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The City of Seattle looks forward with Mayor Jenny Durkan’s announcement of her 2019 and 2020 budget proposal. Being Durkan’s first budget proposal, she excitedly began with, “Good afternoon. It is an honor to be with you today as I present my first budget as mayor of Seattle. I know the Mayor is usually at City Hall to deliver her budget speech. And yes: After 100 years, that’s what I said, ‘Her budget speech.’”

This monumental moment for Durkan was followed by the city’s plans and budget for the coming years.

A proposed allotment of money has been set aside for the employment of 40 new police officers, 120 firefighters, and 24 new call center employees for Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light, according to CrossCut.com. The city’s transportation services will be greatly benefited from Durkan’s proposed budget. $2.5 million is granted toward Sound Transit with the planning of a new light rail station. King County Metro will be asked to add more bus services around Seattle as well. Additionally, new bus and bike lanes will be added in the city under the new budget.

Durkan is working for taxpayers to vote “yes” on the school levy this November in attempts to fund preschool, K-12, and community college schools in Seattle. An allotment of $2.6 billion is going toward Seattle utilities — this includes garbage, recycling, clean water, and power.

Durkan’s most prevalent headlining budget is her proposal for managing homelessness in the city. A proposed budget of $89.5 million was made toward the funding of programs, resources, and departments aiding the homelessness epidemic. In the first half of her inaugural year as mayor, Durkan’s efforts resulted in two times the re-homing of homeless individuals than the year prior. More than 500 beds were added to Seattle homeless shelters during her first year. The mayor’s budget proposal took what was once temporary spending money toward homelessness and made it permanent. Durkan’s Biennial Budget Proposal has laid out the city’s plan to implement 2,300 more emergency shelter beds, 70% of these beds being 24/7 enhanced shelter beds. Continued investment into the Seattle Rental Housing Assistant Pilot program and Seattle’s Tiny Home Village are to happen thanks to Durkan. The homelessness crisis has resulted in abundant amounts of trash and garbage in the city, especially in encampment areas. Durkan’s budget supports 4 cleanup programs to help resolve this issue. The Homelessness and Housing Investments budget sheet states, “including…removing trash from unmanaged encampments, cleaning trash in the public right-of-way, providing litter bags to unmanaged encampments and collecting syringes from public places and disposal boxes throughout Seattle.” Since the beginning of these programs a count of 111,000 syringe needles have been picked up.

Mayor Jenny Durkan’s leading-edge budget proposal leads the way to a productive and innovative upcoming few years for the City of Seattle.

Who is Jenny Durkan?

Jenny Durkan served as the Mayor of Seattle, having been elected in November 2017 and officially taking office on November 28, 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was the first openly lesbian person to be elected mayor of the city.

Before becoming mayor, Durkan had a substantial career in law and public service. She served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, a position she was appointed to by President Barack Obama. In this role, she worked on issues related to police reform, civil rights, and drug enforcement, among others.

As mayor, Durkan faced numerous challenges, such as managing the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, navigating civil unrest and protests related to racial justice and police violence, and addressing the rising cost of living and homelessness in Seattle. Her tenure as mayor was marked by various policy initiatives and controversies, especially in relation to policing and housing.

Jenny Durkan announced in 2020 that she would not seek re-election and concluded her term at the end of 2021.

Only the best writing and production teams have worked on as many hit television shows, cult classics, and well-loved programs as the esteemed duo of Berg and Harberts. Composed of college friends and colleagues Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, these television minds have penned episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Roswell, and served as executive producers for Mercy, Reign, and Off the Map.

From a chance meeting at Northwestern University to producing award-winning television shows such as Revenge and Pushing Daisies, this dynamic duo’s tenacity, talent, and wit has propelled them to the top of network television minds – and they aren’t going away anytime soon.

The Story of Gretchen Berg

Half of the Berg & Harberts duo, Gretchen J. Berg was born on February 8th, 1971 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From an early age, Berg developed an interest in telling stories and creating new worlds. She reminisces on her childhood in Pittsburgh during a 2010 interview with hometown publication Pittsburgh Magazine, remembering the days where she would disappear into the woods with her friends for hours at a time. During these play sessions, they would wander into dreamy play sessions that would last until the sun went down – encouraging and inspiring her daydreams and storytelling to this day.

