2025 Alumni Funded Businesses + Projects

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By supporting the people and ideas that have the greatest ability to positively impact our world, the Young Leaders and Whole Community Programs at Greenhouse are building blocks in pursuit of lasting community change. We provide direct support for early-stage ideas and connections to funding for different life stages.

Jose Banales
(Class of 2019)
Young Leaders Program

JB Consulting, LLC

JB Business Consulting, LLC specializes in sales operations consulting, helping small businesses in Denver generate and retain revenue. The firm tailors its services to client objectives, leveraging the owner’s experience to support business growth. The first year focuses on initial investments in equipment and software, with profitability expected by August 2025.

Yasmin Cortez
(Class of 2020)
Young Leaders Program

Flower Power

Flower Power is a community initiative that fosters creativity and community engagement by integrating floral arts into Chicago classrooms. The program teaches students to create floral arrangements with provided materials, which are donated to senior homes and hospitals to spread joy. 

Tyler Cunningham
(Class of 2019)
Young Leaders Program

CA-Loop

CA-Loop is an innovative business combining sustainable farming, resale, and waste repurposing to create a closed-loop ecosystem. With a focus on sustainability and social impact, CA-Loop aims to provide local employment and launch community projects on the West Coast.senior homes and hospitals to spread joy. 

Meseret Hailu
(Class of 2011)
Whole Community Program

Ethiopian Youth Culture Workshop

The Ethiopian Youth Cultural Workshop (EYCW) is a summer enrichment experience for children. Designed to promote the preservation of cultural heritage among the children of Ethiopian immigrants living in the United States, the EYCW offers workshops on language skill development, an appreciation for African cuisine, and critical thinking skills.

Alexandra Martinez Lopez
(Class of 2022)
Young Leaders Program

InspiraSTEM

InspiraSTEM is an annual conference to empower Salvadoran college students in STEM disciplines through high-level training workshops and academic seminars.This initiative seeks to foster the development of future scientists and professionals in El Salvador who might otherwise lack access to high-quality scientific training, with the ultimate goal of driving positive changes in modern Salvadorian society.

Lamar Morgan
(Class of 2023)
Young Leaders Program

Lambstone Community Advisors

Lambstone Community Advisors is a community engagement and outreach advisory firm centered on bringing strategic and creative solutions to support for-profit businesses, non-profits, and quasi-governmental entities in their various endeavors. Focusing on creating and managing compelling content and events, Lambstone is an authentic community partner seeking first to understand the communities its work may affect before working prescriptively to address its most crucial opportunities for outreach and engagement.

Anthony Rucker
(Class of 2021)
Young Leaders Program

Rucker Insights, LLC

Rucker Insights, LLC is a business consulting firm specializing in sales and marketing for small and mid-sized companies, by helping clients generate revenue through services like social media management, sales funnel optimization, website creation, and content marketing.

Kaylee Zilinger
(Class of 2024)
Young Leaders Program

Yale VIBES

Yale VIBES (Virtual Internship in Biomedical Education in Science) is a paid, two-semester virtual internship for undergraduate students from historically marginalized backgrounds, particularly those from low-income or non-research-intensive universities, who are interested in graduate school.

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2025 Young Leaders Program Advisors in-Residence Sessions

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The Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse Scholar Alumni in the early stages of their careers and post-college life.

Advisor in-Residence Sessions provide innovative, comprehensive, and personalized support resources to grow Alumni in the Young Leaders Program, maximize individual potential, and foster community change. Advisors participate in three teams and work with alumni over four virtual sessions:
  • Leaders “in Residence”: Helping Alumni become exceptional leaders of people, profits, and purpose. (January 2025)
  • Professionals “in Residence”: Preparing Alumni to take on the finance, operations, marketing/customer experience, and culture challenges and opportunities that present themselves regardless of vocation. (February 2025)
  • Whole People “in Residence”: Providing the knowledge and tools to help Alumni live their best lives. (March 2025)
  • All-Advisor Session: Workshops with all Advisors from all three teams. (April 2025)

See below for bios of our current Advisors in Residence and session themes.

2025 Advisors in Residence

Leadership Team

January Leadership Session Key Takeaways: Ongoing Assessment for Leadership Growth

  • Leadership isn’t about grand ambitions; it can be about small, consistent actions.
  • Be intentional and aware of your actions, mindset, and environment.
  • Effective leadership requires understanding individual motivations and adjusting approaches accordingly.
  • Leaders don’t need to have all the answers immediately; confidence in learning and adapting is key.

Terrence Cummings
(New Advisor)

Chief Opportunity Officer, Guild

Terrence is the chief opportunity officer at Guild, where he is accountable for driving economic mobility for Guild’s learners, members and employees. He previously served as the company’s senior vice president of member services and strategy, and before that led the company’s employer partnerships teams. Prior to Guild, Cummings led product, marketing, partnerships, engineering and analytics teams across a range of startup companies and was previously a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado.

M. Ryan Gorman
(New Advisor)

Co-Founder, btcRE: be the change Real Estate

Ryan is driven by service, guided by integrity, and passionate about the intersection of people and place. He believes in the beautiful efficiency and impenetrable logic of classic bicycles, well-conceived roundabouts, and housing-first public policy. It brings him joy to help people create the communities they deserve, from physical neighborhoods to high-performing organizations to digital collaboratives. His career travels include technology investment banking in Silicon Valley, fixed-income investing on Wall Street, and private equity due diligence across the country.

Gregg Vanourek
(Returning Advisor)

Founder, Gregg Vanourek LLC

Gregg is co-author of three influential books, including LIFE Entrepreneurs (a manifesto for integrating our life and work with purpose and passion) and Triple Crown Leadership (a winner of the International Book Awards). He runs a personal development and leadership company and teaches at the Stockholm Business School. He’s also a former senior executive at a tech startup, now a market leader with $1 billion in sales. He served as board chair for a global social entrepreneurship accelerator based in Stockholm. Gregg has given a TEDx talk and talks or workshops in eight countries.

David Zimmerman
(Returning Advisor)

Founder, AMAXXA

From Financial Advisor to CEO to entrepreneur, David is a forward-acting business pioneer who always wants to know what’s around the next corner. David built his business by doing financial planning for his clients and using advisory services for investment solutions. On Wall Street magazine recognized him as one of the financial services industry’s top managers twice during his career and Registered Rep magazine wrote an article about his work to pioneer practice management and team development.

Professional Team

February Professional Session Key Takeaways: How Attitude Impacts Individual and Organizational Success

  • Power of Positivity – Positive attitudes attract others and create strong connections
  • Positive Mindset – Choosing optimism over fear in the face of challenges.
  • Celebrate Small Wins – Break big goals into milestones. Recognize and appreciate progress made along the way.

Dr. Shawana Moore
(New Advisor)

Associate Professor and MSN and DNP Programs Director, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University

Shawana is a health equity policy leader in women’s/gender-related populations, her advocacy work has shaped women’s health curriculum, national continuing education to recognize health inequities for women/of color, and those who identify as female. She is the first African American President of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH) and the inaugural co-chair of the organization’s first Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity (IDE) committee.

Rachel Myung
(Returning Advisor)

Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP

Rachel advises clients on complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and general corporate counseling and compliance. Rachel’s clients also include private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, and other private companies across an array of industries, including technology, manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, food and beverage, and professional services and marketing. 

Sid Prashar
(New Advisor)

Senior Partner, Modern Executive Solutions

Sid is a Senior Partner at Modern, a strategic consultancy that partners with clients to both define and execute a leadership talent strategy that will build sustainable and diverse leadership teams. Prior, Sid led a high-performing team focused on executive leadership recruitment at Google and worked with senior executive teams on many business-critical leadership roles across the Alphabet portfolio. Sid earned his bachelor’s in computer engineering from Purdue University and MBA from University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. 

