Running to Serve on the District 15
Board of Education
Yuriy Figel is an entrepreneur and real estate investor, founder of Golden Figure®, a Chicago-based boutique investment company primarily focused on residential and commercial real estate.
Prior to dedicating his efforts to real estate investing full-time, Yuriy Figel founded or co-founded multiple businesses and brands in the digital marketing, multimedia, event production, retail, and business services industries. Yuriy has more than 15 years of leadership experience and international expertise in business development and strategic planning, marketing and advertising, branding, intellectual property, cross-cultural negotiations, and fundraising.
As an immigrant from Ukraine whose great grandmother was born in the U.S., Yuriy has a deep connection to both countries. He has dedicated much of his time towards promoting Ukrainian cultural heritage and supporting the Ukrainian-American community in Chicago. He has played leadership roles in several nonprofit and charitable initiatives and projects, as well as served on the boards of nonprofits such as the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago.
Yuriy Figel is an active proponent of public diplomacy and, as a member of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, supports the leadership of the U.S. in the global arena, especially as it relates to the support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Yuriy serves as Co-Chair of the Chicago-Kyiv Committee at Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI), which is an initiative of World Business Chicago, a nonprofit that drives inclusive economic growth and job creation, supports business, and promotes Chicago as a leading global city through citizen diplomacy and official relationships with a total of 28 cities in almost every region of the world. The exchange with Kyiv, Ukraine is one of the most vibrant and dynamic examples of CSCI.
Yuriy obtained an MA in International Relations and Political Science from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, a top school in Ukraine, where he established life-long friendships in the nation’s capital. Although his choice of the school was originally driven by the desire to become a diplomat, Yuriy realized during his college years that his passion for entrepreneurship was much stronger; in fact, it dated back to his early high school years, when he traded merchandise via postal mail.
Yuriy earned his Executive MBA from Loyola University Chicago in order to formalize his passion for entrepreneurship and building organizations and to hone his values-based servant leadership style in business—thus the motto of his investment company, Inveniens Equilibria, which indicates its commitment to discovering, creating, and executing on opportunities with an optimal alignment of interests.
Besides English and Ukrainian, Yuriy speaks fluent Russian and is familiar with Polish. He enjoys cultivating a fit and healthy lifestyle, and is on a mission of creating abundance for his family and those around him and making a meaningful and positive impact in the world.
Yuriy is happily married and lives with his Kyiv-native wife, Natalia, and their two boys in Inverness, Illinois.
I am officially announcing my candidacy to serve on the District 15 Board of Education, the second largest elementary school district in Illinois, which serves seven Chicago suburbs:
Palatine, Inverness, South Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, and Schaumburg.
If elected on April 2, 2019, I will be the first Ukrainian-American elected public official who was born and raised in Ukraine.
Board members provide volunteer service to the community and do not receive compensation. This is one of my ways of giving back and setting an example of servant leadership for my two sons—Daniel, 9 and Stefan, 4—a student and a future student of one of the district schools.
If I don’t win this election, I will still consider this endeavor an invaluable experience in my toolbox for other current and future community involvement.
I would like to thank all of the voters in the district who signed my nomination petition—I appreciate your support!
January 2019. Research the District, schools, and study all current issues, as well as the best practices implemented by other successful districts around the country.
February 2019. Meet with principals, teachers, and staff members; students and parents, as well as with other constituents in the District.
March 2019. Based on this comprehensive research, finalize an implementation plan to ensure that I am as effective as possible with my Board involvement.