For most of my career, I’ve been focused on performance. Helping companies grow, scale, and optimize their systems is what I do. I love numbers. I love the process. But over time, I’ve learned something more important: no amount of business success matters if it doesn’t also make a difference in people’s lives. Community engagement and corporate social responsibility aren’t side projects. They’re part of what defines us as leaders—and as people.
Growing up in Atlanta, and later building a career here, I’ve always felt a deep connection to the city and the people who make it run. I’ve worked with massive corporations and nimble startups, but the thread that connects them all is this: every business exists within a community. And that community needs more than just jobs or services. It needs leadership that gives back, builds trust, and creates opportunity beyond the bottom line.
More Than a Buzzword
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a buzzword in recent years. It shows up in investor pitches, on websites, in marketing campaigns. And while I’m glad the conversation is happening, I’ve also seen how easy it is for these efforts to become superficial. True CSR doesn’t live in a report or a press release—it lives in actions. It lives in how we show up when no one’s watching.
For me, community engagement became real when I started working with disabled veterans trying to reenter the workforce. These were highly capable, disciplined individuals who had given everything for their country—and yet so many of them struggled to find meaningful work. That didn’t sit right with me. I knew that with the right support and training, they could thrive in roles across customer service, operations, and management. So we built a program that did just that.
That initiative became AloriCares, a program that helps veterans and military spouses find purpose-driven employment. We didn’t just hire them—we trained them, mentored them, and created a path for advancement. Later, we opened a training center in Atlanta for 50 service-disabled veterans. I still count that among the most meaningful things I’ve been a part of. It reminded me that business can be a powerful force for good if we’re willing to invest the time and energy.
Doing the Right Thing, the Right Way
I’ve seen how easy it is for well-intentioned CSR efforts to lose steam. A lot of organizations start with a big idea—donating to a cause, organizing a community event, launching a diversity initiative—but then struggle to follow through. Often, it’s because these efforts are handled separately from the core business. They’re not integrated into the company’s culture or operations.
The solution, in my experience, is to treat community engagement the same way we treat business strategy. That means setting clear goals, identifying who’s responsible, and making sure the impact is measurable. It also means listening. We can’t assume we know what a community needs—we have to show up, ask questions, and stay long enough to hear the answers.
When I chaired the Fulton County Workforce Development Committee, I learned a lot about how systemic challenges affect employment. Transportation gaps, childcare needs, digital access—these are barriers that don’t show up on a spreadsheet but that shape people’s lives every day. If you want to create lasting change, you can’t solve problems in isolation. You have to understand the ecosystem.
The Personal Side of Leadership
For a long time, I thought leadership was mostly about vision and execution. But what I’ve learned is that leadership is also personal. It’s about values. It’s about what you’re willing to stand for. And it’s about using whatever influence or platform you have to open doors for others.
In my case, I’ve been lucky to work with organizations that let me bring those values to the table. Whether consulting with Fortune 100 companies or running my own firm, I try to make sure that community impact is part of the conversation from the beginning. It’s not an afterthought—it’s baked into how we measure success.
This doesn’t mean you have to solve every problem. No company can fix poverty or inequality alone. But we can make real contributions where we are, with what we have. Sometimes that means donating time or money. Other times, it means changing the way we hire, promote, or serve customers. Every step matters.
A Call to Action
If you’re a business leader, you’re in a unique position. You have resources, influence, and the ability to create change. Don’t wait for someone else to lead on community engagement. Start with one issue that matters to you. Listen to the people affected. Build something meaningful. And stick with it.
I’m not perfect. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. But I’ve never regretted investing in people or in purpose. Those are the things that last. And at the end of the day, when I think about the legacy I want to leave—not just as a professional, but as a human being—it’s not just about what I built. It’s about who I helped.
For me, that’s what community engagement is all about. It’s not a project. It’s a way of living and leading.