Tom Thompson
(Returning Advisor)

VP Creative/Advertising, St. Martin’s Press

Tom leads the Creative Studio group that comprises an in-house advertising agency–from media planning to creative to ad ops –social media and promotion specialists, as well as a traditional creative services team. In addition to his work at SMPG, Tom is a poet, with three books and many poems, reviews and essays published in literary journals and websites. He lives in New York City.

Whole Person Team

March Whole Person Session: Adaptive Goal Setting for Personal Growth

  • Clarity and Alignment – A clear vision of life priorities helps syncs all aspects of life.
  • Holistic Life – Work and personal life are interconnected, not separate entities.
  • Setbacks – Every adversity has an equivalent or greater benefit.
  • Being Relentless – Passion beats talent, and clarity allows you to be adaptable.

Pete Burridge
(Returning Advisor)

Founder & CEO, Greenhouse Scholars, Greenhouse Partners, The 18.com

Pete previously served as a Senior Vice President and an officer at The Integer Group. Integer is a global powerhouse in promotional, retail, and shopper marketing. He was also a director of Wunderman Cato Johnson, a division of Young and Rubicam, and has an investment background, having spent four years as a Treasury Bond Trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. An entrepreneur his entire career, he has been a part of starting seven companies. Pete founded Greenhouse Scholars to create a Whole Person program that makes a broad and lasting impact by helping students become community leaders who create change that will last through the generations. He believes that each of us is accountable for giving back to the community.

Erik Estrada
(Returning Advisor)

Corporate Attorney, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Erik practices corporate and securities law with a focus on corporate governance, public company representation, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive
experience advising clients, including public companies and their boards and executive leadership teams, on federal securities law compliance and corporate governance matters, with a particular emphasis on technology, biotech, and telecommunications companies. Before joining the firm, Erik was a senior director
and senior corporate counsel for Liberty Latin America Ltd., a Nasdaq-listed company, and as a director and senior corporate counsel for Level 3, a Fortune 500 company.

Lynne Hambleton-Magee
(New Advisor)

Minister, Spiritual Healer and Change Consultant

Lynne’s business experience includes consulting services, product marketing, strategic planning, sales operations, customer support and training in companies spanning many industries and sizes. She guided organizational transformations, redirected troubled projects to successful completion, conducted workshops, and coached clients on business process improvement projects. Recent engagements included leader development and coaching, client relationship management, sales force effectiveness, team dynamics, strategic marketing re-alignment, product/services development, commercialization process, talent development, organization/ cultural transformation to project-centric operations, and PMO creation and execution.

Ali Hartman
(New Advisor)

Activist and Changemaker

Ali is a lifelong activist and changemaker. She has spent her professional career in roles that sit at the intersection of profit and purpose. She is an expert in responsible investment, ESG integration, venture philanthropy, venture impact, and gender lens investing. Ali is a tested leader whose diverse interests and life experiences have shaped her world view. She believes that to unlock the most change we must build bridges between power and perspective. Ali strives to use a range of traditional and innovative tools to create a more sustainable, inclusive, just world for all.

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Young Leaders Program – Ignite 2024

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The Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse Alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives. Through the Young Leaders Program, we work together to implement actionable ideas, change, and community initiatives.

The 3rd annual Ignite conference was held over 3 days where alumni in the Young Leaders Program heard from exceptional industry leaders, participate in leadership, professional, personal, and community change panels and workshops, and connected with each other and the Greenhouse community for relationship-building, collaboration, and learning. 44 alumni in the Young Leaders program attended Ignite this year from 8 class years and 10 states.

2024 Ignite Speaker Lineup

Welcome + Leadership Session

Pete Burridge
Founder & CEO, Greenhouse Partners, Greenhouse Scholars, The18.com

Pete delivered the keynote Ignite welcome and led a leadership workshop to inspire participants to lead with purpose, empathy, and integrity in their personal and professional endeavors.

Relationship + Team Building Session

Brittany Charboneau
AKA the Funny Runner

Brittany used the basic principles of improv comedy and her experience as a professional athlete to help alumni with things like working as a team, stopping overthinking, getting inspired, practicing patience, getting into your body, managing nerves, and owning your weird!

Personal Session

Jamie Logan
Founder + CEO J Logan Architects

Jamie showed a screening of a new film festival submission about her and presented and lead a discussion on “Allow Yourself to Be Yourself.”

Community Change Session

Presentation and Greenhouse community-led workshops providing the strategic thinking for community impact projects on the topics of healthcare, housing, education, poverty, and food insecurity.

Workshop Facilitators:

  • Tinisha Dorsey, Senior Principal, Central Zone Leader – Mercer LAD Practice Mercer
  • Keith Greenawalt, Founder, Keith Greenawalt Consulting
  • Richard Maez (Greenhouse Alum), Deputy Director, Ednium: The Alumni Collective
  • Andrew Smiles, Founder, StepChange Partners
  • Jamie Clay, Young Leaders and Whole Community Programs Director, Greenhouse

Outdoor Activity

Alumni took a break from the indoor sessions and headed outdoors to beautiful Chautauqua Park to breathe, move, and reflect.

Activity Facilitators:

Professional Session

Attendees enjoyed a panel and small breakout groups to take on the finance, operations, marketing/customer experience, and culture challenges and opportunities that present themselves regardless of vocation.

Panelists:

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Young Leaders Program – 2024 Idea Creation & Enhancement Sessions

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Comprised of three components (learning, relationships, entrepreneurship), the Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives and ensures we work together as a community to launch high-potential, high-impact ideas. 

The program serves alumni who are committed to growing as a leader, pursuing the best version of themselves, leveling the playing field in their careers, and being a part of strengthening our community.  

By supporting the people and ideas that have the greatest ability to positively impact our world, the Young Leaders Program is a building block in pursuit of lasting community change.

Through the entrepreneurship component of the Young Leaders Program, Greenhouse provides direct support for early-stage ideas and connections to funding for different life stages.

The goal of the entrepreneurship component is to create an entrepreneurial mindset and platform to identify and launch high-potential ideas. In 2024, the Young Leaders Program will host Idea Creation and/or Enhancement sessions in Illinois, Colorado, California, New York, and Georgia.

Idea Creation:
Building Blocks in Pursuit of Lasting Community Change

Sessions that contribute to the creation of new, high-potential ideas for Young Leaders and community members to pursue.

Illinois Idea Creation Participants: together, they managed to generate over 50 unique ideas for new for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community impact projects.

Community Members: Barry Friedland, Kamau Faines, Kelly Gaskin, and Rachel Myung
Young Leaders: Asia-Ana Williams and Martha Martinez

Colorado Idea Creation Participants: together, they managed to generate over 100 unique ideas for new for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community impact projects.

Community Members: Ali Berman, Tom Croke, Max Eckstein
Alumni: Holly Ajala, Connie Appiah, Elizabeth Gutierrez-Gutierrez

California Idea Creation Participants: together, they managed to generate over 20 unique ideas for new for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community impact projects.

Community Members: Doug Holte, Tyler Mattox, Mark Primiano
Alumni: Rafael Aguilera, Delshanee Martin, Ricardo Reyes, Jessamyn Sweet

Idea Enhancement:
Launching High-Potential Ideas

Sessions that support the success of ideas of various life stages with input
from within and outside the Greenhouse Community.

Illinois Idea Enhancement Participants: together, they engaged in intensive discussions aimed at working through challenges and identifying viable paths forward for 3 Alumni businesses.

Community Members: Billy Hyland, Doug Shabelman, Evan Lonergan, Stephanie Seymour, and Ted Neild
Alumni: Anthony Rucker, Jason (Ivy) Roberts, and Sarah Dynia

Colorado Idea Enhancement Participants: together, they engaged in intensive discussions aimed at working through challenges and identifying viable paths forward for 4 Alumni businesses.

