PG&E and The PG&E Corporation
Foundation, UC Berkeley, and Mills College at Northeastern
University Team Up to Support 25 African American Oakland and Bay
Area Students
In an effort to address wealth inequality and the racial wealth
gap affecting African Americans, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
(PG&E) and The PG&E Corporation Foundation (The Foundation)
are partnering with the Haas School of Business at the University
of California, Berkeley and Berkeley Executive Education, Mills
College at Northeastern University, and Amenti Capital Group to
prepare African American Oakland and Greater Bay Area high school
students for future financial success and academic leadership.
The Economic Equity and Financial Education Pilot Program is a
two-semester course on advanced financial education taught at the
Haas School of Business. The 25 students who successfully complete
this rigorous academic program will be awarded college scholarships
of at least $7,000.
High school senior Otis Ward is looking forward to taking part
in the program and qualifying for a scholarship.
“Opportunities such as the PG&E scholarship are essential,
especially for Black Oakland students that are underserved within
our community. I’m really excited for this program as it can be a
stepping stone for fellow young Black youth from my West Oakland
community who are striving for post-secondary education, just like
myself,” said Ward, who attends McClymonds High School in
Oakland.
PG&E created the program, and together with The Foundation
is providing $500,000 in funding through its community charitable
Better Together Giving Program.
Students will take courses taught by Haas School of Business
professors and financial industry professionals on topics including
personal finance, capital markets and wealth creation, financial
data analysis and investments. African American Haas undergraduates
also will offer mentorship opportunities to the students.
Mills College at Northeastern University TRIO Programs recruited
the 25 student participants as part of the Upward Bound program —
which helps underserved high school students and first in their
families attending college to succeed — and the Mills Educational
Talent Search — which supports high school students so that they
can achieve their higher education goals.
The curriculum was developed in collaboration with professor
Panos N. Patatoukas from Haas School of Business and Jason Miles,
an African American venture capitalist with more than 25 years of
experience in the financial services industry and founder of Amenti
Capital Group.
Both Patatoukas and Miles note the unique opportunity of this
program for participating students.
“While technology has been transforming education in profound
ways, access to financial education remains within the reach of
only a few. Mitigating the problem of access inequality and
addressing the wealth gap in the African American community has
been the driving force of our joint efforts with PG&E,”
Patatoukas said. “We are excited to make financial education more
accessible, and we are committed to continue to foster diverse,
equitable, and inclusive learning environments. I am looking
forward to welcoming the first group of Oakland and Bay Area
students as part of this impactful program.”
“There is a tremendous pool of talented students who represent
shining examples of future African American leaders. They must be
empowered with practical investing tools and knowledge about
risk-return trade-offs early in their lives. We are energized by
this unique opportunity to catalyze generational wealth creation
alongside like-minded partners,” said Miles.
According to Disparities in Wealth by Race and Ethnicity 2019
Survey of Consumer Finances, the typical white family has eight
times the wealth of a typical Black family. The survey cites a
number of complex societal factors across generations, including
how individual savings and investment decisions contribute to
wealth accumulation.
PG&E developed the new program after two years of planning
as a racial justice initiative following the George Floyd tragedy
to help address economic challenges faced by African Americans.
“At PG&E, we are focused on our Triple Bottom Line of
serving people, planet and California’s prosperity. However, we
know that our African American customers and communities face
significant challenges achieving economic parity in society, and
the racial wealth gap contributes to inequality. This pilot program
is a meaningful step to change that and help more African Americans
achieve prosperity and generational wealth,” said Jimi Harris,
PG&E Community Relations Chief and program creator.
While the program is designed to provide wealth creation tools
through an advanced financial education curriculum for high school
students, it is also designed to support post-secondary education
achievement through scholarships for program participants, funded
by PG&E. Additionally, if the program proves successful, it
could serve as a model for other programs to be created including
in high school education.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric
utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square
miles in Northern and Central California. For more information,
visit www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.
About UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
As the second-oldest business school in the United States,
Berkeley Haas has been questioning the status quo since its
founding in 1898. Berkeley Haas offers outstanding management
education to about 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students from
around the world to attend one of its six degree-granting programs
and join the school’s network of 41,000 alumni worldwide.
About Berkeley Executive Education
UC Berkeley Executive Education serves leaders and organizations
who aspire to redefine the future of business, delivering over 150
programs annually, to a global audience. Its immersive learning
experiences, led by renowned UC Berkeley faculty, equip global
executives and their organizations with the vision and capabilities
to thrive in an evolving world.
About Northeastern University
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university
and the recognized leader in experience-driven lifelong learning.
Our world-renowned experiential approach empowers our students,
faculty, alumni, and partners to create impact far beyond the
confines of discipline, degree, and campus.
Northeastern’s comprehensive array of undergraduate and graduate
programs—on-campus, online, and in hybrid formats—lead to degrees
through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools. Among these, we
offer more than 140 multi-discipline majors and degrees designed to
prepare students for purposeful lives and careers.
About Amenti Capital Group
Amenti Capital Group is an emerging merchant bank that provides
independent advisory services and venture capital to early-stage
technology companies in high growth ecosystems. We leverage deep
industry knowledge, operational expertise, and longstanding
relationships to deliver attractive returns through our end-to-end
model. We serve entrepreneurs and sophisticated investors while
following our core principles of innovation, integrity and
inclusion.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221101006119/en/
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