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Contact: Kristin Lawton, 202.408.9788

Jul 7, 2010

innovation@cfed Announces 2010 Innovators

Washington, D.C. — innovation@cfed, an initiative of the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) that identifies innovative concepts that expand economic opportunity, announced today its newest Innovator-in-Residence. Hilary Abell (Oakland, CA), Executive Director of Women’s Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES), was selected from a group of over 50 applicants to establish a virtual residency to develop worker-owned green businesses that create healthy, dignified jobs for low-income women. As part of her residency, Abell will receive $50,000 to help scale her innovation, along with technical assistance and increased visibility via the innovation@cfed platform.

In addition to its newest Innovator-in-Residence, innovation@cfed has also selected 13 new Innovative Ideas chosen from a group of over 100 submissions of ideas that have the potential to break down the barriers facing economically disadvantaged Americans. The Innovative Ideas selected in 2010 are championed by Joyce Armstrong & Nora Bishop (Hartford, CT), Blair Benjamin (North Adams, MA), Kyril Calsoyas (Flagstaff, AZ), Vikki Frank (Washington, DC), Ted Howard (Cleveland, OH), Jessica Johnson (Atlanta, GA), Patricia Johnson (Oakland, CA), Rimmy Malhotra (New York, NY), Eva Margolis (St. Paul, MN), Maggie Reilly (Newberg, OR), Sherri Rice (Reno, NV), Sonia Sarkar (Brookline, MA) and Nitza Seguí Albino (Washington, DC). More detailed information about these innovations can be found at the newly-redesigned innovation@cfed website (http://innovation.cfed.org).

Innovators-in-Residence are individuals with tested concepts that alleviate the economic pressures facing low- and moderate-income individuals and families. Innovative Ideas are concepts in early or middle stages of development that have the potential to expand economic opportunity for a significant number of Americans. This esteemed group of innovators will join the four Innovators-in-Residence, 12 Innovative Idea Champions and 20 Innovative Idea Engineers selected in 2009 who, along with these new innovators, will continue to serve as the foundation for the innovation@cfed platform. To read more about the platform, or to learn more about these innovators, please visit the Innovation Portfolio at http://cfed.org/programs/innovation/innovators.

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CFED expands economic opportunity by helping Americans start and grow businesses, go to college, own a home and save for their children’s and own economic futures. We identify promising ideas, test and refine them in communities to find out what works, craft policies and products to help good ideas reach scale, and develop partnerships to promote lasting change. We bring together community practice, public policy and private markets in new and effective ways to achieve greater economic impact.

Established in 1979 as the Corporation for Enterprise Development, CFED works nationally and internationally through its offices in Washington, DC; Durham, North Carolina; and San Francisco, California.