During high school, Berg was a loner. Her alma mater, North Allegheny High, placed a major emphasis on sports. However, despite a lack of school spirit, Berg found her calling in acting and drama classes. School required a lot of writing, allowing Berg to stretch her writing talent and develop key skills in writing structure, plot, and narrative. North Allegheny also had a TV studio – a privilege that Berg took full advantage of to create new ideas and see them come to life.

Wanting to pursue television and film, Berg searched for the perfect undergraduate program to fulfill her dreams. She decided against attending major media programs at New York University and the University of California at Los Angeles, where the film and TV programs focus solely on themselves and leave little room for a well-rounded education. Berg craved hands-on experience in film and television production, but also an opportunity to pursue a liberal arts education. This led her to Northwestern University, where Gretchen Berg would meet Aaron Harberts, her future writing and production partner.

Gretchen Berg lives in Los Angeles, California. She is season ticket holder for the Pittsburgh Steelers and her early influences include Remington Steele and The Monkees.

The Story of Aaron Harberts

Aaron Harberts was born on January 20th, 1973 to religious parents in rural Waterloo, Iowa. He grew up in Indiana and South Florida, spending much of his life navigating between the three states to spend time with his spread-out family. Aaron Harberts is an openly gay man and one of the first of such to work on many shows in the various leadership roles he has held. He is married and lives in Los Angeles, California.

Harbert’s father is a Presbyterian minister, so he spent much of his young life in church, listening to his father’s sermons. Harberts credits this time with inspiring his writing career. According to a 2000 interview in Crackdown, Harberts stated that during church, he would sit in the pews and daydream of fantastical stories to write. He wrote a few books during his early elementary years, with titles like “The Time Car,” about a detective who hunts down criminals in a flying car.

Company: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/aaron-harberts

When Aaron Harberts graduated from high school in 1991, he attended Northwestern University to study film and television. Entering his freshman year while Berg was beginning her junior year, the dynamic duo met during a two-year program called Creative Writing for the Media.

Northwestern University and Happenstance

In 1992, Harberts was nearing the end of his first year at Northwestern University while Berg was gearing up for her last year. Berg was directing a student film at the time, which Harberts began working on as a P.A. They worked in a close capacity on these projects and through the Creative Writing for the Media course, which introduces students to the mechanics of creative writing for stage, film, and television. Although they worked together, they didn’t develop a close relationship until Harberts moved to Los Angeles in 1995.

Having graduated from Northwestern in 1993, Gretchen Berg had already moved from Chicago to California, trying to make her living in Los Angeles. When Harberts was trying to make the same cross-country move in 1995, his housing situation fell through. He moved into Berg’s place while she was trying to write a sitcom spec and struggling with revising her screenplays before presentation to studio executives. Berg recalled appreciating Harberts’ sense of humor during their Northwestern days, and asked him if he’d like to write a script with her as a team. He accepted, and Berg and Harberts was born.

Six months later, Berg recalls that they finished their first script, which she described as similar to the hit sitcom Friends, albeit a terrible version. They burned all the remaining copies of this script and from the ashes, Berg and Harberts have emerged as a multi-talented writing and production team for dozens of popular television programs.

From the Writer’s Room

In their early days roaming Los Angeles, Berg and Harberts attempted to break into the business by taking assistant jobs throughout Hollywood. They were young, broke, and determined; living off of taco trucks and other cheap meals to stretch their limited funds. They spent hours studying, criticizing, and analyzing films and television shows to determine best practices for plot construction, pacing, comedic timing, and other narrative aspects. Berg recalls that the team wrote almost constantly – everything from television dramas to sitcoms to made-for-TV movies.

All this hard work paid off. This practice helped Berg and Harberts sharpen their writing skills to a fine point and broadcast their names out into the world. By some sort of happenstance, an agent found a copy of one of their screenplays and passed it on to a television agent, who signed the duo in just a matter of weeks. This was the beginning of the big Hollywood break Berg and Harberts had been waiting for.

Berg and Harberts’ big break came when the hit television show Beverly Hills, 90210 hired them as staff writers. They penned their first episode in 1998. They are responsible for an iconic episode that re-introduced Luke Perry’s character, Dylan McKay, back into the world of elite Los Angeles teens on the show’s ninth season. Throughout the ninth and tenth seasons of 90210, Berg and Harberts worked on 32 episodes as writers and executive story editors. Following the conclusion of 90210, the cult TV show, Roswell, offered Berg and Harberts producer positions.

