Goodcity
Core Values
Power of the Individual
Local
Impactful
Accountability
Every person is endowed with special skills and potential to make a difference in this world. Goodcity-supported entrepreneurs seek to unlock and develop that potential. We value all of our entrepreneurs to be hopeful, teachable, and motivated to overcome obstacles and make a difference.
Local community-based entrepreneurs are best able to identify community needs and propose effective programs designed to meet those needs. We focus our efforts on those who are living and working in the communities we serve.
We seek to identify community-based entrepreneurs who can develop programs that are ultimately sustainable and innovative.
Working with community-based entrepreneurs, we define measurable objectives for all of our programs and then regularly benchmark them against these objectives.
Meet the team
President / CEO
Jimmy Lee
Jimmy Lee
President / CEO
Jimmy serves as the President and CEO of Goodcity. Jimmy comes to Goodcity with vast experience in the government and nonprofit industries both locally and globally. In 2009, he was named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 following his bid for the United States Congress in the 11th Congressional District of Illinois. JImmy was the former Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the former Special Assistant to the Governor of the State of Illinois, and also the former Executive Director of the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Along with many other recognitions and accolades, Jimmy brings his energetic personality and creative approach to ensure that Goodcity is on the forefront of innovation when it comes to developing businesses throughout Chicago. He, his wife, and two daughters live in the University Village of Chicago.
Rene Alvarado
Lead Consultant
Rene serves as the Lead Consultant for Goodcity. Born and raised in Chicago, Rene is passionate about developing the city and loves supporting others who endeavor to do the same. Rene has spent the last 20 years professionally in Human Resources in both private industry and the Non-Profit world growing organizations, managing their talent, resolving labor disputes, training employees and developing business processes. Rene holds a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Public Administration.
Nate Chang
Director of Finance
Nate currently serves at Goodcity as the Director of Finance, overseeing finance and accounting for the organization. Nate comes to us after 15 years of Big Five public accounting experience in audit and valuation. His passion to serve nonprofits combined with a knack of mental mathematics allow Goodcity to stretch its service offerings beyond incubation and fiscal sponsorship. Nate has run a marathon in 5 states and is always on the lookout for the next race.
Grace Chen Zuercher
Assistant to the President
Jaime Mottinger
Assistant to the President
Richelle Hennen
Manager, Client Relations and Fiscal Sponsorship
Lauren Dillon
Manager, Business Development
Wendy Daniels
Accounting/Back Office
Rowan Richards
Client Relations
Duane Wilson
Client Relations
April Wong Loi Sing
Client Relations
Joseph Hernandez
Client Relations
Ethan Chan
Client Relations
Bobby Doll
Manager, INVEST Chicago
Amy Sparling
Consultant
Siyung Deng
Intern
Meet our leadership
Board of Directors
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Brad Wilks
Wilks PRJillian Anderson Gallup
Jeffrey Beckham Black Box Creative Inc.
David Chernoff Retired/MacArthur
Holly Copeland Horizon Pharma
LaDarius Curtis General Services Administration
Toby Eng McTigue Financial
Deborah Farmer Brown Farmer Group
Jeff Hammock Northwestern University
Sandee Kastrul ic stars
Brad Kosar Samsung
Rev. Herbert Lassiter Spiritual Dignity Net
Steve Lee Opternative
Suzet McKinney Illinois Medical District Commission
Robert Meier Chick-Fil-A
Joey Nakayama YMCA
Jason Nuttelman JGMA
Michael Rigby Duff and Phelps
Caroline Swinney University of Illinois at Chicago
Bradley Anderson Lyons Township High School
Paul Labonne PNC Bank
Derek Carey Groot
Associate Board
Layla Dotson | Chair
Jenny Nimmo | Vice Chair
George Yoritomi | Committee Chair
David Zoller | Committee Chair
Baber Abbas
Kaelen Calvin
Megan Christensen
Seth Franz
Richard Green
Oliver Gunanto
Melissa Hamilton
Joanna Hui
Jamal Jackson
Jennifer Kuroski
Janice Louie
Roy Rao
Zachary Scaffidi
Jaclyn Zamora
Chelsey Ziegler
