Podcasts about opportunity divide

Opportunity Divide explores what motivates our nation's workforce, how employers can help them succeed, and the best ways to navigate the changing future of work. And it's the podcast trailer we're featuring on this episode of Trailer Park: The Podcast Trailer Podcast.About our show:TPP showcases podcast trailers. Our goal is to teach audio creators about best practices for short-form audio and to be a discovery mechanism for listeners.Links:Submit your trailerFollow us on InstagramEmail us: hello@trailerparkpod.comFanlist.com/trailerparkAusha.co Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

This week we're joined by Kim Sneeder, Managing Director at CareerCircle. We'll learn how to connect underserved communities with career opportunities and how you can use those to build skilled, diverse talent pipelines. Reskilling, upskilling, and ways to bridge the skill gap will all be on the table.

As Black Philanthropy Month begins, Year Up's Black Opportunity Alliance is proud to recognize the contributions of giving in all its forms, as we educate ourselves and spread awareness about the deep legacy and wide impact of Black philanthropy across the United States.  To start things off, we sat down with Greg Walton Year Up Board Vice Chair and Black Opportunity Alliance Ambassador, to discuss the work of the Alliance. Greg, a Boston native and IT Support Engineer at MIT, is committed to closing the Opportunity Divide through his active involvement in Year Up, a non-profit for which he became the first alumnus to join the National Board. He co-founded the Year Up National Alumni Summit, mentors numerous alumni, and holds the unique honor of being the first inductee into both the Year Up and Year Up Alumni Hall of Fame. An MIT Excellence Award recipient and a motivational speaker, Greg is unwaveringly passionate about empowering youth and advocating for community service. Learn more about the Black Philanthropy Alliance: https://www.yearup.org/blackopportunityalliance Follow us on social media:  Linkedin:  David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfred/ Greg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gwalton/ Francky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francky-jean-7172a618b/ Twitter: David: @David_lakay Repiblik: @Repiblik1804   Wanna give us a feedback or say hello?? Repiblik1804@gmail.com

How do you build skills and cause proven, sustained wage gains for young adults in the US? Just ask Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of the youth workforce development non-profit, Year Up.  Tune into this episode of An Educated Guest and join Gerald and host Todd Zipper, Executive Vice President and GM at Wiley, to learn how Year Up is closing the Opportunity Divide, returning $2.46 to society for every $1 invested in the organization, and teaching employers how to implement inclusive, skills-based hiring.  Key Takeaways: Year Up's leadership in operationalizing emergent talent at scale by combining workforce and youth development  How the organization has caused the largest proven sustained wage gains for young adults in the US  How Year Up provides high support and high expectations through its multi-modality, three-stage program  Why social capital and building higher socio-economic connections are critical to talent career success  Year Up's virtuous, ecosystem approach of bringing young adults and employers together through skills-based hiring  Guest Bio Gerald Chertavian is dedicated to closing the Opportunity Divide that exists in our nation. Determined to make his vision a reality, Gerald combined his entrepreneurial skills and his passion for working with young adults to found Year Up in 2000.   Gerald's commitment to working with young adults spans more than 25 years. In 1999, he sold his technology company, Conduit Communications, and left his career on Wall Street to help low-income, at-risk youth. A year later, in 2000, Year Up was born.  Gerald holds a B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He's also a New York Times best-selling author of his book published in 2012 called A Year Up. 

