September 8, 2023 • 10 mins
We bring you a special segment from our online feature CEO's You Should know featuring Sharmain Matlock-Turner, President and CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition.
Sharmain Matlock Turner CEOs You Should Know
https://uac.org/
Sharmain Matlock Turner CEOs You Should Know
https://uac.org/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballardmorrow. It's never toosoon to get our babies primed for reading.
We'll tell you about the Free Libraryof Philadelphia's Read Baby Read program.
Interested in entering the legal cannabis industry, We'll tell you about a conference design
to support diversity in that business,and we have an interview conducted by one
(00:21):
of our Summer work Ready students.First, we begin by bringing you an
interview that's part of our series wecall CEOs you should Know. Today we
highlight Charmaine Matlock Turner, President andCEO of the Urban Coalition. This feature
sponsored by Comcast Business. How longhave you been with the company and how
long has UAC been in the Philadelphiaarea. I've been with the Urban Affairs
(00:43):
Coalition now since March first of nineteenninety nine. I probably keep that proclamation
on my wall because I've had someterrific jobs over the years, but this
is one of the very very specialone because the Urban Affairs Coalition was founded
(01:04):
with the idea that we could reallydrive change, and it happened at a
very turbulent time, and sometimes youknow, really good things do come out
of really sad circumstances. It wasthe assassination of doctor Martin Luther King that
bought Philadelphians together from government community,the business community, that said, you
(01:26):
know, what can we do toreally make the world a better place?
And so the Coalition was born innineteen sixty nine under the terrific leadership of
our founding CEO, Charles Bowser,and I'm proud to say that we just
celebrated our fifty third anniversary as aPhiladelphia based organization. Describe your company and
(01:52):
its mission. The mission of theUrban Effist Coalition is really to bring people
together to work on a really difficultissues and programs. In the beginning,
it really was a lot about listeningand hearing each other, really making sure
that we could understand and build strongerconnections, especially in communities that have been
(02:15):
so divided over time. And sowe had task forces. We looked at
issues and then start studying the thingsthat we thought we really needed to make
a difference on. And one ofthe things that we did was that Charlie
was very much excited about education,so he helped to start the Academy's program,
(02:38):
which is now a national model forhigh school education across the country.
He also, in conjunction with otherPhiladelphians, said that we need to begin
to bridge the gap for young peopleto think about college and careers at a
younger age. And so the Philadelphiasummernewth Employment Program was founded at the Urban
(03:00):
of Baos Coalition, and I'm proudto say that that program is still active
today. We are the largest privatesector employer of young people for the summer,
connecting them to over a hundred employerseach and every year. So the
idea was to really look at identifyareas of concern and say, Okay,
(03:22):
what can we ultimately do about it? Do we need to lead, do
we need to follow, do weneed to collaborate? Do we need to
build a coalition to build and bean advocate and create greater support. So
over the years we've continued to dothose things. The other thing that though
we've added over time under the terrificleadership of our third CEO, Ernest Jones
(03:45):
better known as Ernie Jones, wasto really sort of say, you know,
community based organizations are doing some terrificwork, but too often it's really
hard for them to figure out howto contract effectively with government and to manage
grants, and then to make surethat all the rules around hiring people and
cash management don't overtake the mission workthat they really want to focus in on.
