Jonathan Lane

Background

About Jonathan Lane

I’m a strategist and implementer with extensive experience leading complex industry development strategies, especially those at intersection of innovation, people, and energy. In my previous role at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the city’s primary public sector engine for inclusive economic growth and diversification, I led our all-hands agencywide strategy to turn New York City — itself one of the world’s largest urban economies — into one of the world’s single most important economic and opportunity hubs for building energy efficiency and the broader green economy. Through this ambitious vision, NYC will seed and support the growth of local industries, among them renewable power, building efficiency, energy storage, decarbonized/circular construction, and climate tech. I also oversaw ideation, strategy, programming, and execution for Urbantech NYC, a $10M+ initiative to grow and strengthen the urban tech and smart cities industry. EDC’s Urbantech portfolio not only creates inclusive economic opportunities across the socioeconomic spectrum, but also transforms the way we move, build, govern, connect, and power cities - especially New York. Following passage of the MRTA (2021), I was tapped to lead development of EDC’s recreational cannabis industry strategy, and served as chief architect of NYC’s Proptech industry strategy and piloting program. Prior to NYCEDC, I spent time in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, helping steward public and private capital - human, financial, and technological. From grassroots international development in the Peace Corps as an economic development advisor, to advisory strategy for Cambridge, MA-based impact finance nonprofit Root Capital, to investment due diligence and operations at LA-based venture capital firm Fifth Wall, my work bridges systems thinking, strategy development, and project management, with perspectives from small, rural communities in emerging economies to global economic centers in developed markets. In 2018, I completed a concurrent degree program at the Harvard Kennedy School and the MIT Sloan School of Management, and have since been appointed as an Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow, Vice Chair of Urban Land Institute’s Technology and Innovation Council, and most recently as a Coro/Leadership New York fellow. I am passionate about solving complex public, climate, and economic challenges, and creating new, accessible pathways to opportunity — especially for those that never thought that might have one.