FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2019
RENOWNED ENTREPRENEUR BRIAN HAMILTON KICKS OFF WEEK OF REENTRY RECOGNITION EVENTS IN WINSTON- SALEM
Winston-Salem, NC April 22, 2019 – The Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM) at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) and Forsyth County Reentry Council welcomes renowned entrepreneur Brian Hamilton to Winston-Salem to share a message of “Entrepreneurship for All.” Brian is the 2019 CSEM Spring Lecture Series speaker and will deliver comments at a public forum on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at 9:30am in the WSSU Anderson Center’s Dillard Auditorium. The event is free to any that want to learn how to start, run and grow their own business, furthermore, to support entrepreneurial aspirations for people transitioning from prison or correctional facilities back into our community.
About Brian Hamilton and the Brian Hamilton Foundation
Brian Hamilton co-founded Sageworks, the country’s first fintech and largest provider of software to U.S. Banks. This company was sold to a private equity firm in 2018 after which he created the Brian Hamilton Foundation as a means to provide access to entrepreneurship to people who wouldn’t otherwise have it. This includes people with criminal records for whom Brian created a
program called Inmates to Entrepreneurs twenty-seven years ago to empower them to start their own businesses. The Brian Hamilton Foundation was established with one principle in mind:
with the right resources and support, anyone can be a successful entrepreneur. We help youth, veterans, former inmates and other underserved populations start, run and grow their own businesses. By doing this, our hope is to help people take part in the American dream and climb the social and economic ladder. Through our programs, we provide education by speaking to
business and entrepreneurship groups, connecting those looking for information with experienced entrepreneurs, and providing free, online courses. https://brianhamilton.org/
About Forsyth County Reentry Council
The Forsyth County Reentry Council is a community-based partnership of over 100 organizations, faith-based and grassroots efforts, elected officials, community residents, former offenders, employers, community safety initiatives and any other organization/persons interested/concerned about the men and women returning home after incarceration. The Council serves as an
information hub on local reentry services in Forsyth County and is at the forefront of reentry services and education resource for the community. https://www.ptrc.org/services/forsyth-county-reentry-council
About Center for the Study of Economic Mobility (CSEM)
The CSEM serves as a hub for faculty research, undergraduate student research, scholarship and community outreach such as the Spring Lecture Series. For the 2018 CSEM Spring Lecturer, CSEM welcomed Dr. Gregory Price, Professor of Economics, Morehouse College, who presented his empirical research findings that suggest “that self-employment and entrepreneurship are viable pathways out of crime and recidivism, and the elimination of any barriers that restrict access to start-up capital for formerly incarcerated individuals would reduce crime and recidivism, ameliorate mass incarceration, and complement pro-growth economic policies that encourage self-employment and entrepreneurship.” The 2019 CSEM Spring Lecture with Brian Hamilton reflects CSEM’s aim of moving from research to practice. https://www.wssu.edu/academics/colleges-and-departments/college-of-artssciences-business-education/center-for-study-of-economicmobility/index.html
For more information about the Brian Hamilton Foundation contact: Melanie Hamilton at melanieh@brianhamilton.org or 203-449-8701
For more information about the Forsyth County Reentry Council contact: Rebecca Sauter at rsauter@ptrc.org
For more information about the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility contact: Alvin Atkinson, at atkinsona#@wssu.edu
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