CAN TV Program Archive

In 1995, while Adam Alonso was working at Casa Central, which was located in the basement of Vida Nueva church near Kelvyn Park, he had a fortuitous encounter. One day, a 15-year-old arrived at the church seeking the pastor. Although the pastor was absent, Adam was there and informed the teenager, who was high and contemplating suicide, of this fact. As the teenager turned to leave, he heard a voice in his head saying, “Call him back.” Acting on this inner voice, the teenager did just that, and as a result, 24-year-old Adam discovered his true calling. Today, Adam proudly serves as the CEO of BUILD, Inc., an organization that operates in some of Chicago’s most challenging neighborhoods, providing at-risk youth with alternatives to violence. BUILD, Inc., is also known as Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development, and we are fortunate to have Adam Alonso as our guest this week.

Matt Strauss grew up in Wilmette, where professionals have no problem networking their way to new jobs. But while mentoring at tech incubator nonprofit I.C. Stars, he saw first-hand how many job seekers on the South and West sides of —particularly those with criminal pasts or gaps in employment didn’t have the same networking ability, or the resources so readily afforded to him and his Wilmette peers.. When he came upon research confirming that a person’s ZIP code at birth is a major indicator of economic success throughout their lives, he was compelled to launch RiseKit, a software company that connects job seekers to employers and social services. This week’s guest is the founder and CEO of RiseKit, Matt Strauss.