From the Production Floor

While on the staff of Roswell, Berg and Harberts served as producers for the show’s duration from 2000 to 2002. They served as producers and co-producers for 39 episodes and writers for 9 episodes. The show developed a cult following among science fiction fans despite its short run, and helped cement the team’s position in Hollywood’s writing and producing elite.

Following the end of Roswell, Berg and Harberts began work on the television show Wonderfalls as writers and producers. While working on this series, they met writer and producer Bryan Fuller, who would eventually hire the duo to work on his hit television program Pushing Daisies. Between Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies, Berg and Harberts served as producers and writers for multiple series. They even wrote and created their own television show – 2006’s Pepper Dennis, which only ran for one season.

From 2008 to 2009, Berg and Harberts worked as writers and co-executive producers for the award-winning television show Pushing Daisies. From 2009 to 2010, the duo became showrunners and executive producers for the short-lived television show, Mercy. From 2013 to 2015, Berg and Harberts worked as executive producers for the hit show, Revenge, creating a masterful tale of conspiracies and family secrets that captivated the heart of millions of viewers around the globe. The team were the showrunners for Star Trek Discovery and it became a huge hit on CBS under their watch.

Berg and Harberts Today

As of 2018, Berg and Harberts have served on the writing team for 16 television shows, including titles such as Reign, GCB, Off the Map, and Women’s Murder Club. In addition, they have 14 producer credits to their names. They have served as showrunners for three television shows, signing deals with networks such as ABC and NBC. They have worked on medical dramas, comedies, science fiction series, and Los Angeles teen tales. Their wide range of credits highlights their ability to create compelling stories in multiple genres. Both Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts have IMDb profiles that feature all of their successes in Hollywood.

Suffice it to say, Berg and Harberts have come a long way from their Creative Writing in the Media course at Northwestern University. From Chicago to Los Angeles and their origins in Pennsylvania, Iowa, South Florida, and Indiana, Berg and Harberts are only just beginning their reign among the television elite. This multi-talented duo is fresh off their latest showrunner gig, and big projects are likely in the works.

We’re excited to see what Berg and Harberts’ futures hold. Based on this team’s history, long breaks aren’t part of their writing and production style. From 90210 to Roswell to Revenge and beyond, we will be seeing a lot of Berg and Harberts in the next few years. Keep an eye on their Twitter feeds – there’s no telling where these talented best friends will take their captivated audiences next.

Together their awards include: Peabody Award Nomination, Saturn Award, Logo’s NewNowNext Award, and a GLAAD Award Nomination.

Their most recent project is Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.  Read more about the show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and the writers Berg and Harberts here.

Follow them on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/GretchenJBerg
https://twitter.com/AaronHarberts

Early Life
Businessman Bill Gates life wasn’t always as lavish and eccentric as it is today. Growing up, his father was a senior lawyer and his mother an executive for a large-scale bank. While the family was fairly affluent, the Gates children were raised to work hard for what they wanted and stay humble. He was born on October 28th, 1955, grew up in Seattle, Washington with his two sister, Libby and Kristianne, and parents. Gates was known to be curious and intelligent child. He was enrolled in Lakeside School, a private prep school and excelled at many subjects including, math, science, and even drama. It was in school where Gates had his first encounter with a computer. He introduced himself to programming, making a tic-tac-toe game as his first coding success. After learning how much he enjoyed working with computers, he spent time on Computer Center Corporation’s computers to learn coding like Machine Code, Lisp, and Fortran. Bill was accepted to Harvard in 1973, intending to study computer science and mathematics. Realizing his true passion was programming, he left Harvard without completing his degree to found his own company with friend, Paul Allen.

