OUR
MISSION
‘The Bridge’ exists to span the tide. The tide that exists between the rich and the poor, the informed and the untaught, the entrepreneur and the everyday citizen.
SPAN THE TIDE
The Bridge has no bounds, only those put on by its users. The Bridge will focus on cooperation, collaboration, and community in everything it does. From the way we build, to the way we...
WORK - EAT - LIVE - LEARN - PLAY
OVERVIEW
Communities and neighborhoods around the United States commonly experience most of the following challenges: food security; access to healthcare; affordable housing; adequate paying jobs; training and education; transportation; sustainable infrastructure (power, water, waste); public safety; inequality; and access to non-predatory funds. These issues together have created systems of oppression for many Americans.
The Bridge is intended to address all of these challenges by creating a system of EMPOWERMENT.
What's an Eco-Village?
Meet The Team
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Garry is the founder and CEO of The Bridge. He hails from Harrisburg, PA., having attended the Milton Hershey School and Penn State University. Garry prides himself in his hunger for knowledge and love for giving back to his community. Having graduated from Penn State with multiple degrees (Business Development, Advertising and Psychology) he has always shared a love for bettering our society as a whole. His five seasons spent playing in the National Football League allowed him to build strong connections both on and off the field. Anything he puts his mind to, WILL get done. After your first meeting with him, you will immediately find out he is more than just an athlete.
Garry Gilliam Jr.
Founder/Chief Executive Officer
Larisa Miller is CEO of Phoenix Global, a global boutique consulting and business development firm, and subsidiary, Phoenix Global Purveyors. Larisa has recently been named one of the World’s Top 100 People in Finance by Top 100 Magazine; one of the 10 Most Influential Business Leaders of 2020 by Exeleon Magazine; 100 Global Women of Excellence by Sovereign Magazine, Top 10 Most Influential Friends of Africa by For Business in Africa Magazine, and the 2020 Personality of the Year by Powerhouse Magazine.
Larisa Miller
Chief Operations Officer
Jordan is a son of the Harrisburg area, having been born and raised in Steelton, Pa. After a stellar high school career, Jordan then went to further his education at Penn State by obtaining his B.A. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management before going on to play in the National Football League for five seasons. Jordan's love for the community is evident through the many works that he does with his own non-profit organization, the Jordan Hill Foundation. He spends most of his free time with the youth of the community, his family, and building connections that will help Harrisburg bridge to an evolving future!
Jordan Hill
Head, Community Relations
DeZwaan is our VP of Innovation here at The Bridge. Born in Harrisburg, PA., he is a graduate of Milton Hershey and a proud Penn State alum. If he's not cheering on the Nittany Lions, you will likely find him with family and friends. He has a love of travel, immersing himself in new cultures and staying up to date with all things Business Intelligence and new tech. Prior to The Bridge, DeZwaan was a Business Intelligence Consultant with experience in many industries including marketing, finance, software, technology and energy. He has been successfully architecting, managing and developing applications and BI solutions since 2011, providing businesses with the tools and insights to perform to their potential.
DeZwaan Dubois
Founder/Chief Innovation Officer
Originating from New Jersey, Jeniffer Nunez-Zayas embarked on an inspiring journey, commencing at the renowned Milton Hershey School and culminating in her graduation from Steelton-Highspire High School. Her enduring commitment to hard work began at the age of 14, as she skillfully balanced multiple jobs.
Jeniffer's diverse professional portfolio spans business ownership, compassionate caregiving as a home health aide specializing in hospice care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients, and thriving in business management. She's also found success as a model, but her true passion lies in cosmetology, where she serves as a master teacher, imparting invaluable knowledge to aspiring cosmetologists while nurturing her love for gardening and raising her children.
Jeniffer Zayas
Director, Community Engagement
Tiffanni Osborne is a proud alumnus of Milton Hershey School and Temple University. She is a Philadelphia native with a passion for education and serving underprivileged youth. Though her undergraduate degrees were in Human Resource Management and Africana Studies, Tiffanni has served in the educational field a teacher, administrator and cultural department head in Greater Philadelphia Area schools. She has recently enrolled in a doctoral degree program in educational leadership and intends to pursue her principal certification. If you want to get her talking for hours, ask her how effective elementary literacy instruction can change an entire community.
