Innovating to Unleash Human Potential: Vertical Harvest Farms is a 2022 Tony Hsieh Award Winner

Share This Post

The award recognizes innovators who are disrupting business-as-usual human capital models to innovate new approaches to unlocking human potential in the workplace

JACKSON, Wyo. - October 26, 2022 - (Newswire.com)

Vertical Harvest, Inc., a hydroponic, vertical farming company based in Jackson, Wyoming, is honored to win a 2022 Tony Hsieh Award celebrating its pioneering Grow Well approach to customized, integrated employment. 

Vertical Harvest practices Competitive Integrated Employment designed for the disability community. It's based on competitive wages, opportunities for advancement, integration in the workplace and access to full benefits. In practice, Grow Well not only cultivates meaningful careers, but also soft skills development that people who've been excluded from economic opportunity often haven't had the chance to develop elsewhere. CEO Nona Yehia maintains their approach not only "delivers 'good' to the community but is also 'good business'" and a burgeoning body of research supports the company's theory for change.

Accenture estimates that companies who champion disability inclusion achieved — on average — 28 percent higher revenue, double the net income and 30 percent higher economic profit margins. Additionally, in this era of labor shortages and quiet quitting, they estimate that if companies embraced disability inclusion, they would gain access to 10.7 million new employees. Similarly, the national GDP could get a boost up to $25 billion if just 1% more of persons with disabilities joined the U.S. labor force. 

With unemployment rates nearly double that of the general population, Vertical Harvest provides five major types of training (on-boarding apprenticeship to CEA farming, career-specific and on-going job training, cross-training to expand skillsets across departments inclusive of managerial training, as well as non-career-specific life skills training, coaching and mentorship) in the fast-growing, green jobs-oriented AgTech sector. And for this, the Tony Hsieh Award recognizes their disruption of the $5 trillion agriculture industry.

Keith Ferrazzi, entrepreneur, thought-leader and close friend of the late Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, announced this year's winners at Reid Hoffman's Masters of Scale Conference last week. His call-to-action to the many start-up CEOs and tech luminaries in attendance was to "disrupt human capital models just like we're disrupting business models. We need to get ahead of the curve and join these innovators on this journey and make sure … that while nobody can fill Tony's shoes as many of us knew him … maybe hundreds and thousands of us coming together and building a movement in his legacy could begin to approach that."

Björn Öste, founder of Oatly, recently remarked upon visiting the Jackson Hole greenhouse that he'd never seen anything like it. "Here, inclusion and equity aren't buzz words, they're the norm. And the interactions between employees are easy, comfortable and very honest, very real." 

Vertical Harvest's Chief of Human Potential Caroline Croft Estay credits this to the customized employment approach being foundational to the company. "When Vertical Harvest was just starting, people encouraged Nona and me to open the greenhouse and implement inclusive employment afterward. But to her credit, that was non-negotiable. Not only because she has a brother with development disabilities but because she knew, in this case, our diversity was an asset and not a liability." 

By and large the CEA industry, and agriculture in general, has intense labor challenges and employment issues, and the Tony Hsieh Award recognizes that the management philosophies underpinning Vertical Harvest's business model and company culture are clear differentiators. This exchange of loyalty and love flows through employees to customers and back into business and brand, as surely as the water in their hydroponic system. They also recognized outstanding start-up entrepreneurs such as Etienne Salborn, founder of SINA: The Social Innovation Academy; Ranil Piyaratna and Geetesh Goyal, co-founders of Human Bees; and established entrepreneurs and innovators Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox, and Dylan Beynon, CEO of Mindbloom.

For more information, please follow @verticalharvestfarms on Instagram, Facebook, and visit www.verticalharvestfarms.com.

About the Tony Hsieh Award:

Tony Hsieh was a pioneer. He challenged existing concepts of what the workplace was and how it worked. He redefined how leaders look at the value of their employees as well as what employees expect from their leaders. He constantly inspired and provoked us to think differently about the role of leadership and business itself. We want that inspiration and those insights to continue for generations. In the wake of Tony Hsieh's passing, The Tony Hsieh Award seeks out progressive, value-driven leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who embody Hsieh's spirit in business through transforming their organization's quality of work and life, engagement, and productivity to allow members or employees to maximize their fullest potential. They search for people and companies reinventing the way we work. 

About Vertical Harvest Farms:

Vertical Harvest is a hydroponic, vertical farming company dedicated to sustainable farms, food and futures. In addition to our passion for local, healthy food grown sustainably, Vertical Harvest also operates on an inclusive employment model. Our farms are designed for accessibility and staffed via hiring practices developed for people with disabilities, and our mission is to energize local food economies by using food as a medium for meaningful change. As we bring food production back to the city, we are partnering with civic leaders and local developers to co-locate our farms with affordable housing, bolster local green energy efforts, keep dollars in-community longer and reestablish people's connection to their farmers and the fresh, flavorful, food we grow.


Contact Information:
Carla Tracy
Carla Tracy Public Relations
carla@carlatracypr.com
646-591-7126


Press Release Service by Newswire.com

Original Source: Innovating to Unleash Human Potential: Vertical Harvest Farms is a 2022 Tony Hsieh Award Winner

Related Posts

FTC and DOJ File Statement of Interest in Hotel Room Algorithmic Price-Fixing Case

The Federal Trade Commission joined by the Justice Department’s...

FTC Releases 2023 Privacy and Data Security Update

The Federal Trade Commission released its Privacy and Data...

RedeemTV Announces New Documentary: ‘The Shroud Face to Face’

RedeemTV Announces New Documentary: ‘The Shroud Face to Face’
Company Logo

RedeemTV ? Streaming Goodness

Vision Video’s streaming platform RedeemTV is set to unveil the highly anticipated documentary The Shroud Face to Face on March 28, 2024.

The Shroud Face to Face, produced by The Nexus Institute and The Shroud LLC, is a captivating documentary that unravels the enigma of the Shroud of Turin. With cutting-edge technology and expert insights, the film provides a face-to-face encounter with this iconic relic, inviting audiences to delve into its history, authenticity, and the profound questions it raises.

This visually stunning film, based on the book The Shroud Face to Face by acclaimed author and filmmaker Robert Orlando, offers an immersive exploration of the centuries-old mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin and has been endorsed with high praise.

"This is a compelling and convincing account of the single most fascinating relic in the Christian world. This is for anyone seeking to understand the significance and history of the Shroud of Turin.” — Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire

'The Shroud Face to Face'

Watch Trailer: https://watch.redeemtv.com/trailer/the-shroud-trailer

RedeemTV is a FREE, donor-supported, Christian streaming platform with over 250,000 subscribers. Streaming more than 5,000 videos, it provides family-friendly content while continuing to spread the message of Jesus.

Vision Video is a leading DVD and film distributor, committed to bringing impactful and compelling stories to audiences worldwide. With a focus on cinematic excellence, Vision Video partners with filmmakers to showcase thought-provoking narratives that inspire and captivate.

The Nexus Media focuses on TV, motion pictures, books, and screenplays, along with award- winning documentaries and shorts. Our team has years of experience in media storytelling and developing well-crafted engaging content. We invite you to view some of our past projects, The Divine Plan and Silence Patton, and participate in our new initiatives.

Stream FREE on RedeemTV: https://redeemtv.com.

Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RedeemTV.

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/redeemtv1.

Contact Information:
Danielle Tumminelli
Marketing & VOD Distribution Manager
danielle@visionvideo.com
484-750-2485


Original Source: RedeemTV Announces New Documentary: 'The Shroud Face to Face'
green agriculture project
- Part of VUGA Media group -best seo company