Microsoft Corporation
Gates and business partner, Paul Allen, founded Microsoft in 1976, now the world’s largest software company. He initially made a deal with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) to work on a new operating system for their microcomputers. Gates was a jack of all trades in the early days of his business, from working on every line of coding, to packing and shipping off orders. Microsoft’s first big break occurred in 1980, when IBM came to them for assistance to an operating system. After many setbacks and troubles between IBM representatives and Gates, they reached a final consensus to use 86-DOS as an operating system, partnering with Seattle Computer Products (SCP) as the exclusive licensing agent. Microsoft traded the system to IBM for $50,000. As the popularity of this particular type of system arose, many hardware companies began to clone IBM’s system. Even though IBM was the name on the software, everyone knew Microsoft was the reason it all happened. Media began to call Gates “the man behind the machine.” Gates became the president and board chairman of Microsoft as the company moved to Washington State in 1981. Microsoft came out with version one of Windows in 1990—a technological breakthrough, as software replaced text interfaces with graphic interfaces. Windows 95 was released in 1995, becoming the backbone for all upcoming releases of Windows. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was the dominant web browser among computer user, usually because it came pre-installed. The area of search engines has not been an area of success for Microsoft. Their engine, MSN live search (now Bing!), was and continues to be inevitably swallowed by Google. Microsoft’s inability to make a successful search engine can never trump their successes made with their software.

Microsoft’s very first product was an interpreter for programming languages called Altair BASIC that ran on a machine by MITS Computer Corporation called the Altair 8800 computer kit.

Before he founded Microsoft, Gates worked for nearly two years at Traf-O-Data, a small company that made traffic counters based on an Intel 4004 processor.

The experience gave him insight into hardware manufacturing and venture capital that helped with his later success.

Bill Gates Philanthropic Pursuit
In 2000, Bill and wife, Melinda Gates, established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, Washington. Bill slowly weaned his hours at Microsoft to focus on the foundation in 2008. The foundation is resourced through donations and grants—the Warren Buffet donation in 2006 of $1.5 billion being one of the major grants. Bill and Melinda use funding toward infectious disease control, STD control, Reproductive health care, Family planning, agricultural development, global health, global growth and opportunity, and global policy and advocacy, to name a few. Bill and Melinda’s foundation holds $38 billion in assets, making it one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Bill and Melinda’s foundation works to aid developing countries health to give them a chance to end their struggles with hunger and poverty. Their foundation engages on a global level, rather than regional—working in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

Bill Gates Personal & Home Life
Bill resides in Medina, Washington with his wife Melinda (the two were married in 1994), son Rory (18), and daughter Phoebe (16). They live in their modern designed mansion overlooking Lake Washington. Their house, nicknamed Xanadu 2.0, is an earth-sheltered house—meaning it was architecturally structured to have walls against the earth to retain heat and maintain indoor air temperature. The Gates’ home is estimated to be worth $170,449,927.

UPDATE: Bill and Melinda are officially divorced. It was finalized early August 2021.

Giving Away His Fortune

The son of a successful lawyer, Gates went on to establish one of the world’s leading technology companies, Microsoft. Although he has given away billions over his lifetime, philanthropy is about more than money for Gates.

As he once said in an interview with Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, my father was a very giving person—I didn’t get that from him directly because he died when I was young—but I got it from my mother…

There are many people who have achieved significant wealth who are not giving back in any significant way. That bothers me more than anything.

Conclusion

Since founding Microsoft in 1975, Bill Gates has helped revolutionize personal computing and fundamentally changed how people around the world use information.

In 2006, he launched The Giving Pledge with fellow billionaires Warren Buffett and Melinda French-Buffett, an initiative aimed at getting wealthy individuals to give half their fortunes away before they die.

In 2009, he announced that he would be transitioning from day-to-day operations at Microsoft so that he could devote more time to his charitable work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The couple recently divorced in 2021.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon has had an amazing career. From a young age he displayed potential to reach great heights. With a lot of hard work, being surrounded by the right people, risk, and a little bit of serendipity, the Amazon Empire has changed the way the world works.

Early Life and Career
Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was born to his mother, Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen, and his biological father, Ted Jorgensen. The Jorgensen’s were married less than a year, and when Bezos was 4 years old his mother re-married, to Cuban immigrant Mike Bezos. “The reality, as far as I’m concerned, is that my Dad is my natural father. The only time I ever think about it, genuinely, is when a doctor asks me to fill out a form,” Jeff told Wired in 1999.

As a child, Jeff Bezos showed an early interest in how things work, turning his parents’ garage into a laboratory and rigging electrical contraptions around his house, specifically to keep his siblings out of his room. He moved to Miami with his family as a teenager, where he developed a love for computers and graduated valedictorian of his high school. It was during high school that he started his first business, the Dream Institute, an educational summer camp for fourth, fifth and sixth graders.

