Engagement
The objectives of the Associate Board Engagement Committee are to manage the Associate Board recruitment process, onboard new members (ensuring they are up to speed and integrated into the board), and monitor the board's give/get goals.
Jessica Cole
A Chicago born and raised Technology Sales Professional with a love for new experiences and driving business outcomes. She has positive energy that is contagious while being the perfect mix of Social Architect and Sales Professional. Among her peers she is seen as a financial fitness educator and career coach guiding her clients to reach their full potential professionally and personally in their own lives.
Chair
Arika J. Linton is a Dreamer, Planter and Doer.
By day, Arika works as a proud educator at an inner city high school in Chicago. She enjoys helping young people tap into their authenticity and serving as a guide for teens who are at a crossroads between the college or career pathway. By night, when she's not spending time with her brave and brilliant two-year-old, Zion she enjoys writing about a variety of black culture topics. Her pieces have been featured in Blavity, 21Ninety, Medium.com and Walker's Legacy and is the newest columnist for Chicago Defender.
Arika Linton
Grant Richardson
Grant Richardson is a dynamic social entrepreneur with experience leading and supporting mission driven organizations globally. Grant is a Senior Associate at Promise Venture Studio where he accelerates social entrepreneurs to advance equity and justice in early childhood. Grant co-founded a social enterprise, ICTC Coaching Inc., in 2019 to address barriers Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities face to accessing benefits created by cannabis legalization. ICTC’s mission is to empower 100,000 individual to participate in opportunities created by cannabis through immersive learning experiences. Grant enjoys public speaking, writing, meditating, spending time with family and friends, and nature.
