For Immediate Release:
PORTLAND, OR — March 3, 2021 — Thesis, an award-winning digital agency, has partnered with The Contingent to launch SINE, a social mobility network committed to closing the wealth gap in communities of color and low-income rural communities. SINE is the latest initiative from Thesis and The Contingent, an Oregon non-profit focused on empowering leaders and mobilizing community for the common good. Thesis CEO Ryan Buchanan co-founded the new social mobility network, and the team at Thesis defined the SINE brand and will be actively involved in the mentoring program, hosting workshops, and is financially backing the program along with dozens of other Oregon companies.
SINE was founded on the idea that flourishing is not guaranteed — where you live and the color of your skin all contribute to your socioeconomic opportunities — and Survival Is Not Enough. According to the Urban Institute, a typical white family has ten times the wealth of a typical Black family and eight times the wealth of a typical Latinx or Hispanic family. SINE aims to empower college graduates of color and low-income rural graduates in Oregon and Southwest Washington by providing access to vocational and wealth-building resources with the goal of attaining social mobility and rising to be future leaders.
“The idea behind SINE is to bring people from different backgrounds together in a unified way with the common goal of wealth advancement,” said Buchanan. “Through our own DEI initiatives at Thesis, we’ve learned that many young professionals of color still have a number of hurdles to overcome, even after they secure a great job. SINE provides community-based resources to help them rise over those barriers and continue their path to leadership roles and an economically stable future.”
The SINE network will be made up of young professionals and college graduates who identify as BIPOC and commit to build wealth and grow professionally. Young leaders will gain access to career development workshops, coaching, graduate program assistance, fellowships, and more. There is no cost to join, but some of the requirements to remain eligible include commitments to paying down student debt, saving or investing a minimum of $50 a month, contributing to a retirement account, voting in elections, and serving on a committee board or nonprofit.
SINE transpired as an expansion of an internship and mentoring program co-founded by Buchanan in 2016 called Emerging Leaders (EL). The program was designed to create pathways to leadership for aspiring students of color. Buchanan had attended a networking event in Portland and realized that most of his local business community peers were white and male like himself. He decided it was time to get intentional about creating a more inclusive workforce and challenge his own company and fellow business leaders to play an active role in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in their own companies.
Since then, Emerging Leaders has placed nearly 400 interns at more than 100 partner companies in the Portland area, including Nike, PGE, and Wieden+Kennedy.
To capitalize on the success of Emerging Leaders, Buchanan and his ELI co-founders conceived SINE to continue a pathway for creating a more equitable Oregon.
For more information, visit sineup.org.
About Thesis
Founded in 2002, Thesis, formerly eROI, is an award-winning, full-service digital agency specializing in email marketing, strategy, web design, development, and social media. Thesis offers account planning, performance management, relationship management, and brand, campaign, content, social, and digital-channel strategy to help partners connect with audiences in meaningful ways. Thesis was named among the Portland Business Journal’s Most Admired Companies in 2019 and named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon. For more information, please visit https://thesis.agency.
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