Can corporations impact social change? Or maybe the better question is, are they obligated to?Ken Chenault, former CEO and Chairman of American Express and award-winning executive leader, joins host Rachel Romer and special guest Adam Grant to discuss on this episode of Opportunity Divide, a show from Guild.Guild CEO Rachel Romer and best-selling author Adam Grant speak to Ken Chenault, chairman and managing director of General Catalyst, about disrupting higher education, skills-based hiring, and promoting diversity in the workplace. They discuss the negative impact of a zero sum mindset created by the higher education movement and how shifting the focus from excluding people to including them can lead to more innovative and successful companies. Additionally, they talk about the importance of giving people opportunities through retraining and reskilling, rather than relying solely on credentials while touching on mentorship, promoting diversity, and providing opportunities for all individuals in the workplace.Key takeaways from our conversation with Ken:Opportunity is created by your leadership. Focusing on skills and learning can create transformative opportunities for individuals without college degrees and reduce inequality in the workforce.Mentorship is a two-way street. Both being a good mentor and selecting mentors based on their good judgment can have a profound impact on the mentee's success.Meritocracy can cause blind spots. Diversity and inclusion are not only morally important but are also beneficial for organizations in terms of innovation and resilience. Focusing on a meritocracy alone can lead to bias and favoritism, so acknowledging the importance of diversity is crucial.This episode features a conversation on skills-based hiring, leadership, diversity, and responsible innovation that will enable you to provide better opportunities for your frontline employees. Join us!More resources from GuildAbout Ken Chenault:Kenneth I. Chenault is the Chairman and a Managing Director of the venture capital firm, General Catalyst, and former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company, a position he held from 2001 to 2018. As a managing director of General Catalyst, he focuses on investing in fast-growing companies that have the potential to become large, fundamental institutions. He also provides invaluable guidance to portfolio companies, particularly to those with an eye towards global markets and responsible innovation, as they scale their teams and products. Under his leadership at American Express, the company built one of the world's largest customer loyalty programs – Membership Rewards – and earned global recognition as a leader in customer service. Ken is recognized as one of the business world's experts on brands and brand management.

Join host Rachel Romer and special guest Adam Grant as they kick off their thought-provoking podcast series, "Opportunity Divide", presented by Guild. Together–with experts like Brené Brown, Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, Ken Chenault, and Geoffrey Canada–they will explore innovative ways to bridge the opportunity divide and empower organizations to unlock career mobility for their workforce.In this episode, Adam and Rachel discuss the Opportunity Divide at hand, and what trends and takeaways leaders can start to unravel and understand today in order to narrow the gaps within their own organizations. And, Adam shares some key findings from his research that will help leaders understand the current state of America's workforce.Key takeaways from this conversation include:Investing in creating a great workplace culture is a long-term strategy that pays dividends in the future. Leaders can start by prioritizing employee engagement and looking into good HR practices.To close the opportunity divide and build a healthy work culture, leaders should focus on removing elements of toxic culture such as disrespect and exclusion. Leaders can also provide frontline workers with more flexibility to improve work-life balance, which will lead to a more motivated workforce.Leaders should invest in promoting from within and providing opportunities for career growth. By doing so, organizations can create good jobs, which serve both individuals and organizations, and foster creativity and innovation. "Opportunity Divide" is a must-listen for frontline leaders and managers, HR professionals, and anyone passionate about driving change and unlocking the full potential of America's workforce. Join Rachel Romer and special guest Adam Grant as they illuminate the path towards a more inclusive and prosperous future for businesses and individuals alike.Join us as we work to close the Opportunity Divide

Join me as I chat with Ellen McClain, President of Year Up, about her transformative leadership journey and vision for bridging the Opportunity Divide. We talked about: Her life before Year Up; Leading through challenging times; Her role as President; Her passion for podcasts, etc. Discover her unique insights and be inspired by her practical yet compassionate leadership style. Get ready for an empowering conversation that will inspire and motivate you about where Year Up is heading.

Welcome to the first podcast of Legacy Lessons with JaQ! We're kicking off the first show with two great guests who will discuss helpful tips and some of the important work their organizations are doing to help close the opportunity divide.Aprill Hawkins from Year Up tells us how her organization helps young adults advance their skills and experience and provides them support to assist them in reaching their career and higher education potential.And Wil Lewis, the first-ever Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Experian, provides his perspective on the role improving credit can play in enhancing lives.Join these two guests and JaQ as they explore a wide range of topics about money, access, and opportunities and celebrate the launch of Legacy Lessons!RESOURCES:Learn more about Legacy Lessons & the JaQperience on our website - https://bit.ly/3umOELyWil Lewis - https://bit.ly/3uorowFAprill Hawkins & Year Up - https://www.yearup.org/SPONSORED BY:Achieve your financial goals with the right information and tools. Jump-start your credit with Experian Go. Build your credit for free so you can start achieving your financial goals today. https://bit.ly/3AmCjuA

