Corporate Leaders Discuss the Strategies for Economic Mobility and Community Partnerships

The state of economic mobility is evident by contrasting trends. On one end of the spectrum, there are more opportunities for individuals to accumulate wealth, such as through startups and investments. However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the difficulty of advancing economically for those in lower-income brackets; since then, income and wealth inequalities have expanded.

During the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s 2023 Business Solves event, a panel of corporate citizen leaders — Rachel Goslins, executive director and chief creative officer at Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, Alicia Wilson, managing director and global head of philanthropy of North America at JPMorgan Chase, David Clunie, principal and head of community relations at Edward Jones, and Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, executive chairman at NewDay USA — discussed the state of economic mobility and programs that reinforce neighborhood stabilization.

Economic Mobility Can Be Bolstered Through Different Mediums

At Edward Jones, economic mobility is addressed through forming partnerships and creating an ecosystem of support to build a more resilient and inclusive economy.

“We have been going to clients for years and going to communities … that have not had access to financial resources, [and] bringing those resources there [to] not only [improve] the lives of our clients but the community,” said Clunie.

The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream promotes economic mobility differently: through the power of storytelling. Goslins mentions how the institution tells contextualized stories of individuals from diverse communities who have found pathways to success, while also encouraging visitors to share their own family stories.

“The four pillars of our center are health, access to capital, entrepreneurship and innovation, and education,” Goslins explained. “In each of those pillars, we strive to give people concrete tools and resources that they can use to build more concrete pathways for themselves, their families, and their communities.”

Organizations Are Partnering for a Positive Impact

When selecting organizations to partner with at JPMorgan Chase, Wilson looks for those with a track record of achieving tangible results in the community.

“We have great relationships because the program officers on my team actually sit within the community,” Wilson explained. “They're from those communities. They live in those communities. So their ability to understand a partner is very different from me sitting in my office in Washington, D.C. looking at glossies [or] beautiful websites.”

Lynch also expressed the importance of partnerships, both public and private, to address societal challenges like homelessness. 

“All of us need to see if there [are] partnerships we can form in our own little entity or people we're working with to make some things happen — and take a little chip here, a little chip here, and then eventually, solve some major problems,” Lynch said.