After high school, Bezos attended Princeton University, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1986 with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering. After graduation, he found work at several firms on Wall Street, including Fitel, Bankers Trust and the investment firm D.E. Shaw.

While his career at Wall Street was extremely lucrative, Bezos chose to make a bold move into the budding world of e-commerce. He quit his job in 1994, moved to Seattle with wife and believed in the potential of the internet, therefor opening an online bookstore. Little did Bezos know that this move and start-up would eventually turn into a new way of life and change the way people obtain goods and consume entertainment. Upon reflection Bezos said: “When I’m 80, am I going to regret leaving Wall Street? No. Will I regret missing the beginning of the Internet? Yes.” We would have regretted it too.

Launching Amazon.com
Amazing began humbly in Bezos garage where, along with a few employees, he began developing software. They soon expanded operations into a two-bedroom house, equipped with three Sun Microstations, and eventually developed a test site. After inviting 300 friends to beta test the site, Bezos opened Amazon.com. Named after the meandering South American River.

The initial success of the company was swift. With no press promotion, Amazon.com sold books across the United States and in 45 foreign countries within 30 days. In two months, sales reached $20,000 a week, growing faster than Bezos and his start-up team had envisioned. Amazon.com went public in 1997.

Bezos continued to diversify Amazon’s offerings with the sale of CDs and videos in 1998, and later clothes, electronics, toys and more through major retail partnerships. While many dot.coms of the early ’90s went bust, Amazon flourished with yearly sales that jumped from $510,000 in 1995 to over $17 billion in 2011. This model continues as Bezos continues to diversify what Amazon can offer consumers.

In 2006, Amazon.com launched its video on demand service; initially known as Amazon Unbox on TiVo, it was eventually re-branded as Amazon Instant Video. In 2007, the company released the Kindle, a handheld digital book reader that allowed users to buy, download, read and store their book selections. That same year, Bezos announced his investment in Blue Origin, a Seattle-based aerospace company that develops technologies to offer space travel to paying customers.

Buying ‘The Washington Post’
Bezos made a purchase in 2013 that turned heads. On August 5, 2013, he purchased The Washington Post for $250 million. The deal marked the end of the four-generation reign over The Post Co. by the Graham family, which included Donald E. Graham, the company’s chairman and chief executive, and his niece, Post publisher Katharine Weymouth.

“The Post could have survived under the company’s ownership and been profitable for the foreseeable future,” Graham stated, in an effort to explain the transaction. “But we wanted to do more than survive. I’m not saying this guarantees success, but it gives us a much greater chance of success.”

Amazon Prime & Amazon Studios
Bezos scored another victory with the development of original content through Amazon Studios. After premiering several new programs in 2013, Amazon hit it big in 2014 with the critically acclaimed Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle. In 2015, the company produced and released Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq as its first original feature film.
Wealth

In July 2017, Bezos briefly surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg, before dropping back to No. 2. The Amazon chief then reclaimed the top spot in October, and in January 2018, Bloomberg pegged his net worth at $105.1 billion, making Bezos the richest person in history. Two months later, that figure was up to $127 billion, equal to the combined wealth of 2.3 million average Americans. Bezos is also owning hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the United States.

Healthcare Venture
On January 30, 2018, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase delivered a joint press release in which they announced plans to pool their resources to form a new healthcare company for their U.S. employees. According to the release, the company will be “free from profit-making incentives and constraints” as it tries to find ways to cut costs and boost satisfaction for patients, with an initial focus on technology solutions. “The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty,” said Bezos. “Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort.”

Personality and Leadership
Bezos is known for his double-personality that turns him from a kind person into a rough executive inducing fear and respect in his employees. Bezos has been said to be extremely critical and there if you received an e-mail with a question mark, it is a ticking time bomb to fix whatever the problem is and report back to him. Jeff Bezos seems to have no problem running the company while still personally reading feedback from customers. “We research each of them because they tell us something about our processes. It’s an audit that is done for us by our customers. We treat them as precious sources of information,” senior Amazon vice president Jeff Wilke explains. When there is a real issue, the consequences can be harsh on the employees responsible for the issue.
Personal Life

Bezos is married to his wife MacKenzie Bezos. They meet in New York while Bezos was working at Wall Street. She has been along for the Amazon ride from the very beginning. They have four children, three sons and one daughter adopted from China.