Community Members: Sarah Adams Anderson, Cynthia Banks, Marc Cohen, Marc Goldenberg, Lane Hornung
Alumni: Meseret Hailu, Brittni Hernandez, Ivan Hernandez, Richard Maez

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Young Leaders Program – 2024 Funded Businesses + Projects

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Comprised of three components (learning, relationships, entrepreneurship), the Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives and ensures we work together as a community to launch high-potential, high-impact ideas. 

The program serves alumni who are committed to growing as a leader, pursuing the best version of themselves, leveling the playing field in their careers, and being a part of strengthening our community.  

By supporting the people and ideas that have the greatest ability to positively impact our world, the Young Leaders Program is a building block in pursuit of lasting community change.

Through the entrepreneurship component of the Young Leaders Program, Greenhouse provides direct support for early-stage ideas and connections to funding for different life stages.

The goal of the entrepreneurship component is to create an entrepreneurial mindset and platform to identify and launch high-potential ideas.

Meseret Hailu (Class of 2011)

Ethiopian Youth Culture Workshop

A heritage enrichment and maintenance site in Colorado for Ethiopian children to promote the preservation of cultural heritage among immigrants living in the United States offering language and cooking workshops, music, and games.

Connie Appiah (Class of 2018)

Equinox in Motion

A digital platform and podcast series discussing and sharing resources, evidence-based strategies, and professional expertise around empowering women at the intersection of wellness, self-actualization, and motherhood featuring women ages 20-40, first-time/new working moms, and black/marginalized women in Colorado.

Jose Banales (Class of 2019)

JB Consulting

A small consulting firm designed to make a meaningful impact on their client’s business with tailored, innovative, efficient, and positive solutions. The vision is to shape the future of business through unwavering commitment to client success, positive change, and being at the forefront of progressive solutions that drive transformative business outcomes.

Richard Maez (Class of 2015)

Ednium: The Alumni Collective

An action-focused community development organization that partners with Denver Public School Alumni (35 and under) to change the way our city educates and reinvests in its homegrown talent seeking to deliver a tangible and sustainable solution to the gap in the infrastructure of Denver that can be replicated as a model throughout the metro area and the country.

Sama Kareem (Class of 2022)

DAWN Ophthalmology

A completely volunteer-run clinic focused on providing basic eye care for patients with a lack of access to healthcare based in Aurora, CO. Sama’s goal is for DAWN is to be able to provide holistic and preventative vision care for patients. To do this, they need to work on improving and strengthening their infrastructure to purchase and use higher-end equipment like lasers.

Jason Roberts (Class of 2017)

“Crush” Jason Ivy, LLC

Releasing on Chicago’s 312 Day, “Crush” is the 2nd single from Jason’s debut project, and Jason’s first release with AWAL. His goal is to use these singles to push further into the mainstream with each release while developing his 1,000 true fans in Chicago and Atlanta. By the end of 2024, he aims to solidify support from existing industry partnerships to open up new sources of revenue, so his music career becomes self-sustaining and more autonomous. By 2030, he sets to build a state-of-the-art arts center on Chicago’s south side that can create endless opportunities for rising artists like him.

Helena Cappon (2019 Class)

Gub Gub’s Pizza + Ice Cream

Gub Gub’s Pizza + Ice Cream received a third round of funding (also funded in 2021 + 2023) to sustain our payroll while they closed their first location inside an incubator and moved to their official space, as well as fund their marketing, graphic design, and media. More specifically, they are a family-run operation in a rural area. They rely on themselves and their small staff to be successful and now they are able to move forward with the confidence necessary to launch our project and have every opportunity of success.

Amadou Bah (2019 Class)

Bah Foundation

The Bah Foundation is dedicated to transforming lives and communities by addressing the root causes of poverty and empowering individuals to achieve self-sufficiency. Through strategic planning, collaboration, and sustainable practices, they aim to create a future where everyone can live a dignified and fulfilling life. With funding from Greenhouse, they will be in a better position to run multiple programs at
consistent rates where they can scale our impact. For example, they can expand their operations to California and complete the
construction of the Islamic center that will provide an underserved population with a hub where they can access food, education, and religious services.

Victoria Lamar (2022 Class)

Securing Degrees, LLC

A scholarship company providing personalized, affordable, and effective online and in-person scholarship and college application services. Since its inception in 2018, Securing Degrees has worked with over 4,000 individuals to help them accumulate over $15 Million in funding and has partnered with over 20 schools, nonprofits, and organizations.

Luis Cordero (2022 Class)

World Alzheimer’s Day 2024

For this year’s World Alzheimer’s Day, Luis partnered with a Chicago salon to provide free haircuts to people living with dementia. The predominately Spanish-speaking hair salon is in the Albany Park neighborhood where he grew up with his loved ones. He wants to ensure that we continue to care for our community and hopefully inspire neighboring salons to offer some community service components.

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2024 Young Leaders Program Advisors “In-Residence” Sessions

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The Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse Scholars Alums in the early stages of their careers and post-college life.

Advisors “In-Residence” Sessions provide innovative, comprehensive, and personalized support resources to grow Young Leaders, maximize individual potential, and foster community change. Advisors participate in three teams and work with alumni over four virtual sessions:
  • Leaders “In-Residence”: Helping alumni become exceptional leaders of people, profits, and purpose. (March 2024)
  • Executives “In-Residence”: Preparing young leaders to take on the finance, operations, marketing/customer experience, and culture challenges and opportunities that present themselves regardless of vocation. (June 2024)
  • Whole People “In-Residence”: Providing the knowledge and tools to help young leaders live their best lives. (September 2024)
  • All-Advisor Session: Workshops with all three teams. (December 2024)

See below for bios of our current Advisors “In-Residence” and session themes.

2024 Advisors “In-Residence”

Leaders Team: Contemporary Leadership + Trends: Leading Diverse Groups in the Digital Age

March 2024 Themes:

  • Leadership + Empathy: Leading with empathy and building meaningful relationships with those you’re leading. Creating a safe environment for failure and open discussion about strengths and weaknesses. Unlearning internalized biases and understanding individual strengths and weaknesses.
  • Continuous Learning + Adaptability: The importance of lifelong learning, unlearning, and adaptability. Resilience as a muscle that needs to be built over time. Developing a growth mindset and staying open to change.
  • Self-Leadership + Well-Being: Prioritizing self-leadership and maintaining physical and mental health. Being decisive and maintaining positivity and belief during times of crisis. Recognizing the importance of attitude and controlling what can be controlled.
  • Ethical Leadership + Transparency: Leading with honesty, transparency, and ethics. Addressing conflicts directly and transparently to prevent escalation. Giving people the benefit of the doubt and approaching issues with understanding.
  • Crisis Leadership + Decision-Making: Making timely decisions during crisis leadership and avoiding the cost of delayed decisions. Strategic planning and scenario analysis as strengths in crisis management. Effective communication and keeping stakeholders informed during challenging times.

Executives Team: Contemporary Professional Landscape:
Utilizing Technology for Planning, Execution, and Engagement

June 2024 Themes:

  • Harnessing Technology for Organizational Success: Leverage AI and platforms for planning and decision making. Empower staff to navigate digital disruptions and adapt to technological challenges.
  • Strategic Planning and Execution: Develop proficiency in strategic planning to align with organizational goals. Translate strategic plans into actionable initiatives and measurable outcomes.
  • Leveraging Technology for Effective Engagement: Mentor young professionals in using technology for stakeholder and client engagement. Utilize digital communication tools for collaboration and hybrid team engagement.
  • Fostering a Positive and Inclusive Organizational Culture: Use technology to foster inclusive engagement and collaboration in remote or hybrid settings. Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives through technology.
  • Mentorship and Development of Young Leaders: Guide young leaders to navigate strategic challenges and achieve significant results. Mentor young professionals to use technology effectively in their roles.

