Tom Otto Hired as City’s Economic Development Specialist

The City of Madison has hired Tom Otto as its Economic Development Specialist. Based within the City’s Office of Business Resources and Economic Development Division, Tom’s work will focus on creating and implementing projects and strategies to build a stronger local economy. His work will be guided by the City’s recently-created "Connect Madison" Economic Development Strategy.

Before joining the City of Madison staff, Tom was an Economic Development Planner for a community organization working in a neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. In that role, Tom created a corridor plan for a major commercial avenue and established a Special Service Area (SSA) to support local businesses and fund neighborhood investments.

Tom is originally from the Madison area and attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he received a degree in Real Estate & Urban Land Economics. Prior to his work in Chicago, Tom worked for neighborhood community development corporations and housing providers in Madison, including Heartland Affordable Housing and Common Wealth Development.

After nine years in big, bold, brash Chicago, Tom is happy to be back in Madison applying his skills in real estate, economic development, and community organizing to help build a stronger and more inclusive local economy.

His starting date with the City was February 6.