Tiffanni Osborne
VP, Educational Development
Born in Williamsport, PA., Robert graduated from the Milton Hershey School and later Penn State University. Having played sports his entire life, he has made teamwork and selflessness the pillars upon which he conducts himself. Often described as a jack of all trades, he has spent time honing skills in the areas of programming, business intelligence, credit risk analytics, corporate strategy, and financial reporting/forecasting. He has a firm belief that the world around us is constantly changing, and it pays to stay up to date with innovative techniques and evolving technologies. Since 2014 he has been managing portfolios in the auto finance industry, so he’s no stranger to large data. Ask him about it, but, be prepared for a lengthy conversation!
Rob DeJarnette
Founder/Chief Financial Officer
Benedict leads Murray Associates Architect, P. C. with over 35 years experience. He joined the firm in 1984 and has been a Principal since 2000. Benedict particular focus is on programming, planning, and sustainable design in the Education, Corporate and Government Sectors. A graduate of Millersville University, with a degree in Industrial Arts, he also received his Masters Degree in Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
Benedict has served as an adjunct professor in Harrisburg Area Community College’s Architecture Department for nine years and as a member of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber Board of Directors. Benedict is currently a member of the Corporate Affiliate Working Group for the Association of Independent College and University Association (AICUP), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Philadelphia Chapter, Green Building United and Preservation Pennsylvania.
Benedict H. Dubbs, AIA, LEED AP
Senior VP, Architecture
Brandon is a graduate of Milton Hershey School and has been an avid entertainer. He’s spent time writing and performing stand-up comedy in cities all over the US from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. He is a seasoned video editor and an aspiring filmmaker. His experience with comedy has given him a renewed passion for writing and public speaking.
Brandon Hurd
Creative Director
Who Inspired Us?
Milton S. Hershey
Unlike other industrialists of his time, Milton Hershey’s vision of a company town expanded beyond the brick-and-mortar walls of his chocolate factory. He built homes, parks, schools, public transportation and infrastructure, enriching the lives of those around him. His wealth was accompanied by a profound sense of moral responsibility and benevolence.
When he and his beloved wife, Catherine, realized they could not have children, they founded a school for orphaned boys. His dream had grown far beyond acquiring wealth for his own benefit: “One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy.” In 1918, long before his death, Milton Hershey endowed the school that he and Catherine started with his entire fortune.
Nipsey Hussle
Nipsey Hussle was a noted American rapper from the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Los Angeles, he was raised amidst an atmosphere of gun violence, drug hustling and police brutality and eventually became drawn towards it. He made a U-turn when at the age of 19, his emigrant father took him to his homeland Eritrea, which was torn by war and poverty.
He returned home to concentrate on his music career, releasing one mixtapes after another, sending positive messages through them. Concurrently, he started undertaking community work, opening several businesses to keep the youth away from violence. He also founded a record label and a flagship store as a symbol of economic self-sufficiency. He died at the age of 33, after being fatally shot in front of his store.
Charles Mully
Charles Mully was the firstborn son of a poverty-stricken Kenyan family of ten children. By age 6 he was abandoned by his parents to live on the streets for the next 12 years. Through diligence, hard work, and faith, Charles rose to become a very successful businessman. He, his wife Esther, and their eight children lived very comfortably as Charles became a multi-millionaire.
In 1986, Charles began to hear a call on his life to care for the thousands of abandoned children he encountered on the streets of Kenya, especially as he remembered his own struggles there as a child. In 1989, Charles and Esther began to take street orphans and vulnerable children into their home to be raised alongside their own biological children.
Those numbers grew so that over the last 30 years, the Mully Family has given their entire lives and considerable fortune to rescue, adopt, house, feed, clothe, and educate well over 13,000 Kenyan orphans who have graduated from the program as well as an additional 3,500 in the program currently.
OUR PARTNERS
THE GIANT COMPANY
UPMC
PHOENIX GLOBAL