Whole Person Team: Contemporary Personal Development:
Finding Balance in the Digital Era

September 2024 Themes:

  • Mindfulness and Self-Care
    • Integrating practices like yoga, breathwork, and Zumba! can help build resilience and adaptability in a world filled with uncertainty.
    • Setting boundaries with technology to prioritize self-care, such as scheduling time for rest and engaging in non-digital activities, can enhance well-being.
  • Digital Well-being and Personal Values
    • Aligning digital engagement with personal values is essential for purposeful living. Evaluate whether your online activities contribute positively to your mental health and well-being.
    • Journaling is suggested to externalize thoughts and foster a more balanced digital presence by pairing negative thoughts with positive reflections.
  • Empathetic and Authentic Communication
    • In virtual settings, focusing on authentic self-expression and sharing personal stories can help build genuine relationships. Overcoming communication barriers requires empathy and openness.
    • For meaningful connections, it’s important to embrace and share your unique experiences, especially those that shaped you.
  • Balancing Screen Time
    • Establishing boundaries around screen time is critical for holistic wellness. Assess and adjust screen habits to ensure a healthy balance between digital use and personal care.
    • Find a community that fits your needs and aligns with your values, and be open to change if you are not thriving in your current environment.
  • Maintaining Balance
    • Alumni highlighted challenges with disconnecting from technology, staying consistent with good habits, and finding time for non-digital, rejuvenating activities like spending time outdoors.
    • Encouraging breaks from screens and making time for activities that bring joy (like being outdoors or enjoying quiet time) are critical to maintaining balance in a tech-driven world.

All Advisor Session: Navigating Leadership, Career, and Life in the Digital Age

Top 10 Insights from the 2024 All Advisor Session: Leadership, Professional, Whole Person

  1. Commit to Lifelong Learning and Growth: Continuously seek opportunities for learning and self-improvement, whether through feedback, mentorship, or tackling new challenges.
  2. Set Ambitious, Adaptable Goals: Define clear, purpose-driven goals that push your boundaries while remaining flexible in the face of change or setbacks.
  3. Practice Self-Awareness and Reflection: Regularly assess your strengths, areas for growth, and progress toward your goals. Intentional reflection fosters growth and ensures alignment with your values.
  4. Leverage Technology for Productivity and Balance: Use digital tools to streamline work, enhance communication, and support healthy work-life boundaries.
  5. Cultivate Curiosity and Connection: Build meaningful relationships by engaging deeply, asking thoughtful questions, and showing genuine interest in others’ experiences.
  6. Uphold Ethical Integrity in Leadership and Life: Anchor your actions in your core values, maintain moral courage, and prioritize honesty and transparency in all endeavors.
  7. Master Storytelling for Impact: Use authentic and relatable narratives to inspire, connect, and engage others, whether leading a team or building professional relationships.
  8. Prioritize Clear Communication and Collaboration: Foster inclusivity and trust through intentional communication. Break silos, encourage collaboration, and lead with empathy and clarity.
  9. Balance Ambition with Well-Being: Integrate habits like mindfulness, physical activity, and boundary-setting into your daily routine to maintain resilience and long-term success.
  10. Embrace Resilience and Patience: Approach setbacks as learning opportunities. Build resilience by staying consistent, fostering trust, and focusing on incremental progress toward your long-term vision.

Pete Burridge
(New Advisor)

Founder & CEO, Greenhouse Scholars, Greenhouse Partners, The 18.com

Pete previously served as a Senior Vice President and an officer at The Integer Group. Integer is a global powerhouse in promotional, retail, and shopper marketing. He was also a director of Wunderman Cato Johnson, a division of Young and Rubicam, and has an investment background, having spent four years as a Treasury Bond Trader at the Chicago Board of Trade. An entrepreneur his entire career, he has been a part of starting seven companies. Pete founded Greenhouse Scholars to create a Whole Person program that makes a broad and lasting impact by helping students become community leaders who create change that will last through the generations. He believes that each of us is accountable for giving back to the community.

Allison Rabin
(Returning Advisor)

Chief Operating Officer, Near North Title Group

Allison is an accomplished, results-driven management executive responsible for rejuvenating operations through strategic vision, financial analysis, and building cultural communities. She is known for developing teams and mentoring new managers on best practices for evaluating financials, creating annual budgets, and designing business plans. She brings the best out of the team by envisioning intentional changes and drawing ideas from all stakeholders. Able to create a culture of optimism, generate buy-in at all levels and produce successful bottom-line results.

Gregg Vanourek
(New Advisor)

Founder, Gregg Vanourek LLC

Gregg is co-author of three influential books, including LIFE Entrepreneurs (a manifesto for integrating our life and work with purpose and passion) and Triple Crown Leadership (a winner of the International Book Awards). He runs a personal development and leadership company and teaches at the Stockholm Business School. He’s also a former senior executive at a tech startup, now a market leader with $1 billion in sales. He served as board chair for a global social entrepreneurship accelerator based in Stockholm. Gregg has given a TEDx talk and talks or workshops in eight countries.

David Zimmerman
(New Advisor)

Founder, AMAXXA

From Financial Advisor to CEO to entrepreneur, David is a forward-acting business pioneer who always wants to know what’s around the next corner. David built his business by doing financial planning for his clients and using advisory services for investment solutions. On Wall Street magazine recognized him as one of the financial services industry’s top managers twice during his career and Registered Rep magazine wrote an article about his work to pioneer practice management and team development.

Executives Team

Dr. Roslind Blasingame-Buford
(Returning Advisor)

Director, Organizational Development (Southwest) at Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Dr. Roz is a trailblazer in youth development and education and serves as a national thought leader and change agent influencing college access, workforce development, restorative justice, and afterschool programming. She has received numerous commendations for her leadership and commitment to service and was Named as a “Leading Lady” by “O,” The Oprah Magazine; recognized as one of Chicago’s Emerging Leaders by the Community Renewal Society; recently elected into the Economic Club of Chicago and is a 2018 Fellow for Leadership Greater Chicago. Dr. Roz has earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Master of Science in Nonprofit Management, and Doctorate in Adult Education.

Rachel Myung
(New Advisor)

Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP

Rachel advises clients on complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and general corporate counseling and compliance. Rachel’s clients also include private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, and other private companies across an array of industries, including technology, manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, food and beverage, and professional services and marketing. 

Shawn Stiegler
(New Advisor)

Managing Partner, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Shawn focuses his practice on advising all aspects of the innovator economy. From capital allocators to startups, Shawn counsels organizations throughout their lifecycle including business strategy, formation of funds, SPV’s, company structuring, funding, and mergers and acquisitions. Shawn also serves on nonprofit boards for organizations including CSU College of Business and Greenhouse.

Tom Thompson
(New Advisor)

VP Creative/Advertising, St. Martin’s Press

Tom leads the Creative Studio group that comprises an in-house advertising agency–from media planning to creative to ad ops –social media and promotion specialists, as well as a traditional creative services team. In addition to his work at SMPG, Tom is a poet, with three books and many poems, reviews and essays published in literary journals and websites. He lives in New York City.

Whole Person Team

Erik Estrada
(New Advisor)

Corporate Attorney, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Erik practices corporate and securities law with a focus on corporate governance, public company representation, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive
experience advising clients, including public companies and their boards and executive leadership teams, on federal securities law compliance and corporate governance matters, with a particular emphasis on technology, biotech, and telecommunications companies. Before joining the firm, Erik was a senior director
and senior corporate counsel for Liberty Latin America Ltd., a Nasdaq-listed company, and as a director and senior corporate counsel for Level 3, a Fortune 500 company.