(04:13):
Ernie said, well, let's seewhether or not we can create a
platform where we can sort of helpwith the business side of nonprofits so that
people can really focus in on whatthey really want to do, and also
to make sure that people who arein this space are treated fairly, that
the rules are clear, and thatwe are really good on standardizing on how
(04:34):
people get benefits and salaries. Andso now we've become the leading black,
lead, people of color, leadfiscal sponsor not only in Philadelphia but in
the country. And so we're realexcited that the work of our leadership over
time has continued to grow and thatwe continue to be a real force for
(04:59):
change in our community. You havein some respects answered my next question,
but let's dig down a little further. How would you say your company helps
drive the local economy. Our companyhelps to drive the local economy in several
ways. One, we have overfive hundred employees from the region that work
(05:19):
at the Urban Affairs Coalition, Sothat's a good workforce of people who are
taking care of themselves and their familiesas they provide really terrific services to the
broader community. And we also workwith organizations and really sort of helped get
good information out about you know,what does it mean to have really how
(05:43):
do you manage your money, howdo you save money? And so through
our Committee on Community and Economic Development, we really pay a lot of attention
to the whole issue of what isit about assets and liability that can make
a difference in how communities can continueto build wealth. So we have home
(06:05):
buying assistance programs. One of ourexciting ones is called home by Now,
where we're now a partner with morethan fifteen employers who match dollars, including
the Urban Affairs Coalition. We justhad our first homeowner by her house over
the holiday season. Employers match dollarsthat we were able to convince the state
(06:28):
to match as well, and soit's a way of helping people buy homes
and the Philadelphian community. We alsoworking for closure predention, making sure that
people don't lose their homes and thatthey can deal with all of these sort
of issues that come with when yourincome changes or when unfortunately people are doing
things which we call financial scams thatcan hurt people as they are trying to
(06:54):
maintain their properties. So we spenda lot of time on that and also
financial management and empowerment education, justmaking sure that we know. One of
the things I used to always say, you know, people are sometimes a
little concerned about talking politics at home. They're even sometimes more concerned about ever
talking about money in a way thatwe can sort of learn about money over
(07:16):
time. So we know that financialeducation and really understanding the power of money
is very, very important to peoplein our community. And then we continue
to convene financial institutions. During theheight of the pandemic, financial institutions came
together to work with community development financialinstitutions and we help to convene some of
(07:41):
those meetings where they are now raisingmoney specifically for small black and brown owned
businesses. So that's another area thatwe're really excited about. And then finally,
I want to highlight the work thatour Economic Development Projects Unit does.
This again came from the hard workof Ernie Jones and Carl Singley, who's
(08:03):
the dean of the Temple Law Schoolat the time. How can we make
sure and how can we create avoluntary di program in the construction industry.
And they got together again, workingwith government, working with business, and
so an initiative was created to reallyhelp identify minority businesses, but as important
(08:24):
to create a way of monitoring progressof major projects. So over time,
we've seen over a billion dollars thata billion dollars recirculated two communities of color,
both on the workforce side as wellas on the business side. So
those are some of the areas wherewe think we're making impact on the city
(08:46):
and the regent's economy. I alwayslike to throw in a bonus question,
a fun one, and so thisis your bonus question. What was the
very first job that you had noton your resume and what did you learn
from the experience. My very firstjob, I was about twelve years old.
I was in North Garden, Virginia, working for my grandfather who put
(09:11):
people together and ordered for us togo and pick peaches, and so he
allowed me to go with him.The first day that I went to pick
peaches, I like picked one andI think I ate two, picked another
one, and then ate two,and by lunch time I was, Oh,
my stomach was like killing me,and so I sat down under my
(09:33):
grandfather's truck and he came over tome and he poked me with a stick
and set gal, if you dothat tomorrow, you're fired. It was
one of the most important life lessonsthat I've learned. Number One, I
didn't eat peaches. I don't thinkagain until I was eighteen. I was
actually picking peaches for Briar's ice Cream, which was a Philidelphia based company.
(09:58):
So I stuffed a strawberry ice Imade sure that I didn't eat any more
peaches. But the thing was thatif you say you're going to do something,
you have to be committed to it. You can be given a second
chance, and if you give ifyou're given a second chance, you should
take full advantage of it. Soour work the rest of that entire summer,
made my ten dollars and bought myfirst pair of loafers at the York
(10:20):
Store at fifty second and Chestnout Street. If people would like more information about
Urban Affairs Coalition, how do theyfind out more? Very easy? Just
go to UAC dot org and tapon and go through some of our menus
and you can find out about ourprograms, our partners, our board,
(10:41):
our staff, our team members,and you can also contribute as well as
volunteer. We'll have more insight afterthese messages.
