- Youth Empowerment and Non-Linear Success with Kristin Carmichael and Erin Dyson-Enamorado - Ep 48
Kristin Carmichael is a dynamic professional with a Certificate of Completion from the Institute for Non-Profit Practice, currently excelling as the Director of Business Operations at More Than Words in Boston. With over a decade of experience, Kristin has spearheaded strategic initiatives, directed successful online business operations, and played a vital role in the development of a transformative workforce program for system-involved youth. Her leadership extends to providing actionable insights to the senior team, aligning operations with organizational goals, and integrating socially impactful products into the retail sector. Kristin brings passion for social and restorative justice, sustainability, and literacy to her role.
Erin Dyson-Enamorado is a strongly motivated and experienced Director of New Business with over 11 years dedicated experience in business strategy, acquisitions, logistics and training in a job-training program aimed to help to empower system involved youth to take charge of their lives through her role at More Than Words. Erin came to More Than Words after spending several years on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi supporting relief and rebuilding efforts following the wake of devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, working as Program Coordinator and Director of Volunteers at youth-based volunteer camp "Mission on the Bay" in Bay Saint Louis.
More Than Words (MTW), is a leadership and employment training program that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. By working as a team to manage their own retail and online book business, youth develop leadership, employment skills and self confidence as they prepare for their transition to adulthood. Through real-world, hands-on job training at More Than Words, youth equip themselves for a successful, meaningful and self-sufficient adulthood while simultaneously covering a significant portion of the organization’s budget with earned revenue.
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shop.mtwyouth.org
28m - Jul 23, 2024 - Life Changing Entrepreneurship for At Risk Youth with Walter Mendenhall - Ep 47
Despite being diagnosed with a learning disability at the age of five. Walter accomplished his lifelong dream of making it to the NFL, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals, Mendehall’s desire to educate young minority males prompted him to walk away from football to pursue his passion for teaching the next generation of leaders. Mendenhall founded the Male Mogul Initiative which seeks to positively transform the way young men live and lead in their communities through leadership and entrepreneurship development. Under the leadership of Walter Mendenhall, the Male Mogul has been awarded the Prestigious Chicago Innovation award, Wintrust Bank Neighborhood award, and a MIT_Solve semi finalist.
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https://www.pledge.to/mmi2023
www.malemogulinitiative.org
Email: walterm@malemogulinitiative.org
22m - Jul 9, 2024 - Evaluating Systems and Creating Tools for Social Entrepreneurship with Greg Van Kirk - Ep 46
Greg is the founder of SocialEntrepreneurU. He is a former Ashoka Leadership Group Member, a two-time Ashoka Globalizer Fellow, and a World Economic Forum "Social Entrepreneur of the Year for 2012 (Latin America)." Greg is the principal designer of the award-winning MicroConsignment Model, now being applied globally. Over 20 years, he’s founded, led, and/or consulted for dozens of organizations, teams, and communities in 25+ countries. He has designed (social) entrepreneurial experiences, taught courses, and led workshops for thousands of students and professionals. Greg recently published It’s What You Set In Motion: A Toolbox for Collaborative Changemaking.
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18m - Jun 25, 2024 - Prioritizing Equity and Inclusion in Real Estate with Gina Merritt - Ep 45
Dr. Gina Merritt, MBA is founder of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV), LLC, and has over 26 years of hands-on real estate development, finance, construction, and asset management experience. She has participated in the development of over 8,200 units of housing and has underwritten approximately $4.5B in real estate development transactions. Merritt is an experienced owner, developer and asset manager that brings her practical development knowledge and perspective to her business model. Her team brings practical experience to its municipal, non-profit and institutional clients to provide unmatched real estate advisory services. Merritt is also the founder of Project Community Capital®, a social capital platform that connects people in low-income communities with jobs ensuring that subcontractors who have socio-economic goals from state and federal funding can meet their requirements by connecting them with individuals who are “Ready-To-Work.”
