Keynote Speakers

Rashaun L Williams

Rashaun Williams is a former investment banker turned venture capitalist focused on tech, consumer products & media companies. With over 100 investments under his belt and over 20 exits, Mr. Williams is currently a general partner in the MVP All-Star Fund which is a late stage tech fund. Previously he founded venture capital fund Queensbridge Venture Partners where he invested in companies like Coinbase, Casper, Ring, PillPack, Lyft & Dropbox. Over the last 15 years he has been primarily responsible for bringing capital to emerging, diverse and alternative markets while working at Wall Street firms such as Goldman Sachs, Wachovia Securities & Deutsche Bank.

Rashaun received the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB) AAMBAA scholarship to attend Morehouse in 1997 when he was a student at Hyde Park Career Academy on Chicago’s South Side. He was also a lifeguard at Ida Noyes on the University of Chicago campus. He later went to work at Goldman Sachs and Wachovia in Chicago actively recruiting GSB students to wall street and mentoring them while in business school.

In 2007 he founded Dixsville Partners, a private equity fund investing in infrastructure development and mineral companies in West Africa. In 2014 he founded and raised capital for venture capital fund Queensbridge Venture Partners with partners including hip hop icon Nas. Mr. Williams has successfully started, invested in and exited several companies.

With a passion for financial literacy and entrepreneurship, Mr. Williams founded the Kemet Institute in 2001, a non-profit focused on providing free financial literacy, entrepreneurship and life skills classes to under-served communities and schools. In 2015 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Fisk University. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and summa cum laude graduate of Morehouse College.

Featured Speakers

Leon Walker, Esq. - Booth / GSB ‘94

Leon I. Walker, Esq. has spearheaded cutting-edge community development projects that have generated thousands of new jobs, and brought grocery stores and health care services into the food and health care deserts on Chicago’s south side. Over the next 10 years, his vision is to help create 10,000 jobs and 10 million square feet of new commercial space in Chicago’s neighborhoods. 

Mr. Walker is at the forefront of economic development, utilizing new financing tools and blended funding streams. During his career, Mr. Walker has structured more than $100 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC), including the award-winning Roseland Medical Center, which was the first project to finance new construction with NMTCs in Chicago. He was also the first Chicago developer to use crowdfunding for new construction, as part of the capital stack for the nationally recognized Englewood Square retail center, anchored by Whole-Foods. 

As the Managing Partner of DL3 Realty, Mr. Walker works closely with municipalities, anchor institutions, and Fortune 500 companies to implement projects that are sensitive to a neighborhood’s character. Mr. Walker’s projects are more than just bricks and mortar. They are designed to provide a stimulus that ultimately lifts economic prospects and quality-of-life for local residents. He calls his work “Venture Development,” as described in a recently released discussion paper that can be downloaded at dl3realty.com/venturedevelopment. 

Mr. Walker serves as a Board member of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University, Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, and as a Commissioner of the Roseland Community Medical District. He is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, Realty Club of Chicago, International Council of Shopping Centers Government Relations Committee, and The Business Leadership Council. 

Prior to taking on the leadership of DL3 Realty, Mr. Walker worked in corporate real estate services at Jones Lang LaSalle, and in real estate capital markets at Citicorp Securities. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago’s Law School and Booth School of Business, and received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. He lives with his wife and two children in the Kenwood historic district on Chicago’s south side.

Ghian Foreman - Booth / GSB ‘01

Foreman is the CEO of the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative; the group that works to develop and support South Side communities through a focus on commercial-corridor expansion, sustainable housing, and workforce development. Prior to joining Emerald South, he was the Executive Director of Greater Southwest Development Corporation (GSDC), a CDC focused on the improvement of the Southwest Side of Chicago.

Foreman was the Managing Partner of Maktub Development, a real estate development firm focused on inner city development. In this capacity, Ghian was responsible for $30 million in investments and development in traditionally under-served urban markets throughout the United States. Ghian also previously served as VP of Strategic Acquisitions at HSBC where he oversaw over $3 billion in acquisitions.

Foreman sits on several boards including serving as President of the Chicago Police Board and member of the Rebuild Foundation. He earned his BS from Florida A&M University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He lives in Kenwood with his wife Traci and daughter Jade.

Panelists

Other Panelists & Speakers

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