Closing the Opportunity Divide with Year Up's Gerald Chertavian

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today I am joined by a truly inspiring leader, Gerald Chertavian. Gerald is the founder & CEO of Year Up,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">a non-profit organization that is</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">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.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Prior to Year Up, Gerald was a successful technology entrepreneur and Wall Street banker.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Key Takeaways:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[:50] About today’s episode with a truly inspiring guest,</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[2:04] Welco