The Urban Institute, Chicago Community Trust, MacArthur Foundation, and Pritzker Traubert Foundation are hosting a workshop on how Chicago and Cook County can best take advantage of the new federal Opportunity Zones incentive.

Opportunity Zones are a new federal tax benefit designed to spur investment in underinvested and undercapitalized communities. This workshop will bring together investors, developers, tax attorneys and accountants, community development practitioners, philanthropy, and the public sector to exchange perspectives on how Chicago and Cook County can use the Opportunity Zones incentive to promote investment in disadvantaged Census tracts. Over the course of this half-day event, we will hear from national experts who will provide insight into how other cities and metros are planning to utilize this program, as well as share data on the Census tracts that were designated as Opportunity Zones within Chicago and Cook County. Participants will also have a chance to learn how local stakeholders and investors are thinking about Opportunity Zones, as well as participate in small-table discussions about how to drive Opportunity Zone investment in productive and equitable ways. 

Featured Speakers

• Nick Brunick, Partner, Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C. 
• Kirby Burkholder, President, Social Impact Accelerator, IFF
• Susan M. Campbell, Director, Bureau of Economic Development, Department of Planning and Development, Cook County 
• Allison Clark, Associate Director, Impact Investments, MacArthur Foundation
• Helene Gayle, President & CEO, Chicago Community Trust
• Aarti Kotak, Deputy Chief of Staff for Neighborhood Economic Development, City of Chicago Mayor’s Office 
• Katie Kramer, Vice President, Council of Development Finance Agencies
• Erika Poethig, Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, Urban Institute
• Matt Reilein, Portfolio Manager, Impact Investing, O’Brien-Staley Partners
• Robert Rivkin, Deputy Mayor, City of Chicago  
• Rob Rose, Executive Director, Cook County Land Bank Authority 
• Brett Theodos, Principal Research Associate, Urban Institute 
• Bryan Traubert, Chairman, Pritzker Traubert Foundation

• Michelle Wells, Executive Vice President, Investor Relations, Waterton Associates LLC

Event Agenda 

This is an invitation-only event. Please contact Janae Ladet ([email protected]) for additional information. Support for this event is provided by Chicago Community Trust, MacArthur Foundation, and Pritzker Traubert Foundation. For more information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles, go to www.urban.org/fundingprinciples.