Ed. Note: This post is part of the Commerce in the Community series highlighting the work of community leaders and organizations that are strengthening the middle class and providing ladders of opportunity for all Americans.

Below is an interview with Brian Hill, co-founder of Jail Education Solutions (JES). Prior to starting JES, Brian worked for General Mills and served as a business consultant. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT and is currently finishing his JD/MBA at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Q1: Tell us about Jail Education Solutions (JES). What is your mission and main focus?

JES is dedicated to improving inmate outcomes during incarceration and after release by incentivizing educational and vocational progress through tablet technology in correctional facilities. Investment in inmate education leads to reduced recidivism and lowers taxpayer liability. However, educational programming in correctional facilities is extremely limited and does not currently meet inmate demand. JES grants inmates access to an immense collection of resources, which would otherwise be unavailable, such as k-12 education, GED and college readiness; employment and other community resources; exploratory educational material; cognitive behavioral therapy and treatment and legal information. It does so at no additional cost to the institution or taxpayer. 

Q2: How did Jail Education Solutions get started?

The initial interest happened when I was young, and came from my father. He was a psychology professor at Folsom Prison, and his bedtime stories were his student’s papers. I saw so much human potential locked up, but at that age had no idea about the magnitude of the problem. It wasn’t until later in my first year at Northwestern Law School when I began work on a Social Impact Bond initiative for Cook County's Jail (Chicago) that I was reminded of the great need for opportunity. This passion, bolstered by the very innovative Sheriff Tom Dart, provided the space to test, learn, and create JES.

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Commerce in the Community series highlighting the work of community leaders and organizations that are strengthening the middle class and providing ladders of opportunity for all Americans.

Below is an interview with Charlotte Haberaecker, President and CEO of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), one of the nation’s largest health and human services networks. Prior to joining LSA in 2012, Charlotte was the number-two executive at Global Impact, a $110 million non-profit organization that provides funding for critical humanitarian needs at home and around the world. Previously, she held senior leadership positions at Price Waterhouse where she directed a management consulting practice and Fannie Mae where she led an industry transformation initiative. 

Q1: Tell us about Lutheran Services in America. What is your mission and main focus?

Lutheran Services in America (www.lutheranservices.org) is one of the largest health and human services networks in the country. Our more than 300 members provide a broad range of critical services from health care to children and family services, senior services, disaster relief, refugee services, disability support, housing, and employment support, among others.  Collectively, LSA members touch the lives of 1 in 50 Americans each year in thousands of communities across the United States.

Ranked at #25 on the Philanthropy 400, the LSA network represents close to $21 billion in combined annual revenues in the U.S. Our members employ close to 250,000 people in all 50 states and parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our members provide services to all, regardless of their religious affiliation, race, or social or economic background.

LSA works to ensure our members’ resilience in an increasingly evolving environment. Our newly revised mission is to “build valuable connections, amplify our voices and empower our members,” and our vision is a network of “connected, strong and thriving” members that “transform the lives of people and communities.” A distinguishing characteristic of our network is the deep trust and sharing that come from a shared set of values and goals. Our network strives to help people become self-sufficient so they can lead more independent, secure and higher quality lives. The deep trust facilitates rapid innovation and scale.

We help our members to build resilience through specialized programming for CEOs and executives; we also work to help build the capacity and infrastructure of our member organizations, for example by exploring new business models that can create more sustainable revenue streams. We also find opportunities for our 307 members to work together to achieve outcomes they couldn’t achieve on their own so they can grow and continue to serve their communities for generations to come.

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Commerce in the Community series highlighting the work of community leaders and organizations that are strengthening the middle class and providing ladders of opportunity for all Americans.

Below is an interview with Shawn Lesser and Michael Whelchel, Co-founders and Partners at Watershed Capital Group. Prior to starting Watershed, Shawn sold institutional equities to European banks and Michael co-managed two private equity funds in the U.S.

Question 1: Tell us about Watershed Capital. What is your mission and main focus?
 
Watershed Capital Group (www.watershedcapital.com) is a boutique investment bank focused on the area of impact investments. Our mission is to scale impact investing with a specific emphasis on helping companies and funds raise capital and execute mergers and acquisitions. Over the past seven years, we've worked with over 20 sustainable companies and over 60 private equity funds.

Question 2: How is Watershed Capital Group working with the Department of Commerce to expand its impact?