Philanthropy can be the most rewarding work a person can do in their lifetime. The most rewarding work is the work we do for others in crisis or need. There are few and far people that focus on charitable works but some of those people have been working for decades to help others. People like Sharon Bush, who has worked for over four decades helping others across the globe. Her altruism extends across different continents all over the world. She has become very well known as an accomplished philanthropist focusing on bringing resources to women, children and families everywhere there is help needed. She has won a variety of awards and has received recognition for her charitable works from a multitude of organizations.

Sharon Smith Bush has done work with numerous philanthropic organizations, promoting the ideals of love and family. Across her various efforts, she’s worked to help numerous causes, including education, pollution remediation, and other nonprofit organizations. Her contributions have helped further advance these causes, helping people around the world.

The role that philanthropy plays in society is very important. The definition of philanthropy is the love of humankind and the purpose is to improve the well-being of humankind. There is nothing nobler than an individual who dedicates their time, money and energy into improving the lives of others. It provides opportunities because it supports projects and efforts that otherwise might not have gained widespread support. Philanthropists are key to making sure that everyone in society benefits regardless of their circumstances. Sharon Bush has focused on dedicating her life to her philanthropic work and it is such an important part of her life that her children have even taken up their own charitable and philanthropic works.

Sharon Bush is a resident of New York City and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire.  She has three children Lauren Bush, Ashley Bush, and Pierce Bush.  Previously married to Neil Bush the son of George H. W. Bush and the late Barbara Bush.

Sharon has written about raising philanthropic children, and what her insight is to keep children grounded. She believes that charity starts in the home, to teach without technology (relating to those you’re around, and engaging in true human connection), walking your talk as a parent, showing children the real world, and learning what a child’s passions are and pursuing them in a way where they can positively impact others. Through Sharon’s example of philanthropy and engaging in meaningful work, it is no surprise that her children followed in her footsteps.

As noted, Sharon Smith Bush has three children who all in their own way have made a difference in the world. Her children Lauren Bush Lauren, Ashley Bush, and Pierce Bush have taken her example to heart. You can read more about here children below. In short, all three children spend their time doing charitable works both nationally and internationally. Their mother was a huge inspiration to them growing up.

The Karitas Foundation

Growing up the children watched as their mom built her own non-profit called The Karitas Foundation, which sold kid’s toys and clothing. It was her first venture into philanthropic work. The profits from those sales went to shelters that focused on caring for homeless and abused children. They were young when Sharon Bush started the foundation and they spoke later in life of how much they learned empathy and morals watching their mother start this foundation.

The idea for The Karitas Foundation came from Sharon’s time as a teacher in an inner city elementary school.  She became a teacher after she received her teaching degree in 1975 from the University of New Hampshire. On a daily basis, she witnessed the struggle of her students and how much it affected them in the classroom. She vowed to dedicate herself to helping children in dire or harsh circumstances. She vowed to help these children grow, learn and thrive. Her inspiration for The Karitas Foundation grew out of her own personal experiences with these children. The sale of licensed children products through The Karitas Foundation went to nationally recognized children’s relief organizations. Not only was money raised but awareness for the plight of homeless and disadvantaged children was raised through her efforts.

The Knowledge is Power Program

Another organization that Sharon currently contributes her time to is the Knowledge is Power Program. This organization works to bring schools to under-served communities, and working to better support the children that live in them. Currently, the KIPP serves a network of schools in these areas, and Sharon sits on the board for the program, helping to direct and further develop its efforts.

Sharon Bush Awards

Sharon Bush was awarded the Mother of the Year Award from the Hale House for her work with children who are deemed at risk. Clara Hale founded the organization in 1969 and was a humanitarian who received many awards for her work with at-risk children. The Hale House has undergone some changes but their mission is the still the same.  Sharon Bush considers receiving this award as one of the most important moments of her life. Her 3 kids were there to help present her with the award. They spoke of how much they learned from their mother about compassion and love by watching her through her humanitarian efforts.

Receiving the Mother of the Year award from the Hale House was a true honor for Sharon Bush. She was so humbled to receive this award by an organization that she respects so much. Sharon Bush admires all the work that Mother Hale and the Hale House have done for families. Mother Hale exemplified the traits of a true philanthropist. She was kind and exuded a nurturing energy. Sharon Bush learned so much from Mother Hale and was so happy to be honored by someone she respected so much.

