2 of 3 Kenneth Ebie 3 of 3 Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz
On the second episode of The Great Wealth Divide, we discuss how inadequate access to investment capital, financial education, mentorship, banking, and credit have all contributed to creating a significant disadvantage for Black and Latinx families.
The episode will present programs and solutions which are being applied to reverse these historic disadvantages. Host Dale Favors will be discussing these issues and solutions with the following subject experts:
Jill Johnson: CEO, Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL)
Kenneth Ebie: Executive Director & Chief Development Officer, Black Entrepreneurs, NYC (BE NYC)
Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz: Executive Director- Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB)
Power 100: A – M
Leslie Anderson
Anderson is the president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority the first and only African-American woman in the nation to lead an independent redevelopment financing agency, and thanks to her effectiveness she has been reappointed to this position by four consecutive governors. Since Anderson took over more than a decade ago, the authority has leveraged nearly $4 billion in new investments – including about $500 million in direct investments – in some of the state’s most economically distressed communities. That funding has been vital to redevelopment efforts around New Jersey, with the authority claiming credit for 15,000 new housing units and more than 10 million square feet of commercial and retail space. And the authority is now poised to play a significant role in the Opportunity Zone program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NJRA created the Small Business Lease-Emergency Assistance Grant Program
Four suggestions from businesses to prepare NJ for recovery
More than 40% of the jobs lost in New Jersey in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic still hadn’t returned by the end of 2020.
While the second wave of COVID-19 cases is still rising, the rollout of vaccines raises the chances of things getting closer to normal later this year. Business owners say that to get there successfully, there are things the state needs to focus on now, so the recovery can start on time.
“Without jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs, our economy cannot bounce back,” said Michele Siekerka, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. “We need to do whatever is in our might and right to get New Jersey’s workers and employees back to work in order to get our economy humming.”