Dr Ebbie Parsons is an Atlanta-based entrepreneur and the founder and managing partner of Managing Director of Yardstick Management. Ebbie started Yardstick Management, a management consulting firm with a goal of improving the opportunities for underserved minorities in corporate America. Today Yardstick is a leader in management consulting solutions for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as well as Executive Search. Yardstick clients include some of the largest names in business including Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, and LinkedIn.Today on Riding Shotgun, Edwin and Ebbie discuss:Ebbie's career path, and how his desire to make a difference in the lives of underserved minorities led to his founding YardstickHow corporate culture impacts diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)How the killing of George Floyd and the Great Resignation have changed the DEI landscape in Corporate AmericaAdvice for minorities seeking to break into corporate leadership positions and corporate boardsThe biggest lessons Ebbie has learned as an entrepreneur The launch of the Yardstick Management InstituteTo see the images of our guests and featured cars, and become a techrides member, go to https://techrides.io

Raised in Tampa Bay, Fred Rosario is the Site Director of Year Up Tampa Bay, a non-profit workforce training program, […]

What does the future of recruitment look like?   We've all been forced to adapt to new ways of working in recent times.  We've experienced a decade's worth of change compressed into a matter of months.  However, much of that change has been reactive.  According to Bruce Morton, author of “Redesigning the Way Work Works,” there has never been a better opportunity to strategically redesign our way of working.   Bruce is the Global Head of Strategy for Allegis, one of the top 5 largest staffing companies in the world. Bruce has worked at Allegis for 11 years and has over 40 years of experience in the human capital industry. He is well known as a global workforce design and talent acquisition expert. He has designed, implemented and managed some of the largest resourcing solutions across many different parts of the globe.  In this fascinating interview, Bruce explains the emerging role of “work-design architect,” the trend towards “projectizing” tasks, and the concept of “talent anywhere.” He also discussed the enduring impact of Covid on the future of businesses, from car manufacturing to office spaces.  Episode Outline and Highlights [3:46] Bruce's role as Global Head of Strategy at Allegis Global Solutions [7:42] Discussing Bruce's 2019 book, “Redesigning the Way Work Works” -- which of his predictions came true and how would he revise the book in light of Covid?  [12:14] What is the “work-design architect” and how is it opening a world of possibilities? [17:59] If, when and how people should return to the office. [22:08] Beyond employer branding: how companies can attract top talent and increase employee engagement by “projectizing” their tasks and introducing “stretch assignments.” [28:20] The trend towards “talent anywhere” and remote working. [32:02] The benefits of “one-click apply” [41:38] Covid realizations and enduring impact on the future of business - from car sales to office space. [43:24] Measuring outcome instead of input. [46:00] Why the opportunity divide is getting bigger and what role we can play as recruiters. “Redesigning the Way Work Works” When Bruce turned 60, coinciding with his 40th anniversary in recruitment, he wrote the book Redesigning the Way Work Works. He considered it as a gift to himself as well as his gift to the industry. The book was published pre-covid in 2019.  I asked Bruce which parts of the book would he revise post-pandemic and which of his key themes or predictions came true? He replied: “If I have time to rewrite it or update it, I would love to be able to do that and just put a big stamp on the front ‘Post Covid'. Because some of the projections that I made in the book that I was saying five to 10 years, actually happened within the first two months of Covid.” Bruce then proceeded to share his thoughts about innovation, how the way of working has significantly changed, and how organizations should think. One of my key takeaways was to “stop being limited by the four walls around you.” That will make more sense once you listen to the interview. Company Branding and How to Attract Top Performers  How do you establish a culture that attracts top talent? The culture used to be based around the office environment.  So how do you establish a brand of being a “great place to work” when most people are working remotely?  We started out discussing ideas you're already familiar with, like the need to provide great benefits, embrace diversity and inclusion, and social corporate responsibility.  Then Bruce shared a few paradigm-shifting concepts that I'd never heard before.  He explained, “When you are trying to attract people it used to be all about the company name.” Bruce explained how we're seeing a shift from being primarily loyal to the company to being loyal to the craft. Given that people are now more loyal to the profession or their expertise, Bruce pointed out that in order to attract strong performers and top talents, companies should focus on two things: “Projectizing” tasks and Giving stretch assignments The Opportunity Divide and What We Can Do A topic that Bruce is passionate about is the “opportunity divide.” He explains, “I think that it is horrendously staggering that the better we get at utilizing technology, the smarter we get as a human race, the opportunity divide is getting bigger and bigger… A CEO now on average earns 320 times more than an employee. Ten years ago the difference was only ten times.”  So how do we as an industry make a positive impact on people's lives and reduce the opportunity divide? Bruce said, “How do we educate all of our clients to think about opportunity divide and truly give people opportunity? Bruce talked about recruiting based on somebody's potential versus recruiting based on somebody's past experience.  Bruce Morton Bio and Contact Info Bruce is in his 40th year in the human capital industry and has been recognized as HR Thought Leader of the Year by HRO both in EMEA and in the US. He is the author of the book ‘Redesigning the Way Work Works.' As the Head of Strategy for Allegis Global Solutions, Bruce concentrates on adding increased value to clients from new services and product idea generation, digital transformation, internal and external thought leadership through conferences and speaking engagements.  Bruce on LinkedIn Bruce on Twitter @brucetalent Allegis Global Solutions website link People and Resources Mentioned Doug Bugie  Redesigning The Way Work Works: Strong Opinions and Advice from 40 Years in the Business a book by Bruce Morton Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcast You Might Enjoy TRR # 69 Recruitment Legends: Leadership and Life Lessons From 40 Years in the Global Recruiting Industry, with Doug Bugie Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

