Meet Our Clients

John-Paul Maxfield, Waste Farmers, Denver, Colorado

John-Paul Maxfield is one of the new faces of entrepreneurship across Colorado, a state where youth and environmental consciousness are combining to create one of the next economic frontiers. Like so many other individuals in the current economy, John-Paul turned to entrepreneurship after losing a job. He decided the time was right to pursue a basic and bold business idea he was passionate about – bringing ecology and economics together to make money from the waste that others toss aside while building a more sustainable agricultural system. In charting this course for his future, John-Paul was also honoring his family’s agricultural roots.

Lance Jehn, Encompass Inspections, Phoenix, Arizona

Lance Jehn is one of the many entrepreneurs across Arizona, a state hard-hit by the economic downturn, who is working undauntedly to create new sources of commerce. As new construction slowed across the Phoenix area, Lance noted that increased activity in the renovation and remodeling of large existing buildings required concrete scanning. Already the owner of a masonry company, Lance learned more about concrete scanning and decided to launch Encompass Inspections, a new venture providing ground-penetrating radar services to the construction industry.

As a single mother and proud member of San Ildefonso Pueblo, Liana Sanchez wanted to build something for her family and her community.

When reduced hours at her job made it tough for Liana Sanchez to support her children, she decided it was time to use her education, find her passion and make a change. With the help of her family and ACCION, Liana created Avanyu, LLC, a construction company that brings jobs to fellow tribal members at San Ildefonso and promotes environmentally friendly building techniques.

A business that started a decade ago with hard work and $200, today serves as many as 3,000 customers in a single weekend.

When the ACCION team met Saul and Carmen Manriquez, the immigrant couple was living in a cramped apartment with their two young daughters in one of Albuquerque’s toughest neighborhoods. Their small business journey started with a stall at a local flea market. Today, it’s a grocery and meat market business that posts more than $1.7 million in annual gross sales and was named the nation’s Best Community Business of the Year by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity.

Baker Pratt Morales was at a crossroads and in need of credit to preserve his beloved corner bakery.

Tucked away in a modest adobe in one of Albuquerque’s oldest neighborhoods is Pratt Morales’s labor of love – a corner bakery where he is teaching his son, Christopher, how to use yeast and flour to keep the community’s culinary traditions alive. When he needed to establish credit history to realize his dreams of purchasing and expanding his business, Pratt came to ACCION.

Community leader Evangelina Moreno set out to bring life’s basic necessities closer to her family and neighbors.

Evangelina Moreno’s close-knit neighborhood in southern New Mexico is a dusty patch of land and small homes in Chaparral. There, the mother of four is working hard to make sure her family and community get the resources they need.

Chaparral is among New Mexico’s colonias, rural communities located near the U.S.-Mexico border that often lack adequate electricity, water and housing.