IronWorkz, a recently-established nonprofit run by three young Hoosiers who grew up in and around Gary, aims to boost the city’s economy by providing a networking space for Gary residents starting out on their entrepreneurial journeys.
At a May 26 public event held at Flourish Church, CEO Faith Spencer, COO Emmani Ellis and CFO Alex Termini laid out their vision for the organization to a crowd of around 30 attendees.
“Gary has an equity issue when it comes to access to resources,” Ellis said. “There’s not many opportunities for business owners. It is going to be between each other to network to grow and to leverage each other’s strengths.”
The organization’s name is a tribute to the region’s steel industry — all three of its founders are the descendants of steelworkers, and Spencer and Ellis are both Gary natives, while Termini grew up in nearby Hobart. Spencer graduated from Purdue University Northwest in May, and will start a consulting job with the Chicago-based firm West Monroe Partners in September. Ellis and Termini are still students at Purdue.
Spencer, Ellis and Termini said they want to provide Gary residents with a venue that can serve as a social, as well as professional, hub for the city’s
youth. This means launching a “business incubator” where entrepreneurially-minded local youth can meet one another, attend events, discuss their projects and support each others’ ventures.
Ellis hopes that the space can help Gary youth locate a source of passion in their professional lives.
“If you don’t know what you want to do, get in proximity with a lot of people who are doing a lot of different things together,” she said. “You’re going to see someone do something and you’re like, ‘Oh, I like that.’ Lean into that, and then let that guide you through what you would like ultimately like to do.”
To address the social side of their ambitions, they plan to also open a roller rink at the same site.
“I know a lot of people ask, ‘Where does the roller rink come from?’” Spencer acknowledged, explaining that the idea came from hearing her father describe trips to the now-shuddered Screamin’ Wheels in the city’s Miller area, once a beloved Gary institution and still fondly remembered by many of the city’s residents. In a city with few options for public recreation, she said, roller skating is one way to reknit a damaged social fabric.
“Being able to bring back that concept will tie the community together and bring back what we so desperately need and in terms of having friendly neighborhoods and friendly people to be around,” she said. “And then also maybe if someone was not interested in entrepreneurship of what we’re doing within the space, they’ll come to the roller rink and then see everything else that’s going on and say, ‘Hey, that’s kind of cool.’”
IronWorkz is currently soliciting donations and corporate sponsorships and applying for grants in order to fund the project. Its founders say they hope to have found a suitable location by the end of the year. Spencer, Ellis and Termini have so far been joined by a staff of four volunteers, and the trio told the Post-Tribune that they plan to eventually bring on more staff as funding rolls in.
Gary city spokesman Michael Gonzalez said that Mayor Jerome Prince’s administration is exploring the possibility of letting IronWorkz use a city-owned building for their venue, though he added that it is too early to discuss the specifics of such an arrangement.
“Mayor Prince is excited and happy to support IronWorkz and what they’re doing to help our young people,” he said. “We will work with them for sure because they have great things going on and we’re excited about it.”
During her presentation, Spencer quoted former U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
“‘If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair,’” she said. “IronWorkz is going to be that folding chair for the city of Gary.”
IronWorkz will hold a series of public events over the course of summer, focused on entrepreneurship and equity and hosted by a variety of local venues.