From CT State Republicans –

 Talking About Social Entrepreneurship. Sen. Art Linares (second from left) listens to area social entrepreneurs’ job-creating ideas during his Aug. 28 tour of the Hartford office and working space of reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust. (L-R) Program Manager Rosie Gallant, Sen. Art Linares, Chris Brechlin, Program Director Michelle Cote, LeslieKrumholz, Charlotte Creech.

Sen. Art Linares (left) chats with reSET CEO Kate Emery during his Aug. 28 tour of the Hartford office and coworking space of reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust.
(L-R) reSET CEO Kate Emery, Sen. Art Linares, Incubator and IT Manager Ojala Naeem.

Sen. Art Linares on August 28 toured the downtown Hartford office and coworking space of reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust.

Sen. Linares exchanged ideas with reSET’s social entrepreneurs, who aim to create businesses that solve community problems. In the past 12 months, reSET has helped launch and grow 11 social enterprises, associated with 20 jobs. Two of those businesses are working to become regional in scale and one to become national in scale.

“reSET’s social entrepreneurs are innovative and energetic,” Sen. Linares said. “It’s great to meet people who are using their businesses for social good while also making a profit. I share reSET’s goal of making Connecticut a hub for entrepreneurial activity. At the State Capitol, I will continue to do all I can to help business incubators like reSET to thrive and to spread the word about social enterprise throughout the state.”

Sen. Linares, who at the age of 19 co-founded a successful solar energy company based in Middletown, spoke with several social entrepreneurs affiliated with reSET. Among them:

• Willimantic resident Chris Brechlin, Founder & Community Partner at Blueprint for a Dream.
• Guilford resident Leslie Krumholz, CEO of Good Streets.
• Granby resident Charlotte Creech, CEO and Co-Founder of Combat2Career.

reSET’s community co-working space at 99 Pratt Street in downtown Hartford welcomes social entrepreneurs, small businesses, freelancers, and visiting business people. On the web: www.socialenterprisetrust.org.