UN Women for Peace Association

Sharon Bush also promotes charity work through the UN Women for Peace Association. This organization works to improve the lives of women around the world by providing them with education and protection from dangerous conditions like abuse. Sharon hopes to instill in the women who benefit from the UNWFPA the same values that Sharon herself embodies, including strength and compassion.

Teddy Shares

Sharon Bush has also worked to combat world hunger through the Teddy Shares program. This organization, much like the Karitas Foundation, takes profits from sales to donate to those in need. For every Teddy Shares teddy bear purchased, the organization provides Plumpy’Nut supplements to malnourished children in Africa, providing them with vital nutrients. Teddy Shares has also partnered with the Teddy Roosevelt Foundation, Edesia, and FEED, a charitable group founded by Sharon’s daughter, Lauren Bush Lauren. Sharon manages Teddy Shares as both the founder and CEO.

Environmental science has made great strides to improve the impact we have on the earth. Two businesses are working to improve the processes of how to remove waste buildup. Teacher, advocate, and entrepreneur Sharon bush oversees business development for two companies that are working to improve our environmental impact. These companies are called Protein Matrix and GreenStract.

Protein Matrix

Sharon truly believes in being an advocate for disadvantaged families and cares about the well being of children around the world. She is not only working with families but she also cares greatly about the future of the environment. In fact, she is an advocate of environmental studies believes in the removal of waste buildup from the planet as it helps protect the environment. She is in charge of business development for a company called Protein Matrix. Protein Matrix provides a cost-effective, environmentally friendly degreasing product that does not pose a problem to the waste water treatment plants. The goal of the company is to create cleaner water.

Protein Matrix is a product in development to help clean substances from pipelines that can ultimately damage the infrastructure. Specifically, Protein Matrix targets fats, oils, and grease that can build up in pipes over time, causing damage. When these common substances enter drains from food, dangerous consequences for the environment can result. Not only does replacing pipes increase the carbon footprint over time, but broken pipes can lead to sewer spills, damaging water systems and surrounding environments.

Unlike many other cleaners that target these products, Protein Matrix is environmentally friendly, and its use can prevent other harmful chemicals from interacting with the environment. The makeup of Protein Matrix also doesn’t cause damage to pipes while working. The product also has other applications outside of cleaning up sewage systems, such as serving as an environmentally friendly degreaser. Sharon Bush oversees the business development for this company, supporting its efforts.

Sharon is an amazing example of leading by example. She has spent her whole life helping others and hopes that her legacy will serve as an example of the power of how one person can make a difference through serving others. She is an important example of how one person can make a difference with their actions. Philanthropy is key to community development and it is an important way to help those that struggle or are considered disadvantaged. Sharon Bush has made it her goal in life to serve as an example for others and to inspire others to do the same.

GreenStract

She also is in charge of business development for GreenStract another company that focuses on a cost-effective and non-toxic way to help clean up environmental waste.

GreenStract is another environmentally conscious company that Sharon Bush oversees business development for. GreenStract is a chemical technology company that removes harmful waste from storage tanks. GreenStract uses a plant-based solution to remove bad buildups such as petroleum, coal tar, and creosote. The company is based in Springfield, Massachusetts.

In addition to her work with Protein Matrix, Sharon also oversees much of the business development for GreenStract. This company works to help boost the environment through tending to storage tanks. Where Protein Matrix focuses on sewer system buildups, GreenStract instead gears towards removing buildup that results from coal tar, petroleum, and creosote.

Much like with Protein Matrix’s effect on pipes, removing these harmful buildups can help extend the lifetime of these storage tanks. It can also make these tanks safe to use for other substances that would otherwise become harmed or impacted by the existing buildup. GreenStract, as the name implies, uses an entirely plant-based solution, reducing the environmental impact of its manufacture and use. It’s also a cost-effective solution.

While Sharon acknowledges that it will take much larger changes in our habits to promote a better ecosystem and protect the planet in the long-term, she’s chosen to support the efforts of products that can help promote sustainable living habits while helping the environment. Her support for not one, but two of these companies (especially amongst her other efforts) shows how she’s willing to act on her beliefs.

