“New Mexico was built upon entrepreneurship. It’s in our history. And the Entrepreneurial Mindset Program is dedicated to building upon and strengthening what we already are and what we have been.” Debbie Johnson, Director of Education, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, CNM
The Entrepreneurial Mindset Program first landed in Albuquerque in 2015. Developed from the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative’s (ELI) international curriculum, CNM harnessed the opportunity to build out a program based on the fundamental aspects of successful entrepreneurs. Shortly after the Program landed in Albuquerque, the City of Albuquerque became the first city in America to embrace entrepreneurial mindset training, capturing interest from the likes of Entrepreneur.com and South by Southwest. The Program is now expanding beyond City workers, business people, and CNM students to increase participation across communities in Albuquerque, and some of those communities may surprise you.
ELI founder, Gary Schoeniger, said on a recent visit, “Albuquerque is the first city to recognize the power of an entrepreneurial mindset as a way of thinking that can empower people at all levels of society … to make a greater contribution to those they serve.” CNM is taking “all levels of society” to heart, as it builds out the Program to serve high school students, immigrant entrepreneurs, and low-income populations. For CNM, partnership is central to this growth – and to the sustainability of the Program. Debbie Johnson of CNM commented, “Access to all is at the core of our mission at CNM. These partnerships are about building the Program in a way that provides more vulnerable populations with access to the curriculum.”
Since 2015 the College has established partnerships with Albuquerque Public Schools, the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, and the Albuquerque Community Foundation to meet their mission. The APS partnership will offer the course for free, as dual credit to high school students. Through the Albuquerque Community Foundation CNM hopes to offer 1,000 Program scholarships. And the Hispano Chamber of Commerce has already begun to offer the Program completely in Spanish with adaptations to ensure the curriculum is not only linguistically appropriate, but also culturally relevant. Debbie was right when she said, “The great thing is the curriculum is portable. It is not geographic. It is a mindset. It moves.” Debbie doesn’t think small. She continued, “It is a global opportunity, and it unites cultures in great ways.” It will be exciting to see where it goes next.
CONNECT THE DOTS
COMMONALITIES with the Albuquerque Integration Initiative: Entrepreneurship and new business development, workforce readiness, focus on access
OPPORTUNITY: Training opportunities for all levels – from executives to high school students. Learn more at: stemuluscenter.org/entrepreneurial-mindset-program/