Good morning, and welcome to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballardmorrow. It's never toosoon to get our babies primed for reading.
We'll tell you about the Free Libraryof Philadelphia's Read Baby Read program.
Interested in entering the legal cannabis industry, We'll tell you about a conference design
to support diversity in that business,and we have an interview conducted by one
(00:21):
of our Summer work Ready students.First, we begin by bringing you an
interview that's part of our series wecall CEOs you should Know. Today we
highlight Charmaine Matlock Turner, President andCEO of the Urban Coalition. This feature
sponsored by Comcast Business. How longhave you been with the company and how
long has UAC been in the Philadelphiaarea. I've been with the Urban Affairs
(00:43):
Coalition now since March first of nineteenninety nine. I probably keep that proclamation
on my wall because I've had someterrific jobs over the years, but this
is one of the very very specialone because the Urban Affairs Coalition was founded
(01:04):
with the idea that we could reallydrive change, and it happened at a
very turbulent time, and sometimes youknow, really good things do come out
of really sad circumstances. It wasthe assassination of doctor Martin Luther King that
bought Philadelphians together from government community,the business community, that said, you
(01:26):
know, what can we do toreally make the world a better place?
And so the Coalition was born innineteen sixty nine under the terrific leadership of
our founding CEO, Charles Bowser,and I'm proud to say that we just
celebrated our fifty third anniversary as aPhiladelphia based organization. Describe your company and
(01:52):
its mission. The mission of theUrban Effist Coalition is really to bring people
together to work on a really difficultissues and programs. In the beginning,
it really was a lot about listeningand hearing each other, really making sure
that we could understand and build strongerconnections, especially in communities that have been
(02:15):
so divided over time. And sowe had task forces. We looked at
issues and then start studying the thingsthat we thought we really needed to make
a difference on. And one ofthe things that we did was that Charlie
was very much excited about education,so he helped to start the Academy's program,
(02:38):
which is now a national model forhigh school education across the country.
He also, in conjunction with otherPhiladelphians, said that we need to begin
to bridge the gap for young peopleto think about college and careers at a
younger age. And so the Philadelphiasummernewth Employment Program was founded at the Urban
(03:00):
of Baos Coalition, and I'm proudto say that that program is still active
today. We are the largest privatesector employer of young people for the summer,
connecting them to over a hundred employerseach and every year. So the
idea was to really look at identifyareas of concern and say, Okay,
(03:22):
what can we ultimately do about it? Do we need to lead, do
we need to follow, do weneed to collaborate? Do we need to
build a coalition to build and bean advocate and create greater support. So
over the years we've continued to dothose things. The other thing that though
we've added over time under the terrificleadership of our third CEO, Ernest Jones
(03:45):
better known as Ernie Jones, wasto really sort of say, you know,
community based organizations are doing some terrificwork, but too often it's really
hard for them to figure out howto contract effectively with government and to manage
grants, and then to make surethat all the rules around hiring people and
cash management don't overtake the mission workthat they really want to focus in on.