On this week's podcast we discuss a multi-million dollar jury award in a “hidden foster care” case; a bill to offer employers a tax credit to hire current or former foster youth; another state moves to protect faith-based discrimination; and the New York mayoral candidates talk child welfare. Ricky Watson, executive director of the National Juvenile Justice Network, joins us to discuss local and national efforts to establish a minimum age for arresting and processing youth.  Reading RoomAP: N.C. County Illegally Removed Kids from Homeshttps://bit.ly/3bNi5xdVerdict: Federal jury awards millions to daughter, father separated by Cherokee County DSShttps://bit.ly/2RmrkgGTax Incentive to Hire Foster Youth Back in Congresshttps://bit.ly/3faVuLIWe Asked the New York City Mayoral Candidates About the High-Stakes Child Welfare System. Here's What They Said.https://bit.ly/NYCchildwelfareStill Bridging the Opportunity Divide for Low-Income Youth: Year Up's Longer-Term Impactshttps://bit.ly/33L4QITJuvenile Arrests in 2019 Continued Long Downward Trendhttps://bit.ly/3hqd6pDRaising Our Standards by Raising the Minimum Agehttps://bit.ly/3uRYR0K

After a bit of a break, Security Stories is back! And we're back with a brand new lineup. Joining Hazel and Ben in the virtual pod booth is Sana Yousuf, a Cisco security marketing leader and storyteller, responsible for a diverse set of threat-focused products and solutions that bring our security platform to life. She is a diversity and inclusion evangelist and author of research reports. In this episode, we'll get to know Sana, as well as kick off a brand new opening feature. For each episode we’re going choose a topic that’s on our mind, and lead a discussion on it. There are no rules! This week it's Hazel's turn, and she leads a discussion on influential women in cybersecurity history, whose work may have gone under the radar. For more on this topic, check out this Time Magazine article: time.com/4974299/hacker-history-code-girls/Also check out our brand new ebook, "Lifting each other up: A celebration of women in cybersecurity and their advocates" cisco.com/go/boostincybersecurity Our guest this week is Dr Christine Izuakor. Christine is the founder of Cyber Pop up which helps small businesses with their cybersecurity needs and strategies. She’s had a really varied career, going from the corporate world to start up land, becoming an author, CEO and hacker along the way, and she is someone very motivated by injustice.  In this interview we hear about her life, why some people told her not to pursue a career in cybersecurity, and we chat about the opportunity divide and how we can make the field more accessible to more people.Plus, we reveal the latest threat trends in DNS Security to help inform you on where to dedicate resources or training. For more of those great looking charts Ben talks about, head to https://blogs.cisco.com/security/threat-trends-dns-security-part-1Episode time stamps:02:40 Getting to know Sana07:50 Influential women in cybersecurity history19:12 Interview with Dr Christine Izuakor part 146:05 Threat trends: What DNS Security told us about the past year59:38 Interview with Dr Christine Izuakor part 276:18 Outro