Elsa Holguin
(New Advisor)

President and CEO, Denver Preschool Program

Elsa is an established and well-respected leader in Colorado with a known history representing philanthropic institutions in areas of early childhood, family economic success, economic development, leadership development, advocacy/public policy, and public/private initiatives. Elsa has proven experience interacting with complex systems including organizational development, fiscal planning, donor cultivation, and program management. Before joining the Denver Preschool Program, Elsa was with the Rose Community Foundation for 22 years. She has a bachelor’s in finance from the Metropolitan State University of Denver and a masters in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

Sam King
(Returning Advisor)

Director of Sustainability, Marist School Network

Sam is an environmental educator, public speaker, writer, coach, and activist. He serves as Director of Sustainability for the United States Marist school network and Project Manager for the Emmy Award-winning Journey of the Universe film and multimedia project, hosting the Journey of the Universe: 10 Years Later podcast and curating the monthly newsletter. A former teacher in Peru, Sri Lanka, and Connecticut, he holds a Master’s in Religion and Ecology from Yale Divinity School and a Master’s in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. Sam is passionate about bridging science, philosophy, and spirituality to inspire a flourishing future for all life.

Jill Pillsbury
(Returning Advisor)

Life Coach/Director,
Landmark Research Group

Jill is a successful businesswoman, community leader, and devoted mother who has made a positive impact on many people’s lives. Jill currently works as an executive/life coach where she offers a straightforward approach. A problem-solver by nature, Jill draws on a successful business background and real-world experiences to help others establish healthy boundaries, bolster confidence, and resolve conflict through better communication. Her work often includes bridging the gap between management teams to create a positive and productive company culture.

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Young Leaders Program – Virtual Career Fair – October 10, 2023

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The Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse Scholar alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives and ensures we work together as a community to launch high-potential, high-impact ideas.
 
The program serves alumni who are committed to growing as a leader, pursuing the best version of themselves, leveling the playing field in their careers, and being a part of strengthening our community.  

The 1st Greenhouse Career Fair provided a highly engaging, customized experience for our corporate sponsors and partner organizations to access our exceptional, diverse, talent pool of Greenhouse graduating seniors and alumni aged 20-35.
  • 31 professionals including 4 alumni represented 22 companies
  • 34 Scholar seniors and Alumni attended representing 10 different class years
  • 20 impactful sessions were hosted including 8 sponsor presentations, 5 industry panels, 3 career-focused workshops, and 1 alumni panel
  • 28 individual one-on-one sessions were held between sponsors and young professionals

Career Fair Partner Organizations

Jobs Connectivity Sponsors

Supporting the overall Jobs Connectivity component, including the Virtual Career Fair, organizations have a year-round, always-on exposure and access to the exceptional leaders in our program.

Modern Executive Solutions

Modern is a global executive search and advisory solutions firm built to positively disrupt the industry. Their vision is to achieve a differentiated level of value for our clients…with faster results.

Modern is committed to a relentless effort to increase the diversity and inclusive culture of boardrooms and leadership teams. As their mission, it gets us up in the morning and drives us through the day.

Career Fair Supporters

The Virtual Career Fair supporters can showcase their brands and access to a pipeline of high-achieving young professionals and graduating seniors who are changing the world and making a direct impact in their communities.

JD | Finish Line

Finish Line is part of the JD brand family. They exist at the intersection of ideas — Where performance meets style. Where classic meets technology. Where street meets fashion.

Finish Line doesn’t just provide jobs, they provide careers – places to grow. With retail locations in 47 states and Puerto Rico, plus corporate offices in Indianapolis and Boulder, there are plenty of positions that will fit exactly what you’re looking for.

Gamut Capital

Gamut Capital Management is a private equity firm committed to building partnerships to drive long-term value creation.

The Gamut founders honed their experience over a combined 30 years working at one of the most sophisticated financial investors in the world. Together, with their team of professionals, Gamut is seeking to be the most financially sophisticated, downside protection focused and value-oriented investor in the middle market.

Google

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Google is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is one of the Big Five
American information technology companies, along with Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.

RMB Capital

RMB Capital’s goal is to create value for its clients. Leveraging its team’s insight and expertise, it delivers specialized financial advice and innovative investment solutions that are designed to preserve and grow assets for individuals, families, institutions, and employers.

RMB Capital was founded with an ambitious vision to deliver a more holistic experience—for our clients and our employees. We are proud to have assembled a team of people with diverse backgrounds and capabilities who value working together to drive results.

Atlantic Packaging

Atlantic Packaging is celebrating its 75th year as a privately held business that specializes in end-of-line packaging systems and materials as well as converted paperboard solutions.

Atlantic’s focus on innovation and technology has made it a market leader for customers requiring sustainable packaging options, packaging equipment, high-performance materials, warehousing, and distribution. Atlantic delivers these solutions daily to our customers in North and Central America.

Intellum

Intellum is the learning management system powering the world’s leading education programs.

Intellum is an Atlanta-based company with a development team distributed around the world. It strives to hire the best, regardless of location. Its clients are incredible teams of people from companies such as Google, NASCAR, AT&T, and Facebook.

Roark Capital

Roark is an Atlanta‐based private equity firm with $37 billion in assets under management.

Roark focuses on investments in consumer and business service companies, with a specialization in franchise and franchise-like business models. hire the best, regardless of location. Its clients are incredible teams of people from companies such as Google, NASCAR, AT&T, and Facebook.

Career Fair Workshop Facilitators

Natalie Levy
Founder & Managing Partner, She’s Independent

Salary Negotiation and Benefits Package Review

Natalie is the Founder of She’s Independent, a women-first investment group offering an entirely new way to support women’s financial independence and influence through investing and board placements. As a member-led investment group, She’s Independent marries empowerment and action, with the ultimate mission of closing the power gap in investing by getting more women on the cap table, in the boardroom, and into positions of influence. Over the next 12 months, She’s Independent plans to deploy over $2M of capital collectively, and has invested in 14 deals since its formation in 2022.

Kathleen Lockhart
VP Deal Management, Zayo

Networking Best Practices

Kathleen leverages her strategic background wherever her career takes her. She strives to put herself in an environment where she can continuously learn, grow, and face new challenges. She endeavors to always be involved in her community and has a goal to add value to the world every day. She has always enjoyed working with others, particularly when given the opportunity to improve teamwork across organizations. This is evident with her current role as VP, Deal Management at Zayo where she leads a 40+ person team. She has been promoted several times at Zayo since her first position as a GIS Specialist in 2014 and most recently in 2021 as a VP.

Zachary Yarnell
Lead Campus Recruiter, Deloitte

Job Search Strategies for Finding the Right Position

Zach is a Lead Recruiter on the Campus Strategy & Programs team where he oversees Deloitte’s Internship Program and Internship Conferences held at Deloitte University. Zach started with Deloitte as a Tax Consultant in 2017 before transitioning internally to the Campus Recruiting team in 2018. Zach served as the Denver office campus recruiting lead for the Audit & Assurance, Tax, and Risk & Financial Advisory businesses for 3.5 years before taking on his current role. Zach is a graduate of Colorado State University (BSBA – Accounting) and the University of Denver (MS – Accounting) and is currently a licensed CPA in the State of Colorado.

Industry Panelists

Consulting Panel

Gil Gomez
Managing Director,
Deloitte Consulting

Gil is a managing director and SAP Analytics leader for Deloitte Consulting LLP. With more than 29 years of experience, Gil is a results-driven professional with expertise in analytics and a deep understanding of cross-functional enterprise processes. He has designed and delivered advanced and predictive analytics, big data solutions, SAP analytics, and SAP S/4HANA solutions across multiple industries. He has transformed enterprises into insight-driven organizations using analytics and data to drive business outcomes.

Consulting Panel

David Lazor
Founder, Lazorpoint

Dave is CEO and Founder of Lazorpoint. He launched the company in 1997, focused on serving the strategic and day-to-day IT needs of growing entrepreneurial mid-market companies. Today, Dave leads and continues to build a team that anticipates, creates, and provides technology solutions for clients. He ensures that Lazorpoint becomes a true partner in client growth through valuable guidance and unmatched expertise.

