Entrepreneur Update: Esther Renee Shirk

Aspiring entrepreneur and jewelry designer, Esther Renee Shirk, stepped into a fine jewelry store to purchase a silver polishing cloth for her business and walked out with a job. When the manager learned that Esther had a small jewelry design business, she hired her part-time as a seasonal employee for the holidays. After the holidays, Esther was asked to continue working and before long was offered a full-time position as an Apprentice in their jewelry repair department. Though the job would take time away from her own business, Esther saw an opportunity to learn and couldn't turn it down.

Since then, Esther has been increasing her design and repair skills, learning the ins and outs of running a shop and the back-office work involved, as well as growing the vision for her own business beyond beads and wire, to precious metals and gemstones.

Esther continues to sell her own designs on Etsy, as well as at craft fairs and street markets. In addition, her hand-crafted jewelry can be found at Flying High and Volumes Bookcafe--two local Chicago merchants.

mox.E Women Update

Mox.E Women entrepreneur and musician, Sheila Fortson, performed before a sold-out crowd at City Point Loft on Friday evening, July 7th. Sheila and Spoken Word Artist, Maya, combine the sultry sounds of poetry and violin to tell stories about life, love, loss and rebirth, the "Love Evolution" of our lives. They are Sounds of Poetry--inspired by early R&B legends and current artists of this millenium, as well as great poets from every decade. Maya draws inspiration in her writings from her own life circumstances, friends, family and the world around her. Sheila pulls sounds from classical, soul, R&B and her own inspirations, finding her own "voice" in the way the words and music sing into her soul on the strings. Sounds of Poetry cultivated their silky-smooth sound after finding their own voice in poetry and violin in their hometown of Chicago. To learn more, check out their website.

Entrepreneur Update: Cade Pinalto

The idea for Sidelined Chicago was birthed in April of 2016 by Sidelined Founder Cade Pinalto and his mom, Sidelined Co-founder Christine Pinalto, after Cade experienced the heartrending loss of being permanently sidelined from the sport he loved due to a heart condition. When a high school basketball coach offered to teach Cade how to coach, Cade realized there was still a way that he could meaningfully participate in his favorite sport, even without being able to play. Cade found new joy and purpose in reconnecting with his sport and wanted to pass along that hope and opportunity to other permanently sidelined athletes. And so, the idea for Sidelined Chicago was born.

Congratulations, Sidelined Chicago ! Keep up the good work. 

Contexture Media Network

Lesley Martinez Etherly is a Chicago native with a passion for grassroots community development through the support of Strategic Marketing and Technology Resources. Lesley is the Founder and Executive Director of Contexture Media Network, a nonprofit media, web and tech organization working to support, grow and sustain economically challenged communities through digital education, production resources, and capacity support services. Contexture is Lesley’s direct answer to the ever-widening digital divide in low income and under-represented communities. Contexture’s team develops, trains and supports community development through the creation and strategic use of media, web and technology resources. Contexture is partnership focused and operates as an impact booster for organizations who are already committed to eliminating digital and economic gaps worldwide. Lesley believes in the ability to work together to sustain a 21st Century workforce development model and create a global media platform that is sustainable, inclusive and empowering.

NADIAH MOHAJIR

Nadiah Mohajir is the co-founder and Executive Director for HEART Women & Girls. For the last five years, she has led the organization to provide health education programming to over 5000 Muslim women and girls in the Chicagoland area as well as cities across the country, breaking many cultural barriers and raising awareness about important issues such as sexual and reproductive health, sexual violence and media literacy.

She has worked in healthcare for over ten years in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to research, academics, policy, and community health. In the past, she was a consultant for the Office on Women’s Health (OWH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working on a variety of different projects focusing on minority health in the Midwest.

Prior to her work at OWH, Nadiah worked on a research project focusing on improving pregnancy outcomes of low-income Chicago women. Nadiah earned her Master’s degree in Public Health in 2009 from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.

Nadiah is one of Goodcity’s 2017 Invest Chicago winners. The Invest Chicago initiative funds non-profit and for-profit business startups run by women. Grant recipients receive funding, as well as coaching, consulting and business management assistance (all provided through StartingUp Now) to help them grow and flourish.

TALENTFLOOD

TalentFlood is a paradigm-shifting method of hiring that gives an Employer the opportunity to look at the Talent through a powerful and sophisticated algorithm. “We allow Employers to see the Talent as a whole person, rather than just looking at a resume.”--TalentFlood

Co-Founder Angela Jackson and her team have been working on the product for several years. They officially launched the business in February 2017, after completing their first full software build with their web app builder Bolt Affect.

TalentFlood currently has 3 clients and is pursuing more clients and investment opportunities. They’re also launching their first campaign, called the Together Campaign, to match refugees and immigrants to jobs in Chicago.

These days there’s a tremendous need to find ways that bring us together, not tear us apart. The Together Campaign is a platform for unity. TalentFlood is partnering with outstanding refugee and immigrant organizations in Chicago, as well as with employers that stand in solidarity with hiring from this population. TalentFlood is simply that platform for matches to be made. Since the software only provides statistical matches based off best fit, an employer can be assured that no matter who the job seekers are, they are the best match for the company. Let's make Chicago a better, more unified place. Together.