Jamie is a dedicated social innovator applying cross-sector experience to facilitate the creation of sustainable solutions to reduce the impact of persistent poverty.
Jamie leads the philanthropic advisory unit of the Jamii Group who work with high-net worth individuals, Family foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and social enterprises to achieve sustainable impact.With cross-sector experience in entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and government, Jamie brings a unique perspective to both the problems and solutions to persistent poverty.
Jamie was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and enlisted into the United States Army after graduating high school. He served two years active, one year in the Wisconsin National Guard, and three years in the Reserve as an Information Systems Operation-Analyst. In 2004, he started his first business at the age of 22 that was a 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Milwaukee franchise. After he sold his franchise in 2006, he started a real estate services company called Landlord Concierge, LLC. In 2009, he returned full-time to the workforce in a business development role with a local marketing firm.
In 2012, Jamie was appointed by Secretary Eloise Anderson in Governor Scott Walker’s administration at the age of 29 to serve as the Director of Urban Development for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. The three focus areas for his position were community outreach, economic security and social education through the agency’s programs and initiatives in Milwaukee County. The goal was to strengthen families through reducing employment barriers in education, housing, transportation, incarceration, skill development and mental health. Jamie was responsible for brokering and managing partnerships with over 1,000 diverse stakeholders locally, nationally and globally to support the vision in transitioning disadvantaged workers to economic independence. He also researched and wrote strategic plans and delivered presentations to the executive staff and other key stakeholders to inform policy and program development. Jamie’s contributions included the $1.3 million social impact bond pilot; $800,000 per year Community Building Milwaukee initiative; $150,000 urban entrepreneurship accelerator pilot called Revolution Labs; and the $150,000 nonprofit accelerator pilot called Mission Fuel.
In 2016, Jamie relocated to the Washington, D.C. area to serve as a Director of Strategic Partnerships with an innovative venture philanthropy organization called Stand Together. He traveled across the United States to identify and make investment recommendations for growth-stage nonprofits and social enterprises that had demonstrated success in reducing persistent poverty by transforming the lives of their clients. In this capacity, Jamie brokered many partnerships with innovative organizations that primarily addressed the root causes of poverty to include joblessness, educational failure, trauma and addiction, family breakdown, and financial illiteracy.These organizations received financial support, organizational development, and social capital to grow, scale, and replicate their solutions to full market potential. Jamie’s efforts resulted in the development of partnerships with over 20 nonprofit organizations across 8 states raising and investing over $10 million in grants, capacity building, and storytelling support. In addition, Jamie served as the lead account manager for the Prime 5 initiative in partnership with NFL Hall of Famer Deion “Prime Time” Sanders which set a target goal to raise $21 million to invest into impoverished communities across Dallas, Texas.
Jamie is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Business at Penn State University. When he’s not working or studying, Jamie also serves on the boards and committees for various organizations that focus on mental and behavioral health, education, employment, and entrepreneurship. In his free time, he enjoys reading, blogging, basketball, soccer, and cheering the Green Bay Packers.