(04:13):
Ernie said, well, let's seewhether or not we can create a
platform where we can sort of helpwith the business side of nonprofits so that
people can really focus in on whatthey really want to do, and also
to make sure that people who arein this space are treated fairly, that
the rules are clear, and thatwe are really good on standardizing on how
(04:34):
people get benefits and salaries. Andso now we've become the leading black,
lead, people of color, leadfiscal sponsor not only in Philadelphia but in
the country. And so we're realexcited that the work of our leadership over
time has continued to grow and thatwe continue to be a real force for
(04:59):
change in our community. You havein some respects answered my next question,
but let's dig down a little further. How would you say your company helps
drive the local economy. Our companyhelps to drive the local economy in several
ways. One, we have overfive hundred employees from the region that work
(05:19):
at the Urban Affairs Coalition, Sothat's a good workforce of people who are
taking care of themselves and their familiesas they provide really terrific services to the
broader community. And we also workwith organizations and really sort of helped get
good information out about you know,what does it mean to have really how
(05:43):
do you manage your money, howdo you save money? And so through
our Committee on Community and Economic Development, we really pay a lot of attention
to the whole issue of what isit about assets and liability that can make
a difference in how communities can continueto build wealth. So we have home
(06:05):
buying assistance programs. One of ourexciting ones is called home by Now,
where we're now a partner with morethan fifteen employers who match dollars, including
the Urban Affairs Coalition. We justhad our first homeowner by her house over
the holiday season. Employers match dollarsthat we were able to convince the state
(06:28):
to match as well, and soit's a way of helping people buy homes
and the Philadelphian community. We alsoworking for closure predention, making sure that
people don't lose their homes and thatthey can deal with all of these sort
of issues that come with when yourincome changes or when unfortunately people are doing
things which we call financial scams thatcan hurt people as they are trying to
(06:54):
maintain their properties. So we spenda lot of time on that and also
financial management and empowerment education, justmaking sure that we know. One of
the things I used to always say, you know, people are sometimes a
little concerned about talking politics at home. They're even sometimes more concerned about ever
talking about money in a way thatwe can sort of learn about money over
(07:16):
time. So we know that financialeducation and really understanding the power of money
is very, very important to peoplein our community. And then we continue
to convene financial institutions. During theheight of the pandemic, financial institutions came
together to work with community development financialinstitutions and we help to convene some of
(07:41):
those meetings where they are now raisingmoney specifically for small black and brown owned
businesses. So that's another area thatwe're really excited about. And then finally,
I want to highlight the work thatour Economic Development Projects Unit does.
This again came from the hard workof Ernie Jones and Carl Singley, who's
(08:03):
the dean of the Temple Law Schoolat the time. How can we make
sure and how can we create avoluntary di program in the construction industry.
And they got together again, workingwith government, working with business, and
so an initiative was created to reallyhelp identify minority businesses, but as important
(08:24):
to create a way of monitoring progressof major projects. So over time,
we've seen over a billion dollars thata billion dollars recirculated two communities of color,
both on the workforce side as wellas on the business side. So
those are some of the areas wherewe think we're making impact on the city
(08:46):
and the regent's economy. I alwayslike to throw in a bonus question,
a fun one, and so thisis your bonus question. What was the
very first job that you had noton your resume and what did you learn
from the experience. My very firstjob, I was about twelve years old.
I was in North Garden, Virginia, working for my grandfather who put
(09:11):
people together and ordered for us togo and pick peaches, and so he
allowed me to go with him.The first day that I went to pick
peaches, I like picked one andI think I ate two, picked another
one, and then ate two,and by lunch time I was, Oh,
my stomach was like killing me,and so I sat down under my
(09:33):
grandfather's truck and he came over tome and he poked me with a stick
and set gal, if you dothat tomorrow, you're fired. It was
one of the most important life lessonsthat I've learned. Number One, I
didn't eat peaches. I don't thinkagain until I was eighteen. I was
actually picking peaches for Briar's ice Cream, which was a Philidelphia based company.
(09:58):
So I stuffed a strawberry ice Imade sure that I didn't eat any more
peaches. But the thing was thatif you say you're going to do something,
you have to be committed to it. You can be given a second
chance, and if you give ifyou're given a second chance, you should
take full advantage of it. Soour work the rest of that entire summer,
made my ten dollars and bought myfirst pair of loafers at the York
(10:20):
Store at fifty second and Chestnout Street. If people would like more information about
Urban Affairs Coalition, how do theyfind out more? Very easy? Just
go to UAC dot org and tapon and go through some of our menus
and you can find out about ourprograms, our partners, our board,
(10:41):
our staff, our team members,and you can also contribute as well as
volunteer. We'll have more insight afterthese messages.
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