Lyneir Richardson is an entrepreneur working to empower urban entrepreneurs and strengthen economic conditions in ethnic and underserved areas across the United States. He wears multiple hats, investing in commercial real estate, educating and advising entrepreneurs and MBA students, consulting corporations and government agencies, and structuring deals with philanthropic organizations to get capital to Black entrepreneurs. Lyneir is the Executive Director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School in Newark, NJ. Lyneir is also CEO of The Chicago TREND Corporation, a social enterprise funded by prestigious impact investors to catalyze urban retail development. Chicago TREND has raised over $17M of capital from impact investors. Chicago TREND owns four shopping centers and has invested over $11M in retail and commercial real estate development in urban neighborhoods. Lyneir recently raised $330,000 in equity from 130 Black, small and/or impact investors for a project in Baltimore, MD. Lyneir served as the Chief Executive Officer of the primary economic development corporation in Newark, NJ, for Mayor Cory Booker. As Vice President of Urban Development at General Growth Properties, Inc., he led the national initiative to improve shopping centers in ethnic neighborhoods in large U.S. cities. Early in his career, Lyneir founded his first company and was named a U.S. Small Business Administration "Young Entrepreneur of the Year". Lyneir started his career as a corporate attorney at the First National Bank of Chicago. Lyneir graduated from Bradley University and the University of Chicago Law School. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers. He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Economic Development Council and the Cook County Land Bank. He has served as Vice Chairman of the Illinois Housing Development Authority Trust Fund Board and as a Commissioner on the City of Chicago Planning Commission. He is a proud (but slow) finisher of the Chicago Marathon.