Consulting Panel

Janus Small
Founder + President, Janus Small Associates

Janus has built the consulting firm of Janus Small Associates on her deep and solid experience as a leader of nonprofit community organizations. A nationally noted authority on nonprofit management, Janus has earned the trust of community development, faith-based, social service, arts and cultural, education and environmental organizations.

Consulting Panel

LaNae Wagenbach
Associate Director,
Modern Executive Solutions

Specializing in financial services, LaNae supports client partners in the delivery of top talent, leadership advisory solutions, and organizational analysis. Prior to joining Modern, LaNae managed fully retained executive searches for a boutique HR consulting and executive search firm in Houston, Texas. As a consultant, LaNae was responsible for assessing top leaders and client deliverables within the credit union space.

Investment Panel

Allyson Goldstein Alimansky
Partner, Gamut Capital Management

Prior to joining Gamut, Allyson was a Director on the Credit Suisse Private Fund Group and Capital Services teams. Previously, Allyson was the Director of Business Development at D.B. Zwirn & Co. Earlier in her career, she was responsible for marketing and investor relations at Capital Z Investment Partners, GSC Partners, and Northbridge Capital. Allyson graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a BA in Politics and earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Investment Panel

Jeanette Gawrisch
Partner, Human Resources Manager, RMB Capital

Jeanette is a Partner and Human Resources Manager at RMB Capital. Before joining RMB in 2005, she was a Client Associate at UBS Financial Services, a Client Service Assistant at Schroder Bank, and with Mortgage Services at Siam Commercial Bank. Jeanette has a BA in Graphic Design from DePaul University.

Investment Panel

Juan Velez
Associate, Operations,
Roark Capital

Juan joined Roark in 2023. Prior to joining Roark, Juan worked as a Manager at Treya Partners where he focused on strategic sourcing and procurement. Prior to that, Juan worked at Insight Sourcing Group where he supported their group purchasing programs and procurement projects. Juan received a BBA in Finance from Georgia State University.

Nonprofit Panel

Brett Brenton
Regional Impact Manager,
myFutureNC

Brett Brenton serves as Regional Impact Manager at myFutureNC, serving the North Central regions of the state. Brett started his career as a high school social studies teacher near Baltimore, MD, where he taught ten classes over seven years there, including AP US History and AP Government. After relocating to North Carolina in 2007, he spent six years with Wake County Schools, four as a middle school teacher and administrator, and two as an assistant principal at an elementary school.

Nonprofit Panel

Barbara Jordan, M.A.
Administrator
Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, Mayo Clinic

Barbara is currently an Education Administrator at Mayo Clinic. Barbara currently has a
dual assignment with leadership responsibility for the Mayo Clinic Quality Academy and the
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Office for Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (OEDEI). In the role in OEDEI, Barbara leads the College of Medicine’s mission to advance the Mayo Clinic practice and learning environment by providing recruitment, retention, and advancement activities that target students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in science and medicine.

Nonprofit Panel

Kristen Young
Executive Director,
LeaderShape

Kristen is a lifer at LeaderShape! Her first experience with LeaderShape was as a participant! In her current role, Kristen is responsible for the programmatic components of LeaderShape’s three programs, the Institute, Catalyst, and Resilience. She oversees the curriculum, facilitation, and implementation of these programs to ensure that they continue to advance LeaderShape’s mission and vision. She also works with the LeaderShape staff to help them to contribute their best work as they bring these programs to life.

Tech Panel

Lesley Pace-Gormley
User Experience Researcher – Google Sites & Client Side Encryption, Google

Lesley’s passion thrives at the intersection of experience, research, and people. It inspires her to foster substantial connections that help in broadening her insight into the lives of others. From that research to be able to provide tangible solutions and catalyze impactful results is simply exhilarating. Her years of experience as a product advocate, researcher, and customer success professional have honed her knack for taking feedback to craft thoughtful narratives that center the voice of the user and analytically evaluate user needs. She has conducted qualitative and quantitative studies utilizing various methods.

Tech Panel

Geri Morgan
Chief People Officer, Intellum

Geri has a diverse background in human resources and leadership roles. Prior to joining Intellum, Geri served as the Chief Experience Officer at SentriLock, where they focused on strategic leadership for human resources and customer support areas. At Triplefin, Geri held the position of Director of Human Resources, overseeing HR operations, training and development, and organizational change management. Geri also has experience in the retail industry, having worked as a Human Resource Manager and Store Manager at The Kroger Company.

Tech Panel

Matt Stevens
Chief Executive Officer, Bamboo Rose

Matt is CEO of Bamboo Rose, a leading multi-enterprise product lifecycle and supply chain management platform for retail enterprises. Before leading Bamboo, Matt founded AppNeta, a performance monitoring solution built for the complex, distributed enterprise. Prior to AppNeta, Matt was CTO of the security information and event management (SIEM) business unit of RSA, the security division of Dell EMC (formerly EMC Corporation). He joined EMC after the acquisition of Network Intelligence Corp., where he was co-founder, president, and CTO.

Industry Mashup Panel

Gregory Muckerson
Director, Cultural Integrity & People Equity / Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Leader for JD Finish Line

Gregory is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture to maximize the potential of all employees. Gregory is skilled in coaching, training, strategic planning, team building, relationship development, and leadership. Gregory is a strong operations professional with a Master of Science focused in industrial and organizational psychology.

Industry Mashup Panel

Kyle Pischel
Solution Center Director, Atlantic Packaging

Kyle is currently the Director of Atlantic’s Packaging Solution Center. The SC houses unique test equipment to simulate over-the-road transit environments for the purpose of analyzing success or failure of current or modified packaging conditions. This testing is critical in determining root cause failure, validating success of packaging changes, or responsibly testing packaging elimination before customer shipments. The purpose of our lab is not to provide a pass-fail analysis, but holistic solutions to ensure product safety.

Industry Mashup Panel

Shawn T. Stigler
Managing Partner, Colorado Offices, Co-Chair, Venture Best®

Shawn focuses his practice on advising all aspects of the innovator economy. From capital allocators to startups, Shawn counsels organizations throughout their lifecycle including business strategy, formation of funds, SPV’s, company structuring, funding, and mergers and acquisitions.

Alumni Career + Cultures Panel

Caitlin Berens Forman, 2011 Class

Editorial Operations Manager, VELOX Media

Caitlin is an editor who is passionate about working with writers to develop high-quality content. In her 10-plus years working in print and online journalism, she’s gained experience editing content across a wide variety of industries and working with small but passionate teams. She has experience with a multitude of topics, including health and wellness, parenting, thought leadership, business innovation, and entertainment. She’s reported for Inc. Magazine, Everyday Health, Wanderlust, SELF Magazine, Billboard, and NYMetroParents. She received her BA in Magazine Journalism from Drake University.

Richard Maez, 2015 Class

Deputy Director, Ednium: The Alumni Collective

Richard is an action-focused, community development organization that partners with public school alumni, 30 and younger, to change how the city of Denver educates and re-invests in its homegrown talent. As Senior Director of Strategy and Impact, Richard is responsible for all programs, policy ideation, and implementation. Richard is proud to be part of the team that, through extensive community outreach, successfully lobbied the Denver Public Schools Board of Education to add Ethnic Studies and Financial Literacy as graduation requirements, and is working to pass a city ordinance to provide scholarship money for individuals over 25 to return to school to earn their first-time degree or certificate.

