Summer Intern Bio: Isabel Plant

Sami Jensen • July 25, 2019

This blog series offers a glimpse into reSET’s summer internship program in entrepreneurship. The series captures interns’ experiences, both with reSET’s curriculum and the startups that they are working alongside. Isabel Plant is attending St. Edwards University in Austin, TX.

I am Isabel Plant, a rising junior at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. I am majoring in Sociology and double minoring in Spanish and Entrepreneurship.

I joined the reSET internship program because of their emphasis on social enterprises. I knew I had a passion for helping others and I also enjoyed my business classes. I thought this was weird because many of my peers in my business classes seemed to only be worried about making as much money as possible, no matter what it takes. This was not a mentality I wanted to live my life by. Then I started to learn about social enterprises. After speaking with some social entrepreneurs, I learned that they started their enterprises so they were able to generate an income as well as do good in their communities. I wanted to learn more about how a social enterprise is run and reSET was the perfect opportunity! 

reSET has paired me with two startup companies. One of the startups I am working with is Jam Program , a women’s network that is run by two sisters and their mom. They created Jam kits which are used at Jamborees,  events for women to get together and talk about their professional and personal lives. This helps to provide an opportunity for women to befriend and support each other. As their intern, I am performing market research as well as figuring out how to provide the same quality product but cutting the cost of production.

Another startup I am working for is 2 Your Health , a startup that provides a variety of services including a vegetarian food truck, holistic health healing, a pilot natural addiction recovery program, etc. I have been working on building a website with all of the business’ information as well as promoting the natural addiction recovery pilot program.

For my venture project, I am working with Mabelyn Jimenez on creating an all-natural sustainable makeup line. Our makeup line will be very inclusive to race, gender, and age. Our first product will be a concealer. Along with the concealer, we are creating embroidered makeup bags that support immigrant communities. We intend to have a program that allows our customers to donate old makeup bags and we will fill them with hygiene products to bring to detention centers or shelters for immigrants. We are trying to change the environment around makeup by creating new standards for makeup ingredients as well as providing a place for all of our customers to feel safe and accepted. At the same time, we want to create a conversation to provide awareness and a possible solution to ensure the upholding of basic human rights to immigrant communities.

reSET has helped outline each step it takes to start a business. Mabelyn and I are planning on actually creating this business and have already started investing in our idea.

By awalsh February 13, 2026
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
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