Staff
Robert Weissbourd – President
Robert Weissbourd founded RW Ventures, LLC in 2000. Bob had previously served for ten years in executive positions at Shorebank Corporation, including most recently as Executive Vice President of Shorebank Chicago Companies. Bob has been a frequent public speaker and guest lecturer, as well as author, on a broad range of urban markets, poverty, race, education, housing, and economic development issues. He has also testified on these issues before federal, state and local legislatures.
Bob is a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. He has been active for over twenty-five years in community and civic organizations, including service as President or Vice-President of the Boards of City Colleges of Chicago, Crossroads Fund, Businesspeople in the Public Interest, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and PROCAN, as well as on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School, and the Advisory Committees for the (Chicago) Mayor’s Technology Advisory Committee, Brookings Metropolitan Economy Project and Brookings Urban Markets Initiative. Before joining Shorebank, Bob was a partner at Hartunian, Futterman & Howard, specializing in federal constitutional and class action litigation, school desegregation and representation of government and non-profit agencies. Bob clerked for federal Judge George Leighton, after receiving a J.D. from University of Chicago Law School and a B.A. from Yale University.
Gretchen Kosarko – Senior Associate
The most recent addition to RW Ventures’ staff, Gretchen joined the firm in August 2009, bringing experience in urban planning, community and economic development, public-private partnerships, real estate economics and market analysis.
Prior to joining RW Ventures, Gretchen was the Director of Research for World Business Chicago, the city’s public-private economic development organization; and a Project Manager for S. B. Friedman & Company, a Chicago-based real estate and urban planning consulting firm. Gretchen holds a B.A. in Statistics, with a second concentration in Economics, from the University of Chicago; and a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Michael He – Associate
Michael joined RW Ventures in January 2007, and brings exceptional skills and experience in the application of sophisticated quantitative and analytic methods to a broad range of economic development issues. Currently, he is designing statistical models and innovative analytical tools to inform neighborhood development interventions. Prior to joining RW Ventures, Michael worked as a Statistical Analyst for Sears Holdings Corporation, where he applied data mining techniques to market analysis and customer segmentation. Michael graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in mathematics, a minor in computer science, and an M.S. in statistics.
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