Gary Polk
CEO & Co-Founder
Polk Institute
Gary L. Polk, Sr. is a proponent of social entrepreneurships and launched the Polk Institute of Social Entrepreneurship, a 501(c)(3) on January 15, 2021. Its endeavors focus on people, planet, and profit (the “triple bottom line”) and the belief that behaving ethically and generating profits are not conflicting concepts. It is to Polk’s credit that the Los Angeles Urban League has become Polk Institute’s fiscal partner and Michael Lawson, President and CEO of the League, serves on Polk Institute’s board of directors. Polk Institute includes among its sponsors JP Morgan, Chase Bank and Pacific Western Bank.
As a Black businessman, CEO, business consultant, university professor and author, Polk is passionate about entrepreneurs and why they succeed or fail..and has written three books on the topic, “Why Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win),” “Why Black and Brown Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win),” and “Why Women Entrepreneurs Fail (to Win).”
In 2016, Polk became the founder and first executive director of the Innovation Incubator at CSUDH.
In July 2020, Polk decided to finish the job that was started with the Innovation Incubator at CSUDH, but on a much grander scale, by creating the Polk Institute Foundation, with the overarching goals:
. To create a welfare withdrawal paradigm.
. To teach them how to fish.
. To teach them what they do not know about business.
. To create Fundable CEOs who are ethical and possess great character.
. To create leaders who believe that people, planet and profit and not zero sum.
Polk Institute Foundation officially launched on January 15, 2021 with a celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. PI’s first academy training, “Entrepreneurship for Everyone,” started February 2, 2021, as Black History month began.
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