Three Champions Create Social Enterprise from Tragedy
by Julie Fahnestock
Frederick Hutson, Co-Founder of Pigeonly; Britnie Turner, Founder and CEO of Aerial Development Group; and April De Simone, Co-Founder of Designing the WE, sit side by side—unlikely people to be sharing a panel together. At the Social Venture Network Fall 2015 Conference, Laura Flanders, successful media guru and host of The Laura Flanders Show, interviewed these three “champions,” showcasing the power of overcoming tragedy through the power of social enterprise.
Meet Frederick Hutson, Co-Founder of Pigeonly
Indicted for the possession of marijuana, Hutson served five years in federal prison. Inside, he was exposed to a world he had no idea existed. While in a halfway house, he called his now co-founder of Pigeonly and described the fundamental inequalities he saw around communication in prison with its link to recidivism.
Julie is passionate about telling the story of where business meets good. She is the Founder of B Storytelling, a content development company specifically designed to help popularize the good happening through business. They do this by helping Benefit Corporations and other social enterprises identify, build and leverage their brands. Julie has an MBA in Managing for Sustainability from Marlboro Graduate School. She lives in West Palm Beach, Florida with her husband, Thomas.