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www.nreuv.com
https://projectcommunitycapital.net
25m - Jun 11, 2024 - Workforce Development for Young Mothers with Sarah-Jayne Ashenhurst - Ep 44
Sarah-Jayne Ashenhurst is proud to serve as the Social Enterprise Director at Bright Endeavors, a social enterprise of New Moms, where she provides strategic leadership and business management to a growing workforce development social enterprise and home fragrance brand. Informed by a background in the arts and a deep commitment to racial, social, and economic justice, Sarah-Jayne is a community weaver focused on building an economy that works for workers and puts people and planet over profit. Her professional mission is to advocate for and contribute to the proliferation of unconventional business structures like social enterprises, public benefit corps, and worker-owned cooperatives as a mode of fundamentally transforming structural power dynamics and creating a just and sustainable economy.
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brightendeavors.org (use code SEA20 for 20% off!)
34m - May 29, 2024 - Working to Empower Previously Incarcerated Women with Kristen Powers - Ep 43
Kristen Powers serves as the Executive Director of Benevolence Farm. In her role, she is proud to work alongside formerly incarcerated women by providing and creating opportunities for housing, employment, and community across the rural South.
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www.benevolencefarm.org
25m - May 14, 2024 - 3PL Services and How it Supports Social Enterprise with Dena Hirschberg and Isela Flores of HHPLift - Ep 42
Helping social enterprises manage the headache of fulfillment with HHPLift’s 3PL services (Warehousing and Fulfillment). With over 10 years experience, state-of-the-art technology, and an opportunity to provide job training in the growing logistics field, HHPLift will take the headache off your plate so you can do what you do best - create impact.
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Dena is President & CEO of HHPLift, a Chicago-based non-profit, and a People and Planet First Verified social enterprise. HHPLift's mission is to create quality jobs for the people who need them most, and through their LiftWorks program, has served over 250 individuals from 36 under-resourced communities in Chicago. Her primary focus includes: establishing and strengthening strategic partnerships, educating companies about increasing ways they can source products for their programs in a socially sustainable way, and expanding the impact of its LiftWorks Program, HHPLift’s job creation and career development program.
Isela Flores enjoys working at a social enterprise where the day to day translates directly to meaningful impact. She oversees HHPLift’s Operations. Prior to working at HHPLift, Isela worked at a larger corporation for many years. Her experiences with HHPLift have been rewarding and she enjoys the family-like atmosphere and working for a nonprofit.
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hhplift.com
21m - Apr 23, 2024 - NEXT Studios: Creating Space for Innovation with John McDonald - Ep 41
John McDonald has over twenty-five years of experience as an entrepreneur, most recently as the Managing Entrepreneur of NEXT Studios, Indiana’s first Benefit (B) Corporation Innovation Studio. He was the founder and CEO of ClearObject, the fastest-growing technology company in Indiana for 5 years in a row, which successfully exited to private equity in 2019. Prior to that, John served as CEO of Chicago-based startup CloudOne, and also at IBM, where he led technical sales for their software development tools product line.
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nextstudios.org
25m - Apr 9, 2024 - Accelerators for Social Enterprise with Lauren Edwards of SEA Change - Ep 40
Lauren Edwards is the Executive Director of SEA Change, the Principal/Owner of Next Step Business Consulting, Co-owner of the social enterprise Apex Leadership Co of Central Ohio, and a Lecturer in the City and Regional Planning and Non-Profit Management departments at the Ohio State University. Her passion lies in helping organizations and individuals alleviate poverty through program and business development, vision realization, and facilitated conversation.
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SEAchng.org
nextstepbusinessconsulting.com
31m - Mar 26, 2024 - Technology Solutions in Foster Care Systems with Jordan Bartlett - Ep 39
In 2014, Jordan stepped away from a corporate job to find a way to change outcomes for people aging out of foster care. That journey lead to co-founding Doing Good Works in 2014. As Doing Good Works has grown over the last 9 years, we built an amazing community of people impacted by foster care that we served through job opportunities, training, resources and mentoring support. This experience has been distilled into Foster Greatness, an app launching nationwide in January. It's more than technology; it's a community and a support network for those taking their first steps into adulthood without a safety net.
