Joseph Kenner
Greyston
Yonkers, NY USA
"That’s the beauty of inclusive employment—you should be able to bring yourself to work. Everyone should have that equal opportunity to just say, ‘I can be whoever I can be,’ and not have to worry about that being an issue."
Career Roadmap
Joseph's work combines: Business, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
People tend to lean towards doubt when discussing open hiring initiatives. Business owners either don't want to give those that society deems unemployable a chance or they don't understand how to create such initiatives. Inclusive employment is a win-win. Business owners get hard working employees and employees get an opportunity towards self-sufficiency. Communities have less crime and poverty cycles are broken. It's simple. Do you need employees? Can these people do the job? Then hire them.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Political Economy
Williams College
Graduate Degree
Financial Management
Pace University - Lubin School of Business
Certification
Interdisciplinary Aging & Health Care Management
University of Rochester Medical Center
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I was born in New York and raised in New Jersey.
2.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in political economy from Williams College in Massachusetts—I also studied politics, philosophy, and economics abroad at the University of Oxford in England.
3.
After graduating, I went on to earn my MBA in financial management.
4.
I started my career as an insurance underwriter and then moved on to risk management.
5.
From there, I spent almost 10 years at PepsiCo, working with sales strategy, risk management, and capital markets.
6.
I left Wall Street and corporate America to work in government—first as a senior advisor to the county executive and then as deputy commissioner of social services for Westchester County, New York.
7.
During my time as deputy commissioner, I met my predecessor at Greyston and developed a relationship with him—when he needed a vice president of programs and partnerships, I applied and got the job.
8.
After two years as vice president of programs and partnerships, I was appointed as president and CEO of Greyston.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Open hiring won't work for our organization. We can't just hire anybody.
How I responded:
People tend to lean towards doubt when discussing open hiring initiatives. Business owners either don't want to give those that society deems unemployable a chance or they don't understand how to create such initiatives. Inclusive employment is a win-win. Business owners get hard working employees and employees get an opportunity towards self-sufficiency. Communities have less crime and poverty cycles are broken. It's simple. Do you need employees? Can these people do the job? Then hire them.