About William Towns

William Towns is an activist and practitioner, dedicated to helping solve civic and urban issues at the structural level. He believes in the power of increasing access to capital, data, and academic resources to create pathways of opportunity for organizations and individuals to impact communities often overlooked. Using his lived experience, William takes a broad, system-wide approach to problem solving with respect to equitable community development.

Over the course of his career, he has managed more than $800 million in capital directed at reversing economic disparities and racial discrimination across the Chicago region. He has developed multiple corporate strategic plans, directing resources to local organizations to help solve complex civic issues.

He is the Managing Director of 4S Bay Partners, LLC’s Chi-Town Impact a private equity fund that invests in women and minority operating businesses and has academic appointments at the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

William received his Bachelor’s in marketing from Loyola University Chicago - Quinlan School of Business, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business, and a Ph.D. in Organization Development from Benedictine University.

His goal is to use his research to help cities, anchor institutions, corporations, and non-profits to develop policies and initiatives that welcome in those who stand just outside the door of opportunity to the table of prosperity.