Profiles
Video: The Work of a EoC Family Business for Environmental Protection
EoC entrepreneurs John and Julie Mundell have been working to protect the environment for more than 25 years. Their company, Mundell and Associates, began by working to address environmental damage and problems caused by toxic waste in Indianapolis, IN.
Today, their work is known throughout the United States and many other countries. Working to preserve the earth is a calling for them to build unity and a response to protect our planet for generations to come.
Learn more about their experience in this video by CSC Audiovisivi.
EoC’s Elizabeth Garlow receives Honorary PhD from the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology
We are very happy to share that the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (DSPT) bestowed upon Elizabeth Garlow, a long-time member and leader of the Economy of Communion (EoC) initiative in North America, the degree of Humane Letters honoris causa. Elizabeth was also named a Fellow of the School.
In his citation on the day of Elizabeth’s induction in the DSPT College of Fellows, Father Michael Sweeney said: “You have characterized yourself as ‘focused on an economy of belonging.’ This, we are convinced, could serve as a superb summary of the Church’s social teaching on the economy and of what Pope Francis has called ‘an integral human ecology.’ We are honored that you have accepted our invitation to enter into conversation with us concerning the interface of faith and culture as a member of the College of Fellows.”
You can read more about her background and his full citation here.
Listen to Elizabeth Garlow directly as she addresses the May 2019 graduates of the DSPT in her 8-min commencement speech about bringing faith into dialog with culture and creating an economy of inclusion for all people.
Meeting New EoC Member Andrew Gustafson of Communion Properties
We’re happy to welcome new EoC member Prof. Andrew Gustafson, of Communion Properties in Omaha, Nebraska.
Pete Benedetto recently had the chance to interview him.
Please tell us about your work in academia:
I have been a professor of business ethics at the Heider College of Business at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for the last 10 years. Although I teach business courses, I have my PhD in philosophy and so that affects the way I teach about business, ethics, and society. Philosophy asks the questions “what are you doing?” and “why are you doing it?”, which are questions that every person should ask themselves, not least of all people within business. I believe that every function of business – from marketing to finance – has the power to transform culture and society. I have found a small way to do this with my own business.
Please tell us about your business and its mission:
I have a real estate business buying, rehabbing, leasing and managing residential properties. I created this business in 1999 while I was studying for my PhD at Bethel College. My first real estate project came about when I had a ‘mid-life crisis’ of sorts, because I was nearly 30 and I felt all I had ‘created’ was a stack of research papers. I needed to also do something less cerebral and more connected to physical reality, and I was looking for a way to maintain ties with my hometown of Aurora, Nebraska.
I bought a house for $15,000 in Aurora and transformed it into my first rental property. I really enjoyed the process and reward of restoring a decrepit building into a home. There is a ‘redemptive’ quality to the work—and I do see my work renewing these buildings as being in line and in the spirit of God’s desire to renew and redeem creation. I went on to purchase, rehab and manage seven more rental homes within my hometown. After completing my studies, I moved to Omaha for the position I now have at Creighton. My wife and I decided to live near school, Gifford Park, which was known 10 years ago as a not-ideal neighborhood, with occasional knife-fights, prostitutes, and shootings. The first house was a Triplex I lived in which had been previously known for drugs and dog fighting in the basement. One thing led to another and and we now have 22 homes in Omaha.
One of the most rewarding things beyond the redemption aspect of rehabbing buildings is that owning this business has given me the chance to provide employment to homeless people and others dealing with various struggles. This is not always easy, but it gives me the chance to provide work and dignity to those in need. These folks have also become some of my close friends. We’re lucky to be in a walkable neighborhood where we know our neighbors, many of whom are our tenants, and to be directly invested in the community we live in. I feel blessed to have a well-integrated life where my day job and my ‘hobby’ of transforming homes are aligned.
How did you learn about the Economy of Communion?
I was at a conference in the Philippines on business solutions to poverty where I met John Gallagher and Michael Naughton. John and I had a series of really good conversations and when John heard about my interests and work, he told me about the EoC and recommended that I look into it. I did. Then he invited me to the EOC conference at Catholic University in Washington D.C. this summer, and I went to it and loved what I heard.
