Uzma Noormohamed
Chicago Frontlines Funding Initiative
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Shared Ownership to Build Wealth
Learn how co-ops, land trusts, and employee ownership keep wealth rooted in communities.
Sidney Williams
Crossing Capital Group, Oikos Institute for Social Impact
Nneka Onwuzurike
The Community WEB
Kristen Barker
Coop Cincy
Curt Lyon
Transform Finance
2:00 pm – Breakouts
REAL ESTATE / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Innovative Fund Model for Local Investment Takes Off
An innovative fund model that lets average people invest in their local economy is taking off in cities across the country. Based on real estate, the model lowers the risk to invest catalytic capital in local entrepreneurs.
Michael Shuman
Main Street Journal
Chris Miller
NC3
Brent Forsberg
Holmes & Pleasant Grove
Derek Peebles
American Sustainable Business Network
ENTREPRENEURSHIP / CATALYTIC CAPITAL
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
Explore how acquiring an existing business can be a faster path to ownership, scale, and closing the racial wealth gap.
Havell Rodrigues
New Majority Capital
Jeremiah Robinson
Dogwood Health Trust
Rashid Carter
Harold Washington College
FAITH / ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Only Thing We Lack Is Imagination
Learn from congregations earning significant income by becoming home health care franchises.
Carla Langhorst
Just Like Family Home Care
Tim Soerens
Neighborhood Economics
3:00 pm – Breakouts • The Landing
3:30 pm – Closing Plenary • Feinberg Theater
Explore the tools and replicable solutions as we crowdsource new insights to repair local economies.
Rosa Lee Harden
Neighborhood Economics
Tim Soerens
Neighborhood Economics
5:30 pm – Blues & Barbecue • Buddy Guy’s Legends
In what is becoming a Neighborhood Economics tradition, join us at a true Chicago landmark: Buddy Guy’s Legends, just a quick four-minute walk from our venue. Buddy Guy’s Legends has built a reputation as one of the nation’s premier blues club. People visit from all over the world to find out what Chicago is all about. What better way to end our time together than with a toast at Buddy Guy’s — and maybe even a chance to meet the legend himself?