Today I am joined by a truly inspiring leader, Gerald Chertavian. Gerald is the founder & CEO of Year Up, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to closing the skills gap for thousands of young adults across the country. Since 2000, Year Up has served over 24,000 students across 25 cities nationwide. Prior to Year Up, Gerald was a successful technology entrepreneur and Wall Street banker.   Through a powerful experience in the Big Brother program, Gerald witnessed the disparities, inequities, and challenges that so many young people outside of the economic mainstream face every day. This inspired him to create Year Up and dedicate his life and business expertise to closing the opportunity gap that is so prevalent in today’s society.   In our conversation today, Gerald shares impactful stories that he has experienced through the Big Brother program; the incredible, transformative work he is doing now with Year Up; how to teach, enable, and support companies and leaders in hiring equitably; how to make a real impact on hiring and retention practices; and how to impart empathy and inspire love to all of those around you. This is a not-to-miss conversation with Gerald and I cannot wait for all of you to hear his powerful words of wisdom.   “Racism isn’t the shark; it’s the water. We all live in the water [and] we’ve absorbed the toxins that already exist in that water. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could liberate ourselves; all of us — white people included — from those toxins?” — Gerald Chertavian   Key Takeaways: [:50] About today’s episode with a truly inspiring guest, [2:04] Welcoming Gerald to Fifth Dimensional Leadership! [2:20] Gerald shares his journey in, and inspiration for, forming Year Up. [5:30] Gerald shares some impactful stories that he experienced with David, his little brother in the Big Brother program, that shed light on the injustices that minorities face each and every day. [9:05] Gerald shares about Year Up, their mission, and how the program participants have been doing during the Black Lives Matter movement and the pandemic. He also shares his hopes for the future of the world and Year Up. [12:25] More about the transformational and amazing work Gerald is doing through Year Up. [16:38] Discussing the importance of hiring for skills not school, high expectations, and the soft bigotry of low expectations. [19:15] What we can do to help companies hire for skills and not schools and for determination; not degrees. [21:19] How Year Up works with big companies to teach, enable, and support them in hiring equitably. [22:05] The essence of leadership and the key pieces of making a real impact on hiring and retention practices to become more equitable and inclusive. [27:20] Gerald shares his insights on how we impart empathy and inspire love. He also shares what they are doing at Year Up to inspire love. [31:48] Why white people also need to liberate themselves from racism. [36:54] Gerald shares some parting words of wisdom and advice for leaders. [39:11] Thanking Gerald for joining the Fifth Dimensional Leadership podcast!   Mentioned in this Episode: Year Up Grads of Life Big Brothers Big Sisters Racial Equity Institute   About Fifth Dimensional Leadership & Ginny Clarke Fifth-Dimensional Leadership is a podcast about leadership — knowing yourself, speaking your truth, inspiring love, expanding your consciousness and activating your mastery. As an executive recruiter and career expert currently leading executive recruiting at a Fortune 20 tech company, Ginny Clarke is a passionate and authentic thought leader with a unique and deliberate perspective on work and life. She synthesizes aspects of her life as an African-American single mother who has successfully navigated corporate America for over 30 years. She has inspired, uplifted, and changed the lives of thousands and is intentional about bringing conscious awareness to people of all ages and stages.   Every other week, a new edition of Fifth-Dimensional Leadership will include fascinating guests, covering a variety of topics: power, personal branding, self-awareness, networking, fear, and career management   Stay Connected! To find more episodes or learn more, visit: GinnyClarke.com Connect with her on social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube

Gerald Chertavian, the Founder and CEO of Year Up joins us to talk about his organization and his twenty-year leadership journey in the nonprofit sector. Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education. In Gerald’s own words: “Our goal isn’t to just build bridges, it’s to close divides. We don’t want young people to have to walk over bridges because of inequity and social injustice”. Brian Joseph, the Founder of RevJen joins our conversation as well.

