Jeremy Nowak

Jeremy Nowak is a distinguished visiting fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. He is the founder of The Reinvestment Fund, one of the largest community investment institutions in the United States, and chaired the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Nowak is also the chief strategist for Spring Point Partners, a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, on the board of directors of the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, a member of the advisory board of the Institute for Urban Research at the University of Pennsylvania, and a senior fellow at the Center for Impact Investment at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy. He currently chairs the board of The Philadelphia Citizen, a new media startup devoted to solutions based journalism and consults on strategy for a variety of public, private, and civic institutions. A widely published author and columnist, he is the co-author with Bruce Katz of The New Localism: How Cities Thrive in the Age of Populism. Active in Philadelphia’s civic life, he was the founding board chair of Mastery Charter Schools, a network of twenty inner city schools that has garnered national attention for student achievement. He was also the founding board chair of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charity that has raised more than $100 million in support of pediatric cancer research. Nowak is also a recipient of the Philadelphia Award, the city’s highest civic honor. Nowak testified in Congress in support of the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund; in support of the National Endowment for the Arts; and in support of the Obama Administration’s healthy food initiative. He holds a B.A. degree in Philosophy from The Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the New School for Social Research, where his dissertation won the Alfred Schutz award for excellence. Nowak also holds honorary doctorates from Villanova University and La Salle University.