By Rev. Diahne Parsons
Agent of positive change, JPMorgan Chase Bank, invites entrepreneurs in the community into their space. Positioning their small business clients for better stewardship, Chase has established JPMorgan Chase “Coaching for Impact”. This program has created a community of advisers offering their own Sr. Business Consultants that provide the larger operating system needed to help better support their business clients. Up-spiraling the lives and the businesses of their participants, Chase Coaching identifies the markers for better brand positioning and how they can reposition their thought process to expand their own sphere of influence.
Providing a broader baseline for their businesses, The Coaching for Impact program has augmented better financial relationships, more wealth advantages and heighten the program attendees’ vision. Mary Kate Sweeney is “most excited to be here on graduation day, I’m here supporting Ely Finkelstein. Ms. Finkelstein is based in NYC and does our External Communications at Chase. She would be the point of contact for our community-driven efforts here.”
Sr. Business Consultant Coaching for Impact, Franco Rio Frio says, “The JPMorgan Chase Coaching group, established in 2020, was inspired purely out of feedback. JPMorgan constantly has their finger on the pulse of the needs of their clients and acknowledges the need to understand what is the void.
“I’ve been in financial services seventeen years and all with Chase. I’ve held different roles as banker, treasury officer, lending manager, among others. I Joined this group in 2023. “Chase has a lot of amazing resources available–technology, many branches, great bankers but there was always something missing. We asked our small businesses “what can we help you with?” The consulting component was the primary need among them. They needed to have a place, someone to work with on strategy – to have someone in their corner as an advocate. Leading a business is not easy. One sometimes wears a hundred different hats in a single day. What our coaching program pertains to is helping organize those the thoughts.
“We have about 4 to 5 pillars in our coaching program. We start with operations. We try to understand from everything from A to Z, how do you do things? Why do you do them in that certain way? Where do you do these things? Coaching for Impact honors and congratulates several of their graduates:
DAVID LEE, SMITH + PARKA
Founder & Designer
Chase for Business Coaching graduate David Lee, founderof Smith + Parka, pauses for a moment for photos and interviews on his day of celebration. Smith + Parka, a lifestyle accessories brand was founded in 2014. Lee had the vision that a good product performs with a blend of functionality, exquisite design and impeccable craftsmanship.
Celebrating the year of the Fire Horse, Mr. Lee commemorates with a limited edition of crossbody bags, called “The Solo Sling. made of leather with a rich blend of ‘old world’ charm and character, “All the leather I use is all natural”, says Lee. He sources, designs and creates all of his products and each Solo bag is laser cut and hand-sewn.
David attended The School of Art and Design, St. John’s University and then Fashion Institute of Technology. He also helps set the path for others critiquing student’s final projects at Parsons.
Now, surrounded by a strong community base with Chase for Business Coaching, Lee stands in front of a room filled with other graduates and shares, “anyone who’s ever been an entrepreneur knows it’s a lonely journey…until now. With Coaching for Impact, I feel as though Franco is like an entrepreneur therapist!”. Further thanking Chase, Lee reveals, “It’s like one of the biggest, most rewarding parts of the program is someone there to encourage you and support you through all the steps of being an entrepreneur and understanding all the aspects of the business. So, thank you!”
JINGWEN WANG, DAWANG LLC
#ModernChinese
DAWANG is a New York based contemporary streetwear design brand that draws influences from East and West. DAWANG is committed to celebrating a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese aesthetic. Daisy Wang, founder of DAWANG graduated from Parsons and launched her business in 2019. “We look at ways to move forward within a niche gap in the fashion market where there isn’t much of an offering yet within a ‘culture-related fashion and culture-related lifestyle’.
“Our Brocade Textile is our big highlight. Our Brocade style originated from China some thousand years ago. We make our own textiles and craft our own designs. “As a Parsons graduate, it was stressed how we must care for the environment, especially with fashion being one of the worlds most polluted industries. We are launching our own denim upcycling project where we collab with different artists and with our own upcycled designs. Dyeing the patterns into our own designs, we get to create our own “Cycle of Sustainability’”.
Ms. Wang, shares great gratitude for JPMorgan Chase, saying the Coaching for Impact has been such a support system in helping her capture her business’ reach. “Franco has helped me parley a better business toolset into the elevated Asian streetwear that I would want to consume — Comfortable, ready-to-wear that’s daily accessible. The program emphasized how to sharpen my branding and business acumen in my efforts to create a sustainability life cycle on our own.
OUR Mission
“Our inspiration is to invite ppl of all backgrounds to partake in the beauty of DAWANG” #ModernChinese
DIANE CARTER, FOUNDER
Made With Love Oils
“My Business Coach, Sherkera Green, helped me become more organized in the business of my brand. She was directional and offered content specific marketing strategies. She helped provide a more cohesive, polished look for my business.
Chase Business graduate, Diane Carter, founder and CEO of Made With Love Oils skin & hair care products, began teaching in the food industry as an in-store educator at Whole Foods. She poured into the food industry researching how the use of what we consume affects our mind-body connection. Carter honed her passion for more Conscious Living into a skillset, saying “Fear is bad for the immune system!”
“Making it make sense, business coach, Shekira outlined the use of Comparable Analysis with how to look at other businesses and scale up.” Carter continues, “with Shekira’s guidance, my business has become more e-smart, she amplified ways that still continue to elevate my business and gain more access to capital.” Made with Love Oils became the top selling product in salons and beauty supply shops, ultimately, expanding its visibility in forty-two states, the UK, the Virgin Islands and Canada. Growing thick and healthy hair is not just Carter’s superpower but her branding power. She acquired half-ownership of a store called, “Naturally U” located in Trumball Mall, Connecticut. Ms. Carter also partnered with her local Marriott Hotel to have ‘Made with Love Oils” featured among their products.
JORGE & TIFFANY, Founders FLOR DE LA JARA
Spanning over four generations, FLOR DE LA JARA is an olive oil brand rooted in family tradition, authenticity, and quality. Founded by Jorge Gutierrez Valera and his wife Tiffany Cohen, the company’s mission is to bring premium single-farm, monovarietal, extra virgin olive oil from their family groves in Toledo, Spain, directly to your table. Praised for its rich taste, signature flavor profile, and rich polyphenol content, FLOR DE LA JARA reflects generations of dedication and craftsmanship.
They along with their family cultivate the olive trees, harvest the olives by hand, and produce and bottle the oil themselves. The brand’s authenticity lies in its connection to the land along with their sustainable farming methods.
FLOR DE LA JARA offers several monovarietal oils, including Cornicabra, Picual, and Arbequina, each with unique flavor characteristics and culinary uses. Their olive groves are dry-farmed using only natural rainfall, without irrigation, pesticides, or chemicals, the olives are cold-pressed. The olive oil is bottled in dark glass to protect it from oxidation and maintain its integrity.
The brand gained national recognition after being featured as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things. flordelajara.com.
Participating in the “Coaching for Impact” program through Chase for Business also helped Jorge and Tiffany build stronger financial habits, set clearer goals, and create greater accountability.
AuRELheNa WALLES, founder and CEO
EQUITY DESIGN
Chase delivers! They looked at which government agency/s intersect best with Equity Design. Looking at my website and my marketing strategies, my business coaches helped me refine my capability statement and as an MWB. They showed how I can better define what my business is capable of.
Equity Design, is a social enterprise that brings equity to disadvantaged populations in under-served communities. “The Commission of Equity Design is to close the gap between health, wealth and life expectancy and the way we do that is through physical activity programming”, says Ms. Walles. Serving the Bronx and East Harlem within populations with high health disparities, we take a community-centered approach, targeting an audience that has low physical activity engagement.
“Our expertise lies in Kinetics, in movement, and in how we make this accessible for all. Is a community walkable? Is there a lack of green space or bike lanes? We tailor our offerings toward more safer grounds and all the things that help a city be healthy and active.”
“I had the benefit of two JP Morgan Chase Coaches! Joy, my first, was g-r-e-a-t! Joy provided all these resources and know-how and the motivation that I needed! She made me feel like I could do ANYTHING! She held me be more accountable, like I had homework! Although, Andrea was my second coach, there was still consistency in delivery, follow up and motivation!”
“My desire is to shine the light of hope on overlooked communities and build a bridge of resources all humanity deserves.” Maurelhena Walles
RASHAN Brown, Founder
“The program has been phenomenal”, a Chase Business graduate, Rashan Brown says. “Working with Franco has been eye opening. Its affirmed many of the ideas I’ve had. Franco demonstrated the importance in an individual like myself, from the environment I come from, can really push the agenda forward and be sustainable.
Poetry Me Please, founded by Rashan Brown, is a media events-based company building the future stage and systems for the next generation of poets. They host the largest showcase series in the country. “It’s been amazing to be able to bring appreciation back to the art of poetry. We are looking to increase income for artists and help them build sustainable careers through live and digital platforms”, he says.
“Harlem Hop Scotch”, his own production, “was a defining moment for me, to feature my own work including a poem I wrote, called “I am Black”. Brown successfully produced three flagship events and selling out the Apollo Theater twice. Among an elite list of influencers Rashan has worked with are: Joshua Bennett, famous Author, Poet and Literature Professor at M.I.T., American poet, writer and activists Maya Angelou & Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison and Hip Hop legend, Lloyd Banks; to name a few.
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“Franco is such a great Business Coach. He helped me understand the ins and outs of how to successfully run a business, how to better manage my portfolio, the importance that capitol has in business & how to access it! And that access to capital is huge!”
Brown attended University of Albany, acquiring his Masters in English.
JPMorgan Chase congratulates their graduates. Now, as a foundational bedrock, the Coaching Program provides the root system that better gives their graduate the agency to know when and how to pivot as a healthy business.