Phoenix Summit Sponsor Highlight: Cities Work
We are so excited to welcome Cities Work as a Session Sponsor for our Fall Ecosystem Builder Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. Here’s a little more about their work and role in ecosystem building.
Share a 1-minute pitch about some of the ecosystem building related work that you and your organization do.
Cities Work, an initiative of the nonprofit Institute for Justice, partners with cities across the country to make it cheaper, faster, and simpler to start a small business. We work with city officials, ecosystem builders, entrepreneurs, and community organizations to identify and rectify regulatory barriers facing small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Our approach combines quantitative and qualitative research, community organizing, and legislative advocacy to decrease regulatory barriers to business and increase access to entrepreneurship for all city residents.
What does ecosystem building mean to you?
Ecosystem building means creating a culture in which entrepreneurs have the freedom to solve problems, think creatively, and see their ventures thrive. Cities Work's role in ecosystem building is to level the playing field from a regulatory perspective so that entrepreneurship is accessible to people who lack significant resources to cover high compliance costs and/or the social status necessary to successfully navigate city government (including networks, English proficiency, higher education, and so forth).
What made you decide to support the summit?
SCN is one of our favorite organizations to partner with. Members are incredibly excited about opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs and have successfully connected us with the right people in their cities to help us make that happen. We are honored to share the stage with the other esteemed speakers on this panel.
Meet Director of Cities Work, Jennifer McDonald
During our three days together, you’ll get to hear from Jennifer McDonald, Assistant Director of Activism & Cities Work Director at Institute for Justice.
Jennifer McDonald
Jennifer regularly engages policymakers, advises state and local governments, and empowers people to become their own advocates. Prior to joining the Activism team, Jenny was an IJ senior research analyst, where she conducted original social science research on entrepreneurship, home-based businesses, municipal fines and fees, government transparency, and civil forfeiture. Her work has appeared in multiple academic journals and her research results have been cited in national media outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, and Los Angeles Times.