Lecturer 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. Contact Information wtowns@uchicago.edu Recent News More news Student Profile: Namuka Ishii, MPP Class of 2024 Thu., May 02, 2024 Student Profile: Carrie Collins, MPP Class of 2024 Tue., April 30, 2024 Alumni Profile: Eloísa Ávila-Uribe, MACRM’23 Fri., April 26, 2024 Upcoming Events More events Harris Reunion Weekend 2024 Fri., May 03, 2024 | 12:00 PM 1307 E. 60th Street Chicago, IL 60613 United States Data and Policy Summer Scholars Program (DPSS): Deep-Dive Conversation with Jose Macias and Alexandra Sobczynski Mon., May 06, 2024 | 7:30 PM International Policy Action Lab Mini Class with Austin Wright Tue., May 07, 2024 | 6:00 AM