About Samir Mayekar

Samir Mayekar is a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Before this, he filled a newly created role designed to further develop and support Chicago’s neighborhoods as the deputy mayor for neighborhoods and economic development for the City of Chicago. Samir has significant experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Samir previously served in the Obama administration in the White House and at a federal infrastructure finance agency. As co-founder and CEO of NanoGraf Corporation, a global manufacturer of advanced materials, Samir built a green energy company that continues to grow in Bronzeville. Samir has deep neighborhood roots in Chicago, having served as board chair for a community-engaged youth theater in Albany Park and a GRAMMY-winning music ensemble serving the Back of the Yards. He holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management, where he received the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. He also serves on Northwestern’s board of trustees. Samir is fluent in Spanish and married to Dr. Emily Mayekar, an orthopedic surgeon working at Illinois' largest trauma center serving Chicago's South Side. Samir is the proud son of immigrants from India.