{"id":10066,"date":"2023-09-07T09:00:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=10066"},"modified":"2023-09-07T09:00:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T14:00:08","slug":"bank-on-lamarr-uw-green-bay-graduate","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/bank-on-lamarr-uw-green-bay-graduate\/","title":{"rendered":"Bank on Lamarr, UW-Green Bay graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Lamarr Banks is not just a people person; he\u2019s an\u00a0entrepreneurial<\/em>\u00a0people person with a passion for business models, ideas, and technologies. As the Urban Hub Community Manager for the Greater Green Bay Chamber\u2019s Economic Development team, his role involves developing entrepreneurial programming and making connections between diverse personalities, opportunities, and resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in a rough part of Milwaukee, and we didn\u2019t have a lot of resources,\u201d Banks shares. A move to Green Bay during high school made the dream of college more attainable, and even as a first-generation student, he always had a knack for finance. \u201cI would say I was always like that. And that really comes from\u2026 I\u2019m the oldest of five, so I\u2019ve always been someone that had to lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he first pursued a major in human biology, finance resonated more with Banks, leading him to graduate from UW-Green Bay with a degree in\u00a0Finance<\/a>. His first job after college was as a teller at Nicolet National Bank. Recognizing real estate as a great way to build wealth, he became an assistant property manager and eventually found his way to the Urban Hub through the Greater Green Bay Chamber.\"\"<\/p>\n

Urban Hub tenants aren\u2019t the\u00a0\u2018send in a cover letter and wait for a response\u2019\u00a0<\/em>type, but personalities that share similar traits of audacity, creativity, and tenacity.\u00a0 What they often lack is the necessary resources or connections to move their projects beyond the planning stage. That\u2019s where Banks steps in. \u201cThere are a lot of people out there working for businesses with dreams they don\u2019t act on because they don\u2019t know how, or they think it\u2019s too hard,\u201d Banks says. \u201cMy motivation stems from my desire to promote fairness and compassion in business opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launched in 2020, the Urban Hub is a modern co-working space in downtown Green Bay that unites entrepreneurs, innovators, and aspiring business figures with the resources they need to thrive. Banks\u2019 role is somewhat of a matchmaker between clients and opportunity. \u201cIt\u2019s a cool and unique space, especially for the Green Bay area,\u201d Banks says.<\/p>\n

And business has been good. The Urban Hub has executed successful programs like The Blueprint-Green Bay startup accelerator, which provides mentorship, technology training, and the opportunity to secure seed funding. The program has deployed $100,000 in grant funding to nine startups and has touched hundreds of community members in the Greater Green Bay area and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n

Clearly, networking holds significant importance for Banks. \u201cI\u2019ve always been someone who leads by learning from all different types of people and ages, using what I learn to help others,\u201d he emphasizes.<\/p>\n

Networking ties back to Banks\u2019 own upbringing and fuels his desire to empower underrepresented groups. \u201cThe underrepresented groups that the businesses serve, I love helping them even more because I feel like a lot of times those underrepresented groups come from places that lack resources,\u201d Banks explains. Through Urban Hub programs like The Blueprint, which launched in 2021, he aims to support and empower these groups, ultimately helping them grow their businesses and contribute to their communities.<\/p>\n

Considering himself a \u201cstudent of life,\u201d Banks reflects on his motivation, drawing from his own experience in an underprivileged community. He believes he can play a part in the success of businesses from similar backgrounds. \u201cSo when I wake up, I\u2019m like, okay, today is another day where I\u2019m going to be able to help a business do this or that. I can\u2019t be everything or do everything, but I can contribute to their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

A recent lesson life has taught you?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Failure is a learning opportunity: Failure is not the end of the world. It doesn\u2019t always feel good, but it\u2019s truly an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and use that knowledge to grow and improve.<\/p>\n

How has education opened doors?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Education helped broaden my perspective and enrich my personal and social life. It helped me with critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills, which are useful in all walks of life. This helped me get the role I have today and I\u2019m sure those skills will propel me into my next role.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s educations biggest challenge?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to say changing educational needs. \u00a0The needs of learners and the job market are constantly evolving, and education systems must adapt to keep pace. This requires ongoing investment in professional development for teachers, curriculum development, and educational technology.<\/p>\n

At UW-Green Bay, we believe that every person has the power to Rise. No matter who you are, where you\u2019re from, or what you want to be. We invite you to\u00a0read more Rise Stories<\/a>\u00a0about people from all walks of life who are blazing a brighter future for our region.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Written by Michael Shaw<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.uwgb.edu\/featured\/07\/24\/bank-on-lamarr\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lamarr Banks is not just a people person; he\u2019s an\u00a0entrepreneurial\u00a0people person with a passion for business models, ideas, and technologies. As the Urban Hub Community Manager for the Greater Green Bay Chamber\u2019s Economic Development team, his role involves developing entrepreneurial programming and making connections between diverse personalities, opportunities, and resources. \u201cI grew up in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[111],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-10066","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-green-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/10066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=10066"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=10066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}