DeBruce integrates career toolbox into HBCU’s programming for Black and Brown entrepreneurs

A new partnership between The DeBruce Foundation and Harris-Stowe State University showcases a shared goal of unlocking the potential within individuals and equipping them for bright careers and bright futures, said Leigh Anne Taylor Knight.

Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, The DeBruce Foundation

“This is one of those relationships that reminds us that partnerships don’t need to be complicated,” said Taylor Knight, executive director and COO of The DeBruce Foundation. “Some of the best are simple, easy to make happen, and impactful.”

The Kansas City-based nonprofit, which focuses on helping individuals unlock their potential and find career pathways, recently announced it had joined forces with Harris-Stowe State University‘s Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) to boost career opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Harris-Stowe — one of only two HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) in the state of Missouri — is now using Debruce Foundation tools like the Agile Work Profiler (AWP) and Career Explorer within the university’s CIE and MECCA programs.

The Agile Work Profiler is a free, 15-minute career assessment that identifies a person’s top skills and interests, known as Agilities. The Career Explorer tool offers different pathways to explore jobs, understand skills, and check salaries based on those Agilities.

Leaders at Harris-Stowe believe the tools will help emerging entrepreneurs discover their strengths. 

[Editor’s note: Leigh Anne Taylor Knight previously served on the board of Startland, the 501c3 parent organization of Startland News.]

Dr. Stacy Gee Hollins, Anheuser-Busch School of Business, Harris-Stowe State University; Kristy Jackson, Harris-Stowe State University’s Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE); and Brandi Brooks, Minority Entrepreneurship Collaborative Center for Advancement (MECCA); with program participants

Choosing the right tool 

CIE, which operates with Harris-Stowe’s Anheuser School of Business, uses creativity and innovation to expand opportunities and drive research. The Minority Entrepreneurship Collaborative Center for Advancement (MECCA) is the entrepreneurial branch of the CIE. 

Brandi Brooks, Minority Entrepreneurship Collaborative Center for Advancement (MECCA)

“MECCA is a program for Black and Brown entrepreneurs here in the St. Louis region that helps them to prepare for entrepreneurship. Whether they’re just starting out, been entrepreneurs for a few years, or if they’ve been in business for quite a while,” said Brandi Brooks, MECCA Director at HSSU.

MECCA provides a safe space for Black and Brown entrepreneurs through such services as industry-focused programming, accelerators, an annual pitch competition, and other community events. 

“People are just so thrilled to be a part of CIE, especially our MECCA program, because they see themselves,” said Kristy Jackson, CIE’s director at HSSU. “It is a true community that supports them. We are listening, and we’re building.”

The Agile Work Profiler and other career tools are incorporated into MECCA’s accelerator, where the entrepreneurs take it at the beginning, and at the end of their program to see if there’s any growth or difference in the identification of their strengths.

“The partnership really began through networking,” said Jackson. “We had a colleague introduce us to The DeBruce Foundation.” 

Kristy Jackson, Harris-Stowe State University’s Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE)

Through the colleague, Jackson learned about all of the unique workforce development programs and tools DeBruce was providing, like the Agile Work Profiler. 

“I learned that it identified work strengths, but also areas of passion, which were important for entrepreneurs to be able to identify, to help them with alignment with their businesses,” she said.

“What I loved about it is that it provided tools for teen entrepreneurs as well as adult entrepreneurs,” said Jackson. “Through CIE, we serve entrepreneurs across the spectrum. So, we can utilize this tool for our youth as well as our adult entrepreneurs.”

Jackson visited Kansas City, where The Debruce Foundation is headquartered, and completed its agility coach training, earning certification. She is one of the first agility coaches in the St. Louis area. 

“Once you get trained, you really can dive in and be embedded into the programming that you are doing, and where it meets the needs of those who are serving,” said Taylor Knight.

The DeBruce Foundation is set to host its first agility coach training in the St. Louis area, in collaboration with Harris-Stowe’s CIE in February.

Agilities discovered

At the heart of The DeBruce collaboration is the integration of the Agile Work Profiler and Career Explorer tools at CIE’s MECCA program as it strives to increase employee empowerment through expanding career pathways.

The work begins with career literacy and network strength, said Taylor Knight, noting only one in three Americans possess what it takes to be employment empowered; two out of three are low on career literacy, and/or low on network strength. 

The DeBruce Foundation’s national research shows that people who are employment empowered are 18 percent more likely to be employed than people who are low on career literacy and network strength, she said. Those people also make approximately $30,000 more a year in annual earnings.

DeBruce’s tools not only build that empowerment, but allow for freedom of choice, Jackson said, adding that while some students might ultimately choose to become entrepreneurs, it often comes as the result of a pivot from another career — or vice versa. 

“Many of our scholars go into business and finance industries, so this tool helps them to see if their strengths align with the necessary credentials and skill sets that are needed to be successful in this particular field of work,” said Jackson. 

“It might even give them exposure to some careers that they hadn’t even considered based on their Agilities,” she continued. “There is so much potential in how we can scale the use of the AWP and we’re really looking forward to being able to do that.”