With her personal investment in so many causes, it’s easy to see how Sharon Bush has embodied the ideal of love into her work, and the dedication to helping children shows how she wishes to encourage family outside her own. Even so, she has remained dedicated to her children, helping to instill them with the same values of compassion, no matter what challenges she faces in life. And, if her history is anything to go by, the work she’s done so far is only the beginning.

It is vital that we continue to invest in learning and improving existing systems to lead them to more environmentally sound solutions. Protein Matrix and GreenStract are cost-effective and non-toxic solutions to a cleaner environment.

Neil Bush

Neil Bush studied at Tulane University graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in international economics and a master’s degree in business administration. He is the fourth of six children born to the former president and first lady. Neil Bush has focused on the energy industry and international business for much of his career. Starting his career with Amoco Production Company, which we now know as BP, he later moved to companies that look for oil both in the states and abroad. Neil Bush has been involved in international development with China and the Middle East. His business has also taken him abroad to Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr. Bush serves as chairman of the Point of Light board of directions. The organization aims to encourage and prepare volunteers to support and help their communities. He is also chair of the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy foundation.

Sharon Bush’s Children

Lauren Bush is Neil Bush and Sharon Bush’s eldest daughter. She studied at Princeton University graduating with a degree in anthropology. Today she is the CEO and Co-Founder of FEED Project, which was founded in 2007. The project is focused on the issue of hunger and widening access to food in some of the most improvised places around the world. Lauren Bush traveled to impoverished countries around the world and saw first-hand how missing a school meal impacts a learning environment and ability to focus. Products bought through FEED go to fund lunches in schools. Lauren is married to David Lauren, the son of fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The two married in Colorado in 2011 and now have two sons. Lauren also spent time in the fashion world both as a designer and model.

Pierce Bush is the second-oldest child of Sharon. He is the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, a non-profit organization that works with children by matching them to amazing mentors. Bush has held this position since 2015. Pierce Bush is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where he studied American Studies.

Ashley Bush is the youngest of the three children. Her interests are geared toward film. She has produced several shorts and has worked on the set of several Netflix films. She has worked as a director, crew, writer, cinematographer, editor, and product designer.

Events featuring Sharon Bush:

Philanthropist Sharon Bush to Host Cristo Rey Network Fundraiser

Philanthropist Sharon Bush will be hosting the annual Cristo Rey Network fundraiser on April 4th, 2019.  The funds raised at the gala will go towards empowering and supporting students and families in low-income communities across the country. The event will take place in Palm Beach, Florida at the Wally Findlay Gallery.

Cristo Rey School Network

The Cristo Rey School Network is unique in that the school structures combines four years of rigorous college preparatory courses with four years of professional work experience to prepare students for both education and career. The network includes over 35 Catholic schools that serve approximately 12,000 students in 21 states and Washington D.C., making it the largest school network in the country that focuses on low-income students. The schools puts an emphasis on Catholic educational values and serves students who are economically disadvantaged. An impressive 90% of students go on to enroll in higher education after graduation as first-generation attendees. According to the Cristo Rey School website, “The Cristo Rey Network strengthens the competence, confidence, and aspirations of their students and gives them the foundation to help them lead fulfilling lives and to advance the common good of the world.”

Sharon began her career working as a teacher in an inner-city school after graduating from the University of New Hampshire. She saw firsthand the inequality the students were up against when it came to accessibility of resources and educational outcomes. Since her start in education, she has continued to foster a philanthropic outlook and used her skills to help others.

Sharon Bush took initiative to start several companies and foundations that help children.  One of these ventures is called Teddy Shares. When a teddy bear is purchased from Teddy Shares, a Plumpy’Nut supplement is given to children who need nourishment. She has sat on multiple boards including Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) and the UN Women for Peace Association (UNWFPA). She oversees business development for two environmentally conscious companies, Protein Matrix, and GreenStract. She currently works as the Director of Public Relations and Fundraising at Cristo Rey.

Sharon Bush’s background and philanthropic work make her a natural fit to host the Cristo Rey Network fundraiser. “I am thrilled to be hosting this event for the Cristo Rey Network. I am passionate about helping children, and Cristo Rey has transformed the lives of many by giving a quality education to children that come from limited means,” she said in a recent interview with the Digital Journal.

Sharon is a long-time resident of New York. When she is not busy overseeing her business ventures, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren.  She passed on her servant-leadership qualities to her three children, who have each invested their time in service-oriented work.