Today marks the 6th week of our blog series, “Social Entrepreneurs, They’re Just Like Us!” Also, there are only 10 days left to apply for The Global Good Fund Fellowship Program.
Today, we want to introduce you to Dr. Charlene Brown, the CEO of Caregiver Jobs Now. Charlene is part of Global Good Fund’s 1st cohort of Diana Davis Spencer Fellows. Her social enterprise, Caregiver Jobs Now, is a marketplace technology that helps senior care agencies hire caregivers, and caregivers find better jobs.
Why should we care about this? Because 2/3rds of our country’s 2.2M home care aides struggle with underemployment. Charlene’s first hand experience as a public health physician, coupled with her exposure to family members who are paid caregivers inspired her to start her social enterprise. Learn more about Charlene and her social enterprise Caregiver Jobs Now below.
An Interview with 2017 Diana Davis Spencer Fellow, Charlene Brown
Q: What inspired you to start your social enterprise?
A: I have family members who are paid caregivers working in home care and who struggle with underemployment along with two thirds of our country’s 2.2M home care aides. As a public health physician that didn’t make sense to me given the rising demand for home care among Baby Boomers of and the challenges faced by home care agencies trying for to keep up with customer demand. I founded Caregiver Jobs Now to impact both the economic stability of home care aides, like those in my family, and aging in place for seniors, like my parents.
Q: What was the most important lesson you learned as a child?
A: Honesty wins.
Q: If you could take a #selfie with anyone who would it be? Nelson Mandela
A: What’s your theme song? Circle of Life
Q: How do you want to be remembered?
A: I want to live a life that is meaningful, do work that fundamentally changes lives and systems and be present for the people whom I love.