Jay Readey is a lawyer, consultant and social entrepreneur who has worked for many years on issues of racial and socioeconomic equity. Jay founded and serves as President and
CEO of The MetroAlliance, a social venture focused on neighborhood transformation. Through a mix of for-profit strategies and nonprofit initiatives, The MetroAllian
Jay Readey is a lawyer, consultant and social entrepreneur who has worked for many years on issues of racial and socioeconomic equity. Jay founded and serves as President and
CEO of The MetroAlliance, a social venture focused on neighborhood transformation. Through a mix of for-profit strategies and nonprofit initiatives, The MetroAlliance focuses on strengthening dynamic metropolitan communities, especially the South Side and South Suburbs of Chicago.
In the course of his work with The MetroAlliance, Jay supports the creation and growth of numerous small businesses and nonprofit organizations, along with housing and community development strategies for community vitality. Jay was a 2012 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and a member of the inaugural 2015 class of Presidential Leadership Scholars through the Bush and Clinton Presidential Libraries and Foundations.
Jay practices law with Ginsberg Jacobs LLC, focused on complex community development finance, and teaches as an adjunct
professor of housing and community development law at DePaul University School of Law
Jay was a 1994 graduate of Yale College with majors in African-American Studies and American Studies. He received a JD from Yale Law School and an MBA from the Yale School of Management in 2004.
From figuring out what kind of entity you want to form to serving as Interim Executive Director or CEO, Jay Readey and The MetroAlliance are typically involved in 15 startup enterprises at any given time. Jay Readey has served as interim Executive Director for Friends of Big Marsh (2016), NeighborScapes (2017) and Oak Park Regional Housing Center (2019). TMA has helped form many other ventures, including EQO37, Vikings United, Rock Stalls Lodge and Bulldog Innovation Group.
As counsel affiliated with Ginsberg Jacobs LLC, Jay Readey has been involved in almost all of the large-scale transformative Community Development Projects on the South and West Sides of Chicago in the last 5 years, including the Pullman Community Center, XS Tennis Center, Easter Seals Academy Wellness and Recreation Center, Bronzeville Marianos, University of Chicago Medical Center Level 1 Trauma Center, and Green Era Sustainability Campus
Through NeighborScapes NFP, as MetroAlliance direct investments, or in partnerships or joint ventures, The MetroAlliance rehabs vacant and blighted buildings, works with Land Banks, and promotes transformation without displacement to help create stable, diverse communities of opportunity.