In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Commerce around the Obama Administration's impact initiative, last October we organized the first impact and sustainable trade mission to Europe. Specifically, we brought together 10 US-based impact funds and introduced them to close to 90 European investors in London, Zurich and Amsterdam. The trade mission included high-level conversations about the impact investing space and was capped with a policy roundtable in London which brought together stakeholders both from the US and the UK.

Following up on the success of the first trade mission, last month we organized the second impact and sustainable trade mission to Nordic region with delegations meetings in Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki.  This October we will be returning to Europe the week of October 20th for the third impact and sustainable trade mission with delegation meetings in London, Zurich and Amsterdam.

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Commerce in the Community series highlighting the work of community leaders and organizations that are strengthening the middle class and providing ladders of opportunity for all Americans.

Below is an interview with Rev. Dr. Helen Fleming, who leads the Women’s Veterans Resource Center. Rev. Dr. Fleming is pastor of the Douglas Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., a post she has served in since 2005.

Question 1: Tell us about the Women’s Veterans Resource Center. What is your mission and main focus?

The Women’s Veterans Resource Center was created in 2010 following a speaking engagement for the Women’s Rock Rally. I learned about the injustice that was happening in the military around women’s issues and I became concerned about women veterans who were homeless. I also realized that many churches did not have a veterans program for women.  As a result of these realities, I created the Women’s Veterans Resource Center, which offers a variety of resources in 11 different churches.  Our mission is to be the support to military and veteran women who need benefits, jobs, mental health care, clothing, food, counseling, housing and spiritual guidance. Our main focus is to keep the doors open to these vets and to be there as a refuge in their hopelessness whenever we are needed.

Question 2: How are you partnering with other groups in the community to expand economic opportunity?

We collaborate with every level of government Veterans Affairs offices, non- profit organizations, the business community and service organizations to host events that supply services and supplies to our veteran women.  Each quarter, we hold events such as benefit conferences, job development sessions and job fairs and clergy training sessions on how to treat our veterans. We also provide the clothing for the Women’s Rock Rally on Veterans Day at the ARC Center. Some of the churches are offering their parsonages in order to develop housing for our homeless. Emory UMC is digging ground on a large facility that will offer housing to the homeless veterans and others in need of housing. We’ve also held workshops on interview techniques, social media, business development and social etiquette classes in order to build self-esteem and confidence. All of our events are joint efforts with entities ranging from the White House to the Federal Women Veterans Affairs Office, the Department of Labor Veterans Affairs Office, the Mayors Veterans Affairs Office, Veterans Hospitals and other veterans agencies.

Question 3: If people want to learn more about the Women’s Veterans Resource Center, what should they do?

Contact Douglas Memorial UMC at 202-397-1562 and we will respond in a positive manner.

Ed. Note: This post is part of the Commerce in the Community series highlighting the work of community leaders and organizations that are strengthening the middle class and providing ladders of opportunity for all Americans. 

Below is an interview with Toya Powell, Vice President of Operations for the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC). A former real estate economist at Property & Portfolio Research, Inc. (PPR), Toya previously served as a Business Opportunity Specialist at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), an economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and a realtor in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. 

Q1: Tell us about US Black Chambers, Inc. What is your mission and what are your key priorities? 

The U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC) is led by our President & CEO, Ron Busby Sr., and supports 114 affiliated member Chambers in 25 states and 240,000 businesses through Five Pillars of Service: Advocacy, Access to Capital, Contracting, Entrepreneur Training, and Chamber Development. Our mission is to provide committed, visionary leadership and advocacy in the realization of economic empowerment. Through the creation of resources and initiatives, we support African American Chambers of Commerce and business organizations in their work of developing and growing Black enterprises. 

Q2: In what ways are you working to expand opportunity in hard-hit communities across the US? 

USBC is working to expand opportunity in hard-hit communities across the U.S. through our Solutions Series where we focus on connecting our chambers and businesses to the public and private sector resources they need to be successful through Access to Capital, Contracting, and Entrepreneur Development. Since we launched the Solutions Series in 2012, we have been to communities from coast-to-coast in Phoenix, AZ; Charlotte, NC; Miami, FL; Austin, TX; Columbus, OH; Las Vegas, NV; Atlanta, GA, Kansas, City, KS with more cities ahead. In addition, this year we will host our 4th annual signature conference - the USBC School of Chamber and Business Management - on Tuesday, July 8th through Friday, July 11th at the brand new Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC. This conference convenes our chamber leaders from across the country and our Top 100 business owners, helping them to refine their leadership skills and gain access to viable opportunities in the public and private sectors.