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fostergreatness.co
dgwbranded.com
20m - Mar 11, 2024 - The Intersection of Art and Community with Liv Roskos - Ep 38
Liv Roskos is a creative, entreprenuer, and events producer with OAD Productions. Her passion is to create artistic environments and experiences where artists feel known, valued, and loved. Her music is birthed out of the everyday human experience. Through an eclectic mix of jazz/soul/pop fusion, Liv shares stories of hope, love, & inspiration.
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instagram.com/oadproductions/
instagram.com/livroskos/
*****
overflowchicago.com/events
livroskos.com
25m - Feb 27, 2024 - Human Resources for Social Enterprise with Lisa Brown Alexander of NonProfit HR - Ep 37
Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa Brown Alexander set out to build a market where one didn’t exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector.
Today, fueled by the passion of 100-plus employees and consultants nationwide, her thriving company is helping many of the nation’s most prominent nonprofit organizations get ahead through smart people management strategies. In the process, they’re changing the way an entire sector thinks about talent and culture.
Lisa has inspired Nonprofit HR to become a force that thousands of nonprofit and talent management leaders look to for consulting services, thought partnership, sector-specific hiring, and executive search needs, professional development and information.
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nonprofithr.com
19m - Feb 13, 2024 - Workforce Development Meets Land Conservation: How Social Impact Continues to Build with Ilyssa Manspeizer of Landforce - Ep 36
Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph.D. is an Anthropologist with over 30 years of experience creating opportunities for people and planet to thrive together. Throughout her time as a conservationist, Ilyssa had a recurring question about how people and conservation could go hand in hand. Landforce, formed in November 2015, has hired more than 140 people to learn environmental stewardship skills, be employed in transitional jobs to steward our land, and enter family-sustaining jobs from a place of dignity and strength. As the founding Executive Director of Landforce, Ilyssa leads an organization where traditional barriers to employment do not exist, and returning citizens, people with substance use disorders, mental health diagnoses, or those trapped in cycles of generational poverty have the opportunity to grow and thrive while ensuring that our environment can do the same.
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23m - Jan 23, 2024 - Social Impact Auto Repair with Dan Adam and Stacey Burns - Ep 35
Dan Adam, founder and owner of Adam & Son Auto Repair a Social Impact business with two locations, Founder of the Stranded Motorist Fund a 501(c)3 non-profit, co-founder of the Automotive Impact Network. Dan is a pioneer in the Social Impact arena for the Automotive industry. He is the recipient of the National Institute for Social Impact’s 2022 Social Impact Business of the year, Synchrony Pillars Project Grant 2022 winner, 2023 Vistage Impact Award for the State of Colorado.
Stacey Burns has been a strong advocate for Social Impact Businesses, veterans’ transition programs, as well as healing through the arts. Stacey was one of the creators of the Military Creative Expressions program in conjunction with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. She does ongoing work to increase the understanding and measurement of Social Return on Investment (SROI), a process she has been developing since 2009. Stacey is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Adam & Son Auto Repair and Service. Prior to that, she spent over 20 years in leadership and consulting to help people realize opportunity through Social Impact business models. Stacey has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English as well as a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education.
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adamandson.com
strandedmotoristfund.org
34m - Jan 9, 2024 - Conscious Consumerism with Janice Townsend - Ep 34
After owning and operating a retail coffee brand for fourteen years, Janice Townsend recently sold her business and has become fascinated with sustainable living. She is currently studying for a Masters of Sustainability at the Harvard Extension School, with a particular focus on the Circular Economy. Janice lives in the Near Southside of Fort Worth, Texas with her partner. She loves to write, travel, read books on spirituality and ecology, cook food for friends, and do yoga.
