Denise Reading, the CEO of Future Plans, which empowers individuals to discover meaningful career paths to help revitalize neighborhoods and communities joins Enterprise Radio.
Listen to interview with host Eric Dye & guest Denise Reading discuss the following:
- For listeners who may not be familiar with Future Plans, can you tell us about the organization’s mission and how you’re helping individuals discover their strengths and build brighter futures?
- Many people struggle to find a career path that matches their abilities and interests. How does Future Plans help individuals turn their potential into meaningful education and employment opportunities?
- You founded the GRIT Project to expand opportunities in rural Appalachian communities. What have you learned from this initiative, and how is it helping young people and their communities thrive?
- Future Plans is currently running its 17,000 Campaign. What is the goal behind this initiative, why is reaching this milestone so important, and how can individuals and organizations help Future Plans achieve it?
- Artificial intelligence is changing the way people learn, work and build careers. Where do you see AI creating new opportunities for career development, and what challenges must individuals and educators address to ensure people aren’t left behind?
- Looking ahead, what are your biggest priorities for Future Plans, and how can businesses, schools and community organizations get involved in helping more people discover their potential and access meaningful opportunities?
Dr. Denise Reading is the Founder and CEO of Future Plans, Inc. Future Plans is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending poverty one person at a time by supporting individuals in discovering their own greatness and adding value to the communities they are a part of. Dr. Reading and Future Plans serve as a catalyst for revitalization, building grassroots coalitions of committed citizens supporting capacity building in schools, non-profits, agencies, social service organizations and businesses. The GRIT (Growing Rural Independence Together) Project is one of the many bold initiatives that Dr. Reading started at Future Plans. The seeds of the GRIT project were sown in 2018 when Dr. Reading connected with a small group of leaders in Adams county Ohio. Dr. Reading and these local leaders were committed to giving more, especially to young people, so that they could choose to live and work in their home counties. Dr. Reading’s approach and commitment to preparing individuals and communities for transformation is uniquely innovative and collaborative.
Prior to founding Future Plans, Dr. Reading was the founder and President of Global Corporate College, a social enterprise that provides incumbent worker training for Fortune 500 companies across 50 states and 40 countries through the GCC network of community colleges.
Before launching Global Corporate College, Dr. Reading was the President of Cuyahoga Community College and prior to that the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Baldwin Wallace University.
Some of Dr. Reading’s other social innovations include founding/co-founding/co-creating:
- The SPROUT Program at Baldwin Wallace University, supporting teen mothers in their completion of a college education.
- The Baldwin Wallace University Scholars Program, preparing young urban, African American men for college
- The Key Entrepreneurship Center at Cuyahoga Community College/Corporate College
- The NIA Program, helping women exiting foster care seek education and economic freedom through the Strategic Planning Committee of YWCA of Cleveland
Dr. Reading is the recipient of numerous awards, including being recognized as an Outstanding Alumna by both Bowling Green State University and Kent State University.
In her spare time, Dr. Reading is a play-write who directs and performs in her own comedic and poignant one-woman shows: ‘The Ladies of Last Chance’, ‘I am the Daughter of a Cattle Rancher Among Other Things’, and ‘It’s All About the Hair’.
Website: futureplans.org
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/futureplansorg
Facebook: facebook.com/futureplansorg
YouTube: youtube.com/@FuturePlansOrg
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