I’ve focused my career on leading initiatives that provide access to opportunity to audiences that have been historically underserved and underrepresented, so I’m especially honored to serve as Urban’s inaugural chief equity officer. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance Urban’s efforts to promote racial equity and become the broadly inclusive institution we envision.
Jim Taylor is the inaugural chief equity officer at the Urban Institute. In this role, he provides vision and leadership across all aspects of Urban’s strategies and efforts to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion. Taylor comes to Urban from BoardSource, where for over three years he led BoardSource’s efforts to support nonprofit boards’ leadership on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Taylor has also served as vice president of multicultural leadership at AARP, where he developed partnerships focusing on health, wealth, and “quality of life” programs for Black Americans age 50 and older. At Capital One, as Community Reinvestment Act officer and director of community relations, Taylor led the organization’s philanthropic, volunteer, and programmatic strategies to serve lower-income populations. As director of product innovation at Fannie Mae, he developed first-time homebuyer programs to create homeownership opportunities in underserved communities. Taylor was also a key member of the Fairfax County, Virginia, government strategy team that implemented the county’s racial and social equity policy, One Fairfax.
Taylor holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He also completed the AgL Leadership Program at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Taylor currently serves on the boards of Carpenter’s Shelter, LearnServe International, and the Giving Square. He is a member of the Leap Ambassadors Community (a private community built around nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and other social-sector stakeholders). Taylor also serves as a judge for the American Express NGen Leadership Award presented by Independent Sector.
Urban experts are permitted and empowered to work and affiliate with outside organizations, whether serving on boards, volunteering their time, or providing advice and counsel. And Urban welcomes visiting scholars, nonresident or affiliated fellows who work for other organizations. These outside affiliations enrich our perspectives and our learning environment. We also require all paid and unpaid experts to disclose their affiliations to Urban leadership and follow rules governing their engagement to ensure transparency for audiences and independence of experts.