The conference in the Phillipines had inspired me to launch an MBA class at Creighton entitled Business, Faith and the Common Good, which then led to the formation of an institute of the same name. The Institute was created to “to promote discussion, collaboration, and research which help understand the relationship between business and faith, and how business can contribute to the common good.” I had begun a symposium by that name in 2014, and so for this year’s symposium in October of 2015, I invited John Gallagher to present, and also to speak in my MBA class and discuss his new book Structures of Grace, which is a survey of the business practices of the EoC in the U.S. So now we have a class, a symposium, and an institute aimed at the integration of faith and business, and EOC is a good fit for that concern.
Why did you choose to get involved?
The EoC’s focus on gratuity and reciprocity really stood out to me. The values and the vision of the organization fit with the work I’m involved in. The idea of connecting with like-minded people who I could learn from, be encouraged by, and, in some sense, be accountable to, really appealed to me. When making decisions within my business, I can now ask myself ‘How would others in the EoC look at this? What would they do in this situation?’ I wanted to connect with people who are intentional in running their businesses in a certain way. Other EoC members are model exemplars for how to do things better. The EoC helps help me to be more structured in putting into practice the ideals I’ve been trying to run my business by.
Tell us more about how the EoC’s philosophy affects your work:
Through reading the EoC’s literature, I gained a deeper understanding of the principles of gratuity and reciprocity – looking at the marketplace as a place of “gracious exchange”. The emphasis on the humaneness of business transactions – the fact that every business exchange involves and affects real people – provides a needed perspective that is often overlooked in our society. The EoC embodies and gives structure to the concept of what business is supposed to be about. I attempt to put this into practice when dealing with my tenants and others I encounter through my business.
What do you hope to contribute to the EoC?
I can start with what I personally have to contribute: First, I can promote EOC and help people learn about it through my classes and institute events. Second, I am a thinker and communicator, and I teach philosophical concepts to business students– which involves making complex concepts understandable. I’d love to help the EoC communicate with various audiences and be a sounding board for how to best convey our mission and work. I’d like to help other EoC entrepreneurs spread the word about what the EoC is and through this to inspire others to think about the role and potential of business the way the EoC does.
Meeting New EoC Member Kathy Troxell of Turning Point Benefit Group
We’re happy to welcome new EoC member Kathy Troxell, of Turning Point Benefit Group in Frederick, Maryland.
We recently had the chance to interview her.
Tell us about your business and its mission.
I co-founded my company, Turning Point Benefit Group, in 1994 with my business partner, Tom Pignone. Our mission is to help people make better financial decisions through our financial planning and investment advisory services. The question we asked ourselves at the outset was, ‘How can we add value to people’s lives?’ From the beginning, we chose not to follow the prevailing advice to build our business by pursuing wealthy clients. Rather, we chose to accept clients of all sizes, while remaining sustainable.
How did you learn about the EoC?
I was watching a program on EWTN and there was a couple being interviewed that referred to the EoC and the work of Mundell and Associates. My first thought was, “There’s an organization doing this?!” I was excited to learn that there were people out there who sought to run their business in the same way we did. I had to find out more. I found the EoC website and emailed Nick Sanna. He invited me to a summer family retreat called the Mariapolis in Virginia a few weeks later and I had the chance to go and learn more about the EoC and its core values. It was an incredible experience.
Why did you decide to get involved?
There are lots of resources available for building businesses (like coaches and industry experts), but none focused on the ‘why’ of business, just the ‘how’. We held similar ideas to the Focolare and the EoC before hearing about these organizations. We had always strived to build human-centered principles into our business, but we were looking for a more structured and concrete way to accomplish this. We sought to build charity into our business and the EoC seemed like a great way to do this. Up to now, our charity work has been separate from our core business activities and took the form of sponsorships and volunteering. We see becoming part of the EoC as an opportunity to change the fabric of the business to reflect our values.
I really appreciate that this is not just an opportunity for myself, but it involves a commitment from our entire business. This is a great chance to engage all of our employees. Our younger employees have a strong desire to connect with the deeper mission of our work. They realize that life is not about making it to the finish line with the most money and they are truly driven by a desire to help others. As a result, they are championing the EoC initiative internally.
What do you hope to contribute to the EoC?
Being quite new, I’m in the process figuring that out. I’m starting with an attitude of being present and open, and going from there. Based on what I’ve experienced so far, I hope to contribute towards helping the needy and sharing my experiences with others and helping them incorporate the principles of the EoC into their own businesses. I am really excited to meet other EoC entrepreneurs and I hope to connect with the others in my region. One initial idea is to have an event where entrepreneurs host other EoC members in their places of work to demonstrate what they do and talk about why they do it. It could be a really great opportunity to share ideas and build relationships!
Economy of Communion 