The Greenwood Project aims to promote diversity on Wall Street.

Last summer, Angelina Carreras, a 20-year-old junior at DePaul University in Chicago, underwent a rigorous four-week training program before beginning her internship as an equity trader at Charles Schwab.

""We began with financial modeling, and I had no knowledge of financial statements. It was a steep learning curve," she stated."

The most important lesson she learned was about finding a new career path.

"Carreras stated that he hopes to become a wealth management advisor in the future and that he would not have known about this opportunity without the Greenwood Project."

The Greenwood Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit, aims to expose Black and Latino high school and college students to finance careers beyond entry-level positions by offering financial literacy training, internships, and mentorships.

Elois Joseph, 43, a former senior examiner for FINRA, founded the Greenwood Project with her husband Bevon, 44, to ensure that students had access and pathways to opportunities in the financial sector, even if they were not aware of them.

Greenwood, a community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was famously known as "Black Wall Street" due to its prosperity. However, on May 31, 1921, a violent mob of white residents destroyed Greenwood and brutally murdered over 300 Black residents.

Eloise and Bevon describe their community as a family, emphasizing that it is not just internships or summer high school programs.

Despite comprising 18% of the U.S. workforce, only 10% of financial managers are Latino, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Similarly, although Blacks make up 13% of the U.S. workforce, only 9% of financial managers are Black.

Elois and Bevon, with over 40 years of combined experience in the financial services industry, noticed the lack of diversity and decided to take action. After 20 years of hard work, the Greenwood Project is now considered an overnight success.

"Not many people in the room looked like me, as I observed," says Bevon.

As his career advanced, the lack of diversity intensified, creating an atmosphere that discourages minorities from pursuing a career in financial services.

In 2015, the Greenwood Project was launched in Elois's hometown of Chicago, following Bevon's departure from his position as CTO of a hedge fund.

According to Bevon, many of their students don't discuss Wall Street at their dinner table. Their motto is, "You can't be what you can't see."

Creating a new generