ALUMNI PROFILE
Year
of difference
Mark Carroll calls time spent
working with some of Chicago’s neediest people the most
rewarding professional year of his life.
By John Basil
Arts '87, Grad '93
A
managing director at Goldman Sachs, Carroll, Arts ’85,
was one of only five employees selected to receive a coveted
public services fellowship — a paid leave of absence
that allows the firm’s senior executives to lend their
business expertise to the public sector.
He chose to work with The Cara Program, a nonprofit that provides training, job
placement and support services to homeless and
at-risk people. Carroll used his experience at business development
to help implement Cleanslate, a neighborhood beautification
business on Chicago’s south and west sides.
“Many of our employees are women with
criminal backgrounds who employers are reluctant to hire,” he
says. “Starting
a business that’s visible in the community allowed
them to prove themselves to prospective employers.”
The
plan worked. Already, 11 of Cleanslate’s employees
have been placed in permanent jobs with benefits. Carroll
credits the participants for Cleanslate’s early success. “This
fellowship allowed me to see the promise and potential in
people society has written off; it was an eye-opening experience,” he
says.
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