As current events reshape how work gets done, Allegis Group is dedicated to addressing the opportunity divide. In this episode, President Andy Hilger discusses how employment breeds hope through stories about people who have faced adversity, and achieved purpose and dignity through their work. We also learn about ways Allegis Group is keeping opportunity alive amid challenging times. Check it out today!

Charlie Gleason, a designer and front end developer at Heroku, interviews Luis Alvarez. Luis is a data analyst intern at Heroku, and he got there through his involvement in Year Up. Year Up is akin to a bootcamp for young adults, divided into two phases. The first six months are a process of learning and development. Year Up pairs your interests with hands-on training in various subjects, such as data analytics, IT, and project management. There's consistent feedback from your classmates and you're constantly being evaluated on your progress. After this assessment, Year Up pairs students with companies. For example, students who excelled in data visualization courses will be matched to a company which requires that work. Luis carries the discussion by listing out the aspects of Year Up which surprised him. He appreciated the amount of time which his mentors at Heroku allotted for him, and was able to make the commute from San Jose to San Francisco largely because Year Up provides a monthly stipend for all of its students. Learning to anticipate his colleagues' needs was also necessary, as Luis' primary role was collating and representing data as graphs for others to make use of. Through the process, Luis was able to solidify his communication skills. In the end, Luis offers some advice for listeners who are keen to become future interns. He believes prospective Year Up students network should with as many people as they can, to ask for and suggest projects that coincide with their interests. Next, when it comes time to apply for jobs, he recommends an aggressive approach of applying to no less than three openings a day. As well, if you document the work you've been doing, you will find yourself with a portfolio which you can show to prospective employers. Links from this episode Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through careers and higher education.

A speech on generative learning. Generative learning is to have to learn something without having the benefit of being taught. This is a simple concept to understand yet, it is very powerful. I want to talk about generative learning and how it correlates to the Opportunity Divide. Unfortunately, there is a divide that keeps young ambitious people out of companies that have demanded their talent. This exists due to several complicated reasons: whether it's societal, systemic, adversities at home, or even experiencing a negative domino effect from other people around you. If you went through the Year Up program, chances are that you either come from an immigrant household, have no family history of a prestigious institution, or have an upbringing where you endured a lot of challenges. We know more than anyone that there are several factors that positioned us to lack opportunities... I believe these cases are due to the absence of knowledge. There is an old saying that I love that goes as follows: “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. These are things we know that we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns. The things we do not know that we do not know.” Generative Learning is us finding and overcoming our unknown unknowns. Although we start off with an absence of knowledge, we don't shy away and tackle the unknown unknowns. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-knowledge-heist/support

