Helping Birth a Better World
Kate Emery • August 18, 2020
Do you remember that challenge – the one you signed up for or had thrust upon you, that now you remember with pride and even gratitude? Maybe it was that long hike along the Appalachian Trail, or the marathon you trained so hard for. Or maybe it was the illness, or the accident that laid you out flat, but rather than staying down you rose up to its challenge and by pushing though you made yourself a new and better you? When the stakes are high, and we survive, we usually come out the other side stronger and wiser for the pain.
For me giving birth to my first (and only) child just a month after my 40th birthday was such an experience. Up until that moment my focus had been on growing the IT consulting firm I started in my 20s. I’d learned in business school that the measure of success was constant growth. And while I could fantasize straight line upward projections into the unforeseeable future for my company, at 40, as a mere mortal it dawned on me that my personal trajectory must eventually bend, and statistically speaking the apex was likely close at hand. It was riveting revelation that most of us of a certain age are forced to acknowledge but to be pregnant with new life at the very same time added a poignant twist. The result was a lot of reflection on how I wanted to leave the world, what I could do to make a difference, and how I wanted to spend my time on going forward.
It changed my ideas of success. I didn’t want my soon to be son to think that all I cared about was money and this led to a lot of reflection on what was really important and ultimately led to transforming my company, The Walker Group, into a social enterprise. Among other things I stipulated that 1/3 of any of our distributed profits would be for employees, and 1/3 would go to community organizations working to make the world a better place. I decided to measure our success as a business by our ability to be a good steward in the community and a good place to work as an employee. And I thought that one way to be a good steward would be to help make it easier for others who wanted to take a similar path.
The result was the birth of reSET and the hundreds of entrepreneurs that it has served who are starting and growing companies not simply with an idea of making money but of solving problems that haunt us all – issues like global warming, racial injustice, access to healthcare …
I certainly didn’t think that having a child at 40 would change the way I saw the world, and make me re-prioritize and reallocate what I spent my time on but now it seems obvious. I don’t think any of us have fully grasped the impact that the Covid Time we’re living in will have on us as individuals and as a society. But thinking we’ll go back to “normal” is no less plausible or desirable than a new parent thinking they will resume their old life. Right now we’re stressed – disoriented, anxious, and exhausted (sounds like a lot of new parents I’ve met). But here’s the upside: We’re waking up, we re-prioritizing and we’re rethinking everything.
We are waking up to the recognition that things can change on a dime, and in very big ways. We realizing that our fast-paced consumer-driven life was unsustainable and often unrewarding. We now know there are far more important things than money and that greed is not good (sorry Milton). We can more clearly see how connected and important we all are to one another and that we risk losing everything if we don’t respect nature. We are, like it or not, birthing a new world and we are realizing that it’s up to each of us to figure out how to parent this new reality.
Happily I believe reSET is the perfect coach/midwife/doula for our time – we are a supportive community surrounding businesses of all shapes and stages that want to be part of something better, to become engines for positive change. We are being called create a new world. And while there is much over which we have no control, there are things we can do, ways we can help, roles we can take to support the change. And if you’re willing, if you’re able, reSET is ready to put your talent to use in birthing a better tomorrow.
Dear reSET Community, The Board of Directors today announces the departure of Sarah Bodley as Executive Director of reSET in a planned transition later this year. The Board has immense gratitude for Sarah and all her contributions over the years. Over the last seven years, Sarah has built an amazing foundation for the organization and she leaves reSET in a strong position for continued growth and service. Sarah joined reSET in 2018 and over the past seven years has solidified and expanded reSET’s mission of supporting impact-driven entrepreneurs throughout Connecticut. Here are a few key highlights from Sarah’s time here: Facilitated the acquisition of Collab New Haven, expanding reSET’s footprint to a statewide geography and further enhancing our mission Developed and implemented new core programs including the award-winning Food Incubator, as well as the Food Accelerator, Retail Incubator, Measure What Matters, and Digital Marketing Mastermind Established reSET as a founding partner of the Hartford Culinary Collaborative, enabling greater connectivity and cooperation among food-centric support organizations in our region Doubled the organization’s budget to over 1 Million Dollars, securing multi-year State government grants Won the prestigious Neighborhood Builders Award from Bank of America, and the Leadership Greater Hartford Polaris Community Award in 2022 Established an endowment fund thanks to support from the Zachs Family Foundation to support the long term sustainability of reSET’s mission Over the coming months, we will be continuing our search to find reSET's next Executive Director. Sarah will stay onboard through June to ensure a smooth handoff to our next leader, and will be available as a resource throughout 2026. It is the Board of Directors’ priority, along with Sarah's, to make this transition as smooth as possible to continue the great work Sarah has helped us do over her tenure. The Executive Director’s Job Posting can be found at this link, and we invite you to keep in mind any potential candidates in your community or network that you think might be a great fit. The Board of Directors wishes Sarah the best of luck in her future endeavors. We are appreciative of the dedication and enthusiasm she has given to reSET over the last seven years, particularly navigating our organization seamlessly during the historic times of the pandemic, changes in administration, and an ever-evolving landscape of opportunity for entrepreneurs. We are confident that with Sarah’s support, this transition will be a smooth one for our Connecticut entrepreneurs, partners, and generous supporters. We look forward to continuing our growth and to serving our mission of supporting the social enterprise sector. If you have any questions or concerns during this transition, please don’t hesitate to reach out via contacting admin@resetco.org to get in touch with the board. Sincerely, Ali Lazowski + Dave Menard, co-chairs, reSET Board of Directors
Inviting Impact Entrepreneurs Into Transformative Growth
21 Businesses Participated, Gaining Valuable Impact-Driven Business Training
Special Discount Available for Attendees Purchasing Tickets to Both Events
11 Impact-Driven Food Businesses Ready to Scale Operations and Community Impact
Program Partnership with Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Supports Early-Stage Retail Businesses with Social Impact Focus
Listen in to the replay of John Voket of Connoisseur Media's interview of reSET Food Program Manager Katrice Claudio and Program Manager Ndubisi Okeke that aired on Sunday July 6, 2025. They talked about the reSET programs that are enrolling for the fall--the Food Accelerator for food businesses looking to scale, and the Retail Incubator for early stage product-based businesses looking to ramp up for holiday markets in Connecticut. Listen here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8745230-reset-fall-program-preview The interview aired on the award-winning "For the People" show on Sunday, July 6 on WEBE 108 FM, STAR 99.9, WPLR FM and THe VOICE of Connecticut and on the podcast.
Food Accelerator and Retail Incubator Offer Comprehensive Support, Mentorship, and Grant Opportunities for Growing Businesses
Request for Proposal: Communications Consultant Services
Twelve Food Businesses to Present at Focus @ reSET on Monday April 14th in Hartford
