2020 Impact Accelerator Profile: Legacy Lineage

Sami Jensen • February 14, 2020

Meet the entrepreneurs participating in the 2020 Impact Accelerator! Legacy Lineage provides child-care and family support services and education.

Venture Name : Legacy Lineage Enterprises

Members: (from left to right in above photo) front: Destiny Hunt, Technical Support and Shadai Ealy, Bookkeeper. Back: Karen Benard, Board Advisor , Nichole Hawkins, Founder and Head Teacher and Sonia Santavenere, Board Advisor.

Venture Description : Legacy Lineage Enrichment Center provides exceptional child-care and family support services. Our goal is to positively impact future generations! Legacy Lineage…educate, enrich and empower!

Why did you apply to the Impact Accelerator?
I applied for the Impact Accelerator program to participate in a social construct of knowledgeable professionals who act as a support system and provide constructive feedback as I learn the various aspects to scale up, hone my professional skill set, strengthen my networking opportunities and gain exposure to working capital for expanding my start-up business.

What makes you the most qualified to start this particular business?
What makes me most qualified to scale-up and expand to Legacy Lineage Enrichment Center is my 25 years of experience in the early care and education profession. For 10 years I owned and operated a state licensed home day care. I have worked with all ages from prenatal mothers and infants to school-aged children. The population of children I have worked with includes individuals with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, behavioral, language and physical developmental delays. My professional credentials include the following: Bachelor of Science in Child and Individualized Studies, State of Connecticut Designated Head Teacher, 2013 completion of the Hartford Small Business Technical Program, 2017 recipient of Renovate to Educate grant. Additionally, I am a certified facilitator of several evidence-based programs including Circle of Security, Mental Health First Aid, Parents as Teachers, and Raising Readers.

How does your company create a positive social or environmental impact?
Legacy Linage Enrichment Center creates positive social impact for the communities we serve by providing year-round child-care, family engagement opportunities and communal benefits. We provide children safe, fun-loving developmentally appropriate play, social learning and meet school readiness goals as outlined in the Connecticut Early Learning Developmental Standards. Children receive a host of health and wellness benefits. They are provided plenty of time for outdoor play to encourage the restorative factors of physical activity, offered vision and dental screenings, participate in developmental assessments and are served healthy meals and snacks which combat issues of malnutrition.

In addition, families engage in several evidence-based workshops that highlight protective factors, strengthen resilience and address the many life stressors of inner-city communities. Education is paramount to fighting poverty. Affordable child-care and support services make it possible for families to pursue education opportunities, participate in training programs and remain gainfully employed.

To foster community qualified residence of the Center will be giving hiring preference, offered reduced child-care cost and giving opportunities for professional development. Partnerships community organizations provide summer youth employment opportunities and internships to college students pursuing degrees in early childhood education or a related field.

If you were to win the $10,000 grand prize at the Venture Showcase, what would you do with it?
The grant reward would be used to cover buildings/grounds, operations, advertising and administration.

Find Legacy Lineage Enterprises online: Website | Instagram: @legacy.lineage | Twitter: @legacy_lineage

The post 2020 Impact Accelerator Profile: Legacy Lineage appeared first on reSET Social Enterprise Trust.

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Leadership Transition Announcement: reSET Executive Director to Step Down in 2026

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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By awalsh • February 10, 2026

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By awalsh • November 25, 2025

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Special Discount Available for Attendees Purchasing Tickets to Both Events

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By awalsh • September 22, 2025

Program Partnership with Breakfast Lunch & Dinner Supports Early-Stage Retail Businesses with Social Impact Focus

reSET Food and Retail Programs Featured in Radio Interview

July 7, 2025

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.