Jeremy Nowak, The Citizen’s fierce and brilliant chairman, passed away on Saturday after a brief illness.
Jeremy knew more about cities and how they work—or should work—than most of us will ever touch on. He was one of the nation’s leading thinkers on cities and innovation, with an expertise in everything from urban development and education to the arts and culture. Among many other contributions, Jeremy was the founding CEO of the city’s Reinvestment Fund, one of the nation’s leading development financial institutions, where he oversaw the allocation of more than $1 billion in support of housing, small businesses, and community facilities over 25 years; a non-resident visiting scholar at The Brookings Institution; a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Center for Urban Innovation; a board member of the University City Science Center; and author, most recently, of The New Localism with Bruce Katz. He is a past recipient of The Philadelphia Award, the city’s highest civic honor.
Most of all, he was our friend, supporter and valued advisor whose voice we will miss greatly.
You can view Jeremy’s past Citizen columns here.