Welcome to She Leads Podcast Season 4, Episode 13! This episode of She Leads Podcast features Florence Davis founder of Focused Vision Design Group. Florence Davis is a designer, developer, and spiritualist who leads her life like the Boss she is. To hear Florence Davis’ take on leadership, listen to her interview as she discusses the importance of integrity, having empathy for others, and the necessity of structure and planning. Florence Davis’ Bio Florence Davis is a Spiritualist, Designer, and Developer. She is the Founder of Focused Vision Design Group. A company that provides teaching materials and workshops on all avenues tech and design related. The Front End Creatives Division of Focused Vision Design Group focuses on creating design and technology workshops to help empower people to get to the next level in career and life goals. Before, Focused Vision Design Group. Florence Davis worked and consulted for several Fortune 500 companies in the Silicon Valley Area. Including LinkedIn, Google, Apple, and Salesforce to name a few. She also taught “Intro to Programming”, at Year Up. Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Seeing the major divide in her own career, usually being the only black female in her career field. She put a major effort into volunteering and teaching. She chose to start teaching workshops on design and development to help close that divide. Therefore Focused Vision Design Group and Front End Creatives were born. Florence wanted to show that technology could be fun and that you have the opportunity to make a lot of money in this field. As well as change your life trajectory, especially if you came from a place where you were underprivileged. Year Up is what really sparked Florence’s entrepreneurial journey because through all the disadvantages she was still able to make it to Fortune 500 companies and eventually start several businesses. Nicole Walker’s Interview Commentary I really enjoyed this interview with Flo and I hope you did as well! I agree with Flo’s stance on our past not defining us!! We are defined by what we believe, what we speak, and the actions we take. We have the power to change our beliefs, words, and actions as we increase our understanding and gain more knowledge if we are willing to do so. Our beginning does not have to determine our lifetime unless we allow it to. The road to redemption will have its challenges; however, the glory of a transformed life is well worth it! We all have the opportunity to create and recreate ourselves as often as needed. And, we all have the responsibility to not allow ourselves to be created by our circumstances. A quote by Joel Osteen reads, “You are not defined by your past. You are prepared by your past.” I admire Flo’s ability to recognize and admit that she was a reluctant leader in one of her previous positions. I can completely understand this, due to the misconception that leadership has to come with a title and that speaking up will overshadow others.  It is imperative that we are unapologetic about our greatness, and do not shrink ourselves to accommodate for anyone. Just because someone has a higher position or title, does not mean that they know all the answers. Every voice matters, and we all are leaders. We have to be comfortable speaking up at all times, allowing our light to shine for the world as it should! I can relate to Flo’s experiences with feeling depressed about life and wanting more, as I experienced the same. As with Flo having an impact is extremely important to me, as it makes me feel alive and valuable. In many cases people are moved more by being involved in something they believe in, as opposed to having monetary and materialistic gain with no sense of purpose. When you have what others would deem as success and still feel empty inside, it’s time to re-evaluate your circumstances to ensure they align with your goals, values, and vision.  A quote by Kevin Kruse reads, “Life is about making an impact, not making an income.” Nicole Walker’s Takeaway of the Week Flo mentioned the importance of doing our hard tasks first to ensure the important items on our list are taken care of. This is definitely a struggle area of mine as I am a recovering procrastinator. Pushing things off and waiting until the last minute has been my practice for so long especially for the harder tasks. I am grateful that I no longer enjoy the unnecessary pressure this brings, and am working to improve in this area. I will continue to make it my business to align my tasks with my core values and desired impact, while working on the hard tasks first to ensure I am challenging and growing myself, showing up in excellence, and not rushing the process.  A quote by Dale Carnegie reads, “Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” Nicole Walker’s Leadership Challenge My leadership challenge for you would be to think about the one thing you can take away from this episode and adopt into your life.  I know it’s hard to absorb too much information at one time and it’s even harder to try and implement too many changes at once.  When I attend a training or listen to podcasts I aim to walk away with a least one thing that stuck out to me and one way that I can change as a result.  I challenge you to do the same!  If you decide to take me up on my challenge I would love to know about your key take way.  If you care to share please go to the She Leads Podcast Discussion Group on Face Book and leave your comment under the Takeaway Thursday post for Season 4 Episode 13. Don’t forget to subscribe to She Leads Podcast for First access to future episodes. And, like and share this episode of She Leads Podcast, “Your Past Does Not Define You with Florence Davis”. Thanks and until next time “Be Empowered and Empower On”!  

Jonathan Mayo is the Director of Corporate Engagement for Year Up Greater Atlanta, a one-year intensive education and internship program for young adults aged 18-24. The mission of Year Up is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.   In our interview, we talk about the process, experience and benefits of Year Up.  Also, Jonathan drops so much wisdom and positivity in the interview. It's a great conversation, about a great cause, with a great man. 

Legendary Boston chef and restaurateur Gordon Hamersley and Gerald Chertavian, the founder and CEO of Year Up, a non-profit organization dedicated to closing the Opportunity Divide, discuss concrete solutions to enable low-income young adults to reach their full potential.

This episode of the Built On Purpose Podcast features an interview with Gerald Chertavian, Founder & CEO of Year Up, a national program that empowers urban young adults to enter the economic mainstream. In this episode Gerald talks about the Opportunity Divide, why he founded Year Up to bridge the Opportunity Divide, and how to think about hiring in ways that taps into talent that is not being utilized. Listen to this episode and more Built On Purpose podcast interviews at http://yscouts.com/podcast/