José E. Madrid, 2014 Class

Associate Attorney, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Before joining Gibson Dunn as a litigation attorney, José served as a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Monica M. Márquez of the Colorado Supreme Court and the Honorable Laura A. Cordero of the District of Columbia Superior Court. José earned his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as an Articles Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He graduated cum laude and class marshal from Georgetown University, where he earned a BA degree in American Studies from Georgetown College and a minor in Latin American Studies from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Before law school, he worked in various industries, including finance, higher education, media consulting, and the nonprofit sector. José is active in the community and has served on various boards and advisory boards, including the Cristo Rey Network board of directors.

Zeke Perez, Class of 2013

Senior Policy Analyst, Education Commission of the States

As a senior policy analyst, Zeke tracks legislation related to statewide longitudinal data systems, school safety, and postsecondary campus safety. He has been with Education Commission of the States since 2014. Zeke has a passion for local politics and enjoys following the varied policy approaches of city and state leaders. Zeke has a BA in Public Policy, Political Science, and International Studies and a Master in Public Policy, both from the University of Denver.

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Young Leaders Program – Ignite 2023

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The Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse Alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives. Through the Young Leaders Program, we work together to implement actionable ideas, change, and community initiatives.

The 2nd annual Ignite conference was held over three days in Boulder, CO. The weekend was an opportunity for 32 Young Leaders from 9 states to join their peers, hear from exceptional industry leaders, and participate in thought-provoking workshops focused on leadership, professional, personal, and community change. Young Leaders also had the opportunity to connect with each other and the Greenhouse Community for relationship-building, collaboration, and learning.

2023 Ignite Speaker Preview

Pete Burridge
(Ignite Welcome)

President & CEO,
Greenhouse Scholars

Pete is the founder of Greenhouse Scholars and its sister companies, Greenhouse Partners and the18. Pete founded Greenhouse Scholars in order to create a Whole Person program that makes a broad and lasting impact by helping students to become community leaders that create change that will last through the generations. He believes that each of us is accountable to give back to the community.

Chief Justice Cheri Beasley
(Professional Panel)

Former Chief Justice of North Carolina

Cheri served as a judge for twenty-two years, serving as Chief Justice and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and as District Court Judge in the Twelfth Judicial District, Fayetteville, Cumberland County, NC. Cheri was the first African-American woman elected to any statewide office in North Carolina without the benefit of incumbency or appointment by the Governor and the first African-American woman to serve as Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of North Carolina’s 200-year history. A graduate of Douglass College of Rutgers University and The University of Tennessee College of Law, Chief Justice Beasley also earned a LLM in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law. 

Bob Bennett
(Professional Panel)

Executive Vice President of Sales, Veregy

Bob develops Veregy’s plans and programs to ensure sustainable growth through the core values of providing the highest quality solutions, satisfying and delighting customers, and caring about communities and the environment. Bob co-founded CTS, a Veregy Company, and spent his 32-year career working with public school districts, higher education, and state and local government clients throughout the Midwest. And as a managing partner of CTS, he gives his customers a direct line of communication with a company owner to reinforce the company’s commitment to meeting their building objectives. He holds a bachelor’s of General Studies from the University of Kansas.

Wes Carter
(Professional Panel)

President, Atlantic Packaging

Wes is the third-generation leader of Atlantic Packaging, the largest privately owned packaging company in North America. As President, Wes has implemented a sustainability program focused on reducing the company’s greenhouse gas footprint. In 2023, Atlantic became the first packaging company in North America with an approved net-zero Science-Based Target (SBT) for climate action, the goal of which is to achieve net-zero GHG emissions across Atlantic’s entire value chain by 2046. Wes’ dedication to sustainability also led to the launch of A New Earth Project in 2022, a global effort to advocate for and raise awareness of scalable and sustainable packaging solutions to help eliminate plastic pollution from the world’s oceans, lakes, and rivers.

Ed Chang
(Professional Panel)

Executive Director, redefinED atlanta

Ed is redefinED atlanta’s Founding Executive Director. For over 20 years, Ed has worked as a champion for high-quality public schools. Ed began his career as a physical therapist before entering the education profession as a 7th-grade science teacher. He spent five years teaching before going on to found KIPP STRIVE Academy in 2009. Following this, Ed focused on coaching and strategy for school leaders and districts across the country. He holds a bachelor’s in biology and psychology and a master’s in physical therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. Ed also holds a master’s in secondary science from Mercer University and a Certificate for Advanced Study in Educational Leadership from National Louis University.

Mark Chupp, PhD
(Community Change Panel)

Associate Professor,
Case Western Reserve University

Mark is an associate professor at the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), where he chairs the concentration in Community Practice for Social Change in the master’s of social work program. He is the founding director of the Community Innovation Network, a resource for those seeking to transform the relationships between institutions and everyday people. His scholarship focuses on building community across differences, authentic community engagement, peacebuilding, and conflict transformation.  Mark is also co-director of the Social Justice Institute at CWRU. Mark began his career in restorative justice, directing the first Victim Offender Reconciliation Program in the US. Mark is an international consultant and trainer. His leadership helped establish the Culture of Peace Program and a UN Local Zone of Peace in post-war El Salvador.

Erik Estrada
(Community Change Panel)

Corporate Attorney, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Erik is a senior associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he practices corporate and securities law with a focus on corporate governance, public company representation, public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive experience advising clients, including public companies and their boards and executive leadership teams, on federal securities law compliance and corporate governance matters, with a particular emphasis on technology, biotech, and telecommunications companies. Erik serves or has served on numerous community, civic, and state boards including the El Pomar Foundation.

Keo Frazier
(Community Change Panel)

Brand Expertise Strategist/Consultant/Founder, KEOs Marketing Consultancy

Keo is an executive leader with proven success in marketing, communications, strategic leadership, brand engagement, and public affairs. Her career and focus of her life’s work are to enhance the human experience, be a brand expert and strategic marketer; all to elevate who we are collectively — locally, nationally and globally. An entrepreneur at heart, she has founded seven companies and New Thinkers, a think tank for creating world change. Most recently, she was director of communications and public affairs at Denver Housing Authority (DHA). Keo is civically-minded serving on nearly 20 nonprofit boards and serves on three Governor-appointed boards of commissioners.

Greg Wright
(Community Change Panel)

Founder, Spark Towns

Named an “Innovator to Watch” by the Wisconsin Biz Times, Greg transformed a small-town arts advocacy organization into a new model for place-based, people-centered economic development. This model was recognized as the Economic Development Initiative of 2020 by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association and led to him teaching economic development to MBA candidates. In early 2022, Greg founded Spark Towns to meet the demand to bring this model to more communities. Spark Towns is rethinking place within the context of the digital era. It applies emerging research in zoning, social capital, creative placemaking, and ecosystem building to put greater power behind local people with big ideas. 

Laura Saldivar Luna
(Leadership Workshop)

Founder, Piñata Possible

Laura (she/her/ella) is a believer in the limitless potential of humanity and the power of living life fully expressed. Laura founded and leads a transformational coaching practice, lovingly named Piñata Possible, which is dedicated to helping humans access powerful breakthroughs in their lives and leadership. Sparked by the dream and sustained by the encouragement of her parents, Laura was the first member of her family to graduate from college. She attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC and the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, graduating with dual degrees in English and Spanish. Laura spent 17 years as an educator and executive with Teach For America, a career which included exciting experiences like: teaching high school in a rural town on the Texas-Mexico border; becoming the founding executive director of Teach For America in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas; and leading human capital strategy as Teach For America’s national chief people officer.

Gregg Vanourek
(Personal Workshop)

Founder/Author, Gregg Vanourek LLC

Gregg designs and delivers custom workshops, courses, and retreats, plus speaking and coaching for leaders, management teams, high-potentials, changemakers, entrepreneurs, career changers, and those who want to thrive in their life and work. Gregg trains and speaks internationally on life design and leadership and provides highly interactive, inspirational, and impactful programs that allow leaders and entrepreneurs (and aspiring ones) to develop self-awareness, clarify purpose, values, and aspirations, clarify their aims, build an engaged culture, align the team or organization for high performance, and lead change.

