Cincinnati real estate development veteran Kathy Laker Schwab was the Executive Director of LISC from 2008-2020. She brought expertise in real estate to LISC, having spent 20 years of her career running her own real estate brokerage, management, and development company. A life-long urban advocate, Schwab helped to establish the first SID (special improvement district), Downtown Cincinnati Inc., where she served as Vice President of Residential Development from 1998 to 2004. There she was responsible for formulating and executing strategies for residential revitalization in the urban core. She has also directed the formation of several CDCs in Cincinnati, and has served as a development consultant to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, the University of Cincinnati, 3CDC, and the Uptown Consortium. Schwab is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she serves as a member of the UC Real Estate Executive Advisory Council.