CEED and our clients and programs will be featured for two weeks during the month of December on the Heinz Endowments website as part of the foundation’s Spotlight series on the programs it funds. Earlier this year CEED received a grant for $300,000 from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), which was generously matched by the Heinz Endowments for our Skills to Wealth program to provide assistance to small businesses in the region.
 
Starting on Dec. 5 and running through Dec. 18, each day will present a new article, picture or video about one of the small businesses that CEED has helped get started or expand, or one of the programs and services that we offer to the community.
 
“We are honored to be featured by the Heinz Endowments, which has been a believer and a supporter of CEED from the very beginning,” said Rufus Idris, Executive Director of CEED. “This will be a very good way for us to gain exposure for our clients and to reach a wider audience for our programs.”
 

CEED Client Chase Patterson Featured in New
Pittsburgh Courier Article
CEED client Chase Patterson has left his position working for Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Doyle to embark on a new business venture—Corporate Diversity Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in minority talent acquisition support services for corporations and institutions. The Courier article, which explains this in more detail can be viewed here.
 
 
Founded by Mr. Patterson with business planning support from CEED, CDA markets its clients as well as the Pittsburgh Metro Area at multiethnic national and regional conferences and conventions as well as colleges, universities, and high school campuses. CDA’s services are aimed at regional and national companies and corporations that are recognizing the value and importance of a diversified working culture.
 
 
With CEED’s support, CDA has obtained financial backing from an investor who shares in the belief in a coordinated effort to promote a diverse workforce and attract qualified candidates from around the world. “CDA firmly stands on the belief that it possesses the knowledge and strategy to provide exemplary support services for corporations and institutions that share in a belief of a diverse workforce,” according to its business plan.
 
 
CDA also offers its “At Home Pittsburgh” service, which showcases the benefits of living and working in the region for prospective candidates, as well as its cultural diversity by providing a pre-visit interview to evaluate the expectations of the candidate’s cultural, social, and professional desires and expectations.