About

After graduating from Loyola University Chicago summa cum laude in 1995 with a degree in business economics, Jonathan Zimmerman went to work at a large financial brokerage firm as a marketing coordinator for their retirement planning division. After a nine month stint, he realized that he desired a job which required more creativity and mental stimulation. Therefore, on a whim, he decided to enter the wild world of downtown Chicago commercial real estate as a "1 year experiment." Little did he know that would be the start of lengthy and fulfilling career.

Jonathan joined the downtown office of Norwood O'Hare Realty Group as an Associate Director in 1996. While there, he assisted with the leasing of such high profile Loop office towers as 150 North Wacker, 11 South LaSalle, 30 North Michigan, 100 West Monroe, 200 South Michigan and 5 North Wabash. Additionally, he participated in the negotiation of nearly 100,000 square feet of tenant representation leases over a 3 year period.

In 1999, Jonathan was hired by Rubloff to lead its newly formed commercial real estate practice. Over a 13 year period which concluded in 2011, Jonathan coordinated the leasing and marketing programs for over 3 million square feet of office and retail space in downtown Chicago. Among the buildings represented by Rubloff at this time included 100 West Monroe. 29 South LaSalle, 39 South LaSalle, 205 West Randolph, 309 West Washington, 166 West Washington, 180 West Washington, 123 West Madison, 203 North Wabash, 17 North Wabash, 30 North Michigan, 55 East Washington, 555 West Jackson, 400 East Randolph, 160 East Grand, 324 North Michigan, 223 West Erie, 345 North LaSalle, 819 South Wabash, 850 South Wabash, 1300 South Wabash and 1556 South Michigan. In addition to his landlord representation work, Jonathan also assisted hundreds of businesses on a representation or consulting basis.

In 2012, Jonathan founded Willard Jones Real Estate as an agency to fill the niche of representing smaller sized landlords and tenants in downtown Chicago. To date, Willard Jones is the exclusive marketing agent for over 800,000 square feet of office space in downtown Chicago.

Jonathan is a life long Chicagoan who resides in the city with his wife and daughter.

Amanda Friedlander graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago in 2018 with a degree in Advertising Creative, among the first class of graduates at Loyola to complete such a program. She is a JD candidate with an interest in real estate law. She comes to Willard Jones with extensive experience in SEO, lead generation, creative marketing, event planning, and public relations. Amanda also produces and narrates the Willard Jones podcast.

After graduating from DePaul University in 2019, Justin Roberts worked in Business Development at Guaranteed Rate, and previously as an Assistant Showroom Manager at Lovesac. Justin holds a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Advertising, with skills in marketing, event planning, sales and photography.