Mary Ellen Wiederwohl joined Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s administration in 2012, and in 2014, Fischer tapped her to lead Louisville Forward – the city’s new, integrated approach to economic and community development. Louisville Forward combines business attraction, expansion, and retention activities with all of the city’s real estate functions and talent development to present a unified solution for job growth and quality of place.

Louisville Forward has twice (2014 and 2015) been named a Top Ten Economic Development Organization by Site Selection Magazine, the leading trade publication for economic development, with announced projects totaling over $3 billion of investment and more than 12,50 new jobs over the last two years. She has provided leadership for several of Mayor Fischer’s major initiatives, including his Strategic Plan, the Vision Louisville 25-year advanced plan, the Move Louisville strategic multi-modal transportation plan, the city’s first sustainability plan, the Global Louisville Action Plan and the Vision Russell Initiative, which recently won a HUD Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant.

Before joining the Fischer administration, Mary Ellen worked in public affairs in both the public and private sectors. She was a ULI Rose Fellow in 2012-2013.