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"Buy healthy products from local sources with minimal packaging, and use them until they wear out."
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30m - Dec 12, 2023 - Social Enterprise in the Circular Economy with Elaine Birks-Mitchell of the Bra Recyclers - Ep 33
An advocate of the circular economy for the past 15 years, Elaine Birks-Mitchell is the CEO and Founder of The Bra Recyclers, a social enterprise dedicated to recycling and reusing preloved bras, prostheses, and underwear. In partnership with other environmentally and socially conscious individuals and companies, Elaine has donated over four million bras to over 130 nonprofits in 29 States and 8 countries.
In alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Elaine continues to be a steward of the social and environmental impacts of recycling on communities. She believes that we all have the power to change the trajectory of the circular economy using our voices and buying power.
As a social entrepreneur, it was important to create job opportunities for underserved members of our community. Elaine's mission led her to form partnerships with local nonprofits dedicated to finding meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
The next chapter on Elaine’s social entrepreneur journey has been the launch of The Undie Chest, the nonprofit arm of The Bra Recyclers. It will focus on addressing the issue of hygiene poverty with the donation of underwear to support the entire family and get the much-needed supply of underwear into our Title 1 schools.
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thebrarecyclers.com
32m - Nov 28, 2023 - Overcoming Tragedy with Katherine Berg of Will & Atlas - Ep 32
Katherine Berg is the founder of Will & Atlas. Katherine holds a lifelong appreciation for craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind treasures – a love honed over decades of travel and running a French antiques import business with her late husband, William. Together, the Bergs built what is now known as Will & Atlas, a home decor and accessories line partnering directly with fair trade artisans in Bangladesh.
The name Will & Atlas is both a reflection of global community and a tribute to Will, who tragically passed away in 2019. Will’s legacy and the heart of Will & Atlas is woven into every design, championing heritage crafts, sustainability, and goods with intention.
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willandatlas.com
20m - Nov 15, 2023 - Social Impact Consulting with Eric Miller - Ep 31
Dr. Eric W. Miller is the founder and CEO of Marsh Creek Social Works, an organizational and management consulting firm for the nonprofit and social sector, offering advising services, bookkeeping and accounting services, and an impact investment fund.
Eric’s doctoral and post-doctoral studies examined scaling social impact within social enterprises and non-profit organizations, and in 2022, Eric and his team expanded their company beyond social sector advising services to include back-office bookkeeping and accounting services and an impact investing venture, based on the needs we identified among social enterprises, nonprofits, and small business servicing other social enterprises.
In building this community footprint, Marsh Creek Social Works believes that we can achieve partnerships and cooperations between community, business, and social partners to more effectively identify and pursue solutions to community happiness.
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marshcreeksocialworks.com
24m - Oct 31, 2023 - Neurodiversity with Antonio Blazevic - Ep 30
Antonio Blazevic is the autistic owner of Neurodiversity Advisors, a certified Disabled-Owned Business Enterprise. Antonio has Master’s degrees in Business and Geography. Neurodiversity Advisors offers consulting services to businesses on how to increase the hiring of persons with disabilities.
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neurodiversityadvisors.com
13m - Oct 17, 2023 - Social Enterprise Insights with Paul Zelizer - Ep 29
Since 1993, Paul Zelizer has worked with and led programs for 30,000+ leaders working for positive change in and through their organizations. He's one of the first business coaches to focus on the needs of social entrepreneurs and impact business leaders. As part of the marketing team for Wisdom 2.0, a renowned conscious business brand, he helped grow the yearly conference from 650 to 1800 attendees in one year.
In 2017, he founded Awarepreneurs as a way to amplify the practices successful social enterprise leaders use. Today he is best known as host of the Awarepreneurs Podcast, one of the world’s leading social entrepreneur podcasts. Paul maintains a busy coaching and consulting practice working with impact focused founders & leaders.
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paulzelizer.com
awarepreneurs.com
33m - Oct 3, 2023