Caroline Van Sickle
(Personal Workshop)

Director/Founder, Coach CVS

Caroline is a certified coach with an entrepreneurial and corporate background. She utilizes an unconventional approach to help unleash individual and team potential. She is focused on developing the individual and team from a holistic approach. She has over 20 years of experience in marketing, branding, and leadership development. She founded a marketing technology company and is the author of two marketing-tech patents. Caroline aims to help individuals and companies achieve more while focusing on their purpose and people. Her company, Coach CVS, provides one-on-one coaching, team development, team and individual assessments, business and brand identity consulting.

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Young Leaders Program – 2023 Idea Creation & Enhancement Sessions

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Comprised of three components (learning, relationships, entrepreneurship), the Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives and ensures we work together as a community to launch high-potential, high-impact ideas. 

The program serves alumni who are committed to growing as a leader, pursuing the best version of themselves, leveling the playing field in their careers, and being a part of strengthening our community.  

By supporting the people and ideas that have the greatest ability to positively impact our world, the Young Leaders Program is a building block in pursuit of lasting community change.

Through the entrepreneurship component of the Young Leaders Program, Greenhouse provides direct support for early-stage ideas and connections to funding for different life stages.

The goal of the entrepreneurship component is to create an entrepreneurial mindset and platform to identify and launch high-potential ideas. In 2023, the Young Leaders Program hosted its first Idea Creation and Idea Enhancement sessions in Boulder, CO.

Building Blocks in Pursuit of Lasting Community Change

In April 2023, Greenhouse held its first Idea Creation Session for the Young Leaders Program, and it was a huge success. Our Young Leaders and community members came together to brainstorm and develop new ideas that can make a real impact on our communities. Here’s what one Young Leader had to say:

“The brainstorming part of the idea creation was my favorite. I really enjoyed being able to think of several business ideas, it made me think that business ideas are limitless.” We’re thrilled with the results of this session and grateful to everyone who participated and contributed their creative energy and expertise.”

Greenhouse Community Members included: Rio Hodges, Matt Jenkins, David Raduziner, Diana Verrilli, and Liz Wolfson

Young Leaders Program Scholar Alumni included: Jose Banales, Tyler Cunningham, Richard Maez, and Jessica Saifee

Launching High-Potential Ideas

In May 2023, Greenhouse held its first Idea Enhancement Session for the Young Leaders Program. Greenhouse Community members and Scholar Alumni came together to discuss, sharpen, and hone Young Leaders’ business ideas. We’re excited to witness the incredible potential that emerged from this session. Here’s what one Young Leader had to say:

“My favorite part of the session was hearing what my fellow Greenhouse peers have been doing and what businesses they are working on. It was motivational to hear them follow their dreams and it pushed me to work harder on my business to one day reach my vision.”

Greenhouse Community Members included: Todd Ebert, Dan Hoskins, Eric Kean, and Dwayne Nesmith

Young Leaders Program Scholar Alumni included: Helena Cappon, Richard Dominique, Alexa Lobato, and Walker Sanchez

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Young Leaders Program – 2023 Funded Businesses + Projects

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Comprised of three components (learning, relationships, entrepreneurship), the Young Leaders Program provides comprehensive support to Greenhouse alumni in the first decade of their careers and post-college lives and ensures we work together as a community to launch high-potential, high-impact ideas. 

The program serves alumni who are committed to growing as a leader, pursuing the best version of themselves, leveling the playing field in their careers, and being a part of strengthening our community.  

By supporting the people and ideas that have the greatest ability to positively impact our world, the Young Leaders Program is a building block in pursuit of lasting community change.

Through the entrepreneurship component of the Young Leaders Program, Greenhouse provides direct support for early-stage ideas and connections to funding for different life stages.

The goal of the entrepreneurship component is to create an entrepreneurial mindset and platform to identify and launch high-potential ideas. In 2023, the Young Leaders Program also invited alumni older than 30 to apply for funding.

Helena Cappon (2019 Class)

Gub Gub’s Pizza + Ice Cream

Gub Gub’s Pizza + Ice Cream received a second round of funding (also funded in 2021) to help purchase a new ice cream machine, quoted at $16,898 overall (including delivery, installation, and training). Their previous soft-serve machines were old and used and would often break down, rendering GubGub’s staff unable to meet the demands of their customers. With GubGub’s primary food offerings being pizza and ice cream, purchasing a new ice cream machine is imperative to the success and sustainability of the business.

Brittni Hernandez (2012 Class)

MiraSoul Healing

A women-owned wellness shop located in the Creative District of Greeley, a city in rural Colorado. MiraSoul Healing combines traditional healing practices rooted in Mexican Curanderismo with modern wellness practices, providing herbal apothecaries, local art, classes and gatherings, and other holistic wellness tools. Brittni requested funding to support marketing efforts, improved efficiency of their point of sales, and the launch of a new product line (subscription boxes).

Victoria Lamar (2022 Class)

Securing Degrees, LLC

A scholarship company providing personalized, affordable, and effective online and in-person scholarship and college application services. Since its inception in 2018, Securing Degrees has worked with over 4,000 individuals to help them accumulate over $15 Million in funding and has partnered with over 20 schools, nonprofits, and organizations.

Alexa Lobato (2017 Class)

Optimum Athletics LLC

After attending Greenhouse’s CO Idea Enhancement Session earlier this year, Alexa revamped plans for her business, which provides a mobile sports science testing laboratory bringing cutting-edge sport science concepts to every athlete, parent, and team. Alexa requested additional funding for operational costs and the development of a website.

Juno Padilla (2020 Class)

“Cancha for Xecruz”

A community change initiative in Xecruz, an indigenous community in Guatemala. The purpose of the project is to provide the community with a center to gather for sports and town hall meetings, and to help the community gain recognition from the government. Juno is returning to Colorado to enact what he’s learned (e.g., communicating across differences; garnering support for and executing community change initiatives). He will revisit and sustain his involvement in the program over the coming years.

Yocelyn Pina (2023 Class)

“The Art of Defiance” Video Podcast

The creation of “The Art of Defiance” serves a dual purpose: firstly, to amplify the solidarity and visibility of QTBIPOC healers, artists; and community change leaders; secondly, to foster compassion, connection, consciousness-raising, joy, and actionable change through the art of storytelling. “The Art of Defiance” was conceptualized during the pandemic in conjunction with the urgent need and opportunity to reimagine a post-covid world. Through autobiographical storytelling and one-on-one interviews with mostly QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), the podcast offers a blend of solo commentary and intimate conversations.

Alfredo Reyes (2012 Class) & Michelle Lehman (2019 Class)

Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC): Las Bodegas

A nonprofit cultural campus located in Denver, Colorado. Las Bodegas will be home to the Latino Cultural Art Center’s (LCAC) programs in digital and visual arts, addressing issues of mental wellness, healthy environments, and workforce development. Alfredo and Michelle requested funding to launch a wide-scale marketing campaign to raise the last leg of funding. (Alfredo has raised $4.7 Million to date for the construction of the campus and needs an additional $1.3 Million. Michelle will be assisting with the marketing graphics and is considering joining the center as a program educator).

Ricardo Reyes (2022 Class)

”My College Journey Academy” (MCJA)

A community change initiative that serves as a mentorship program and college application boot camp for students in Texas’ Irving School District, a predominantly low-income area. Since its founding, MCJA has grown from 2 to 11 mentors and has served 46 students. Ricardo is looking to expand MCJA’s impact and recruit more mentors and students.

Jessamyn Sweet (2017 Class)

Community Engagement Project

Jessamyn is a multi-disciplinary artist based out of San Francisco. Over the next year, she will embark on a project to address two sides of community:

  • First, exploring areas in which community is failing, through visual art
  • Second, cultivating a culture of connection to proactively combat these failures through community engagement events

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