Gary L. Polk

CEO & Co-Founder
POLK INSTITUTE

In March 2020, everything seemed to change for the worse with the novel coronavirus pandemic. This global pandemic has impacted literally everyone in the world at the same time. Regardless of nationality, age, socio-economic class or religion, COVID-19 has been a challenge. Despite that or perhaps because of it, Gary Polk decided to create the Polk Institute Foundation (Pi), a 501(c)(3) in July 2020.

Polk Institute’s mission is “serving underrepresented social entrepreneurs to make the world a better place! Its goal is to expose social entrepreneurship asa viable career option and method to find financial freedom to its targeted trainees - especially members of underrepresented minorities (Black and brown people) who probably did not grow up in households where business ownership was considered a viable career option.” It launched the first cohort of trainees at the Institute earlier this year.