Hill CDC’s BLAST Program focuses on local entrepreneurs

READY FOR BUSINESS—BLAST Summer 2017 Cohort; Deidra Washington, C. Denise Johnson, Leeretta Payne, Shakelah Knox, Julia Clemm. (Photos by Diane I. Daniels)

While Allegheny County and City of Pittsburgh officials pursue luring Amazon’s second corporate headquarters to the region, representatives of the Hill Community Development Corporation have been focusing on positioning entrepreneurs as business leaders, providing them with the resources necessary to create opportunities and to sustain a business in a transforming the Hill District.
“Developing our community requires a focus on developing the people behind our businesses that offer products and services,” said Marimba Milliones, President and CEO of the Hill CDC. “That’s why we created the Business Leadership Academy for Social Transformation (BLAST) so that people can get the support they need to thrive in our transitioning neighborhood. The vision is for us to all grow together.”
In its second year, BLAST is designed to provide core business development programming for small business owners seeking to develop deeper professional and personal competencies. A business and community development program, Milliones said this year’s program was comprised of a cohort of participants keenly focused on: developing business leadership skills; mastering a strong elevator pitch; and effectively casting a vision that will attract investors to advance the growth of their business within their community and beyond.
This year’s facilitator of the 12-week course was Vernard Alexander, owner of the Minority Networking Exchange. “It was a pleasure to be a part of this program,” said Alexander. “The participants were very serious and focused on their mission.”

About Post Author

Comments

From the Web

Skip to content