S2: Ivan Gonzalez in Humboldt Park, Chicago #63

Ivan Gonzalez of Humboldt Park, Chicago – Social Enterprise Coach, Mentor, and Cross-Sector Facilitator Romy interviews Ivan and learns about how his faith anchors and propels him to engage sectors and cultures for the common good.  Great song at the end by Chicago artist, Aaron Eddy!   Introduction Thanks for tuning in the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. This is Romy and we hve something different for you on this episode. You will meet Ivan Gonzalez and you will learn about his specialty, cross-sector collaboration. Ivan has a business called Coach for Social Enterprise. He obviously coaches, convenes, and patiently mentors people individually and in large groups around social enterprise and impact investing in communities. I think you will understand why he is so successful locally and nationally when you listen to how open and heartfelt he is about his faith. This is our first guest that has been so open about their faith and I really began to see the ‘why’ behind everything Ivan does. Let’s listen in to my interview with Ivan. Read Full Transcript Full Transcription Romy:;Thanks for tuning in the Bonfires of Social Enterprise. This is Romy and we hve something different for you on this episode. You will meet Ivan Gonzalez and you will learn about his speciality, cross-sector collaboration. Ivan has a business called Coach for Social Enterprise. He obviously coaches, convenes, and patiently mentors people individually and in large groups around social enterprise and impact investing in communities. I think you will understand why he is so successful locally and nationally when you listen to how open and heartfelt he is about his faith. This is our first guest htat has been so open about their faith and I really began to see the 'why' behind everything Ivan does. Let's listen in to my interview with Ivan. Romy: Okay. Well, welcome, Ivan, to The Bonfires of Social Enterprise! Ivan: Thanks! It's really exciting to be finally on the podcast. Romy: I know, thank you. You've been such a supporter. Let's talk about where you're calling in from. This is a call in, or I guess we're Skyping and you're in Chicago, right? What neighborhood are you in? Ivan: Yes, I predominantly do most of the work that I do in the city and Humboldt Park, West Humboldt Park area. Romy: You and I met when we were supporting the social enterprise there in Chicago, right? Is that when we first met? Ivan: Yeah, it was during the time of The Stewards Market, and our mutual friend, Sarah Wheeler, introduced us to, actually it was a friend of Sarah who introduces me to Rowan Richards. Then, Sarah introduced you to Rowan Richards, and we collaborated during that time. Romy: Yeah yeah, and it was a lot of fun, thoughtful meetings around King Lizzy and all that. That's been a real fond memory for me. Then, of course, I got to meet you, and the more I get to know you, Ivan, the more I want to hang out with you. Ivan: Well, that's mutual. I love all the things that you're helping investors, and specifically, social impact investors think about when it comes to investing and social enterprises. I'm excited about what we're going to talk about today. Romy: You're our first guest that has a very high-level, multifaceted experience. As you and I spoke about, most of our guests to date have either been running an enterprise or doing something very niche focused in the ecosystem. You've had 25 years of coaching and mentoring