David Spielfogel, Innovations in American Government Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, is a co-founder and managing partner of Ekistic Ventures, which cultivates a portfolio of companies that bring new solutions to critical urban problems. Until early 2016, he served as senior adviser to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, overseeing long-term planning and the implementation and communication of the mayor's priority initiatives. He served in the same capacity on the mayor's successful 2015 re-election campaign and as director of the Chicago 2011 Transition Project after overseeing policy and research for the mayor's initial 2011 campaign.
Previously, Spielfogel served as chief of staff at the MacArthur Foundation, as deputy policy director for Barack Obama's Senate campaign, as policy director for the Senate bid of Alexi Giannoulias, and in the Clinton White House as the special assistant for policy to the president's senior adviser on energy and environmental issues. He earned his master's degree in international development management from the London School of Economics and his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources.
