Todd Rufo

How did your experiences at NYU Wagner prepare you for your career?

I went to grad school to focus on how cities, neighborhoods and economics change and evolve, and understand the strongest levers to affect that change. I’m not naturally a student and preferred work, action and doing. At NYU I was a Graduate Assistant for Mitchell Moss so I worked on strengthening and supporting the Urban Planning program. I also worked in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in the Bloomberg Administration, which is directly related to the work I am doing today.

Describe your current job.

I have the honor and privilege of helping cities for free. In economic development, we are helping cities and mayors deal with the hardest problems local governments are dealing with today: how to grow the economy in an equitable way, how do we help those who are being left behind in our communities, how do we position cities or neighborhoods to change in a way that accommodates new and longtime residents.

What impact do you hope to make through your career and/or organization? 

I love cities. I chose a career in Economic Development because I saw urban economic forces as the key driver in shaping cities, neighborhoods and residents’ lives. I have worked in local economic development for the past 14+ years for the City of New York and San Francisco and I am lucky enough to continue that work with cities globally at Bloomberg Associates. I have two current big goals: (1) help residents who are being left behind in this economic cycle succeed and (2) help cities learn from each other and reduce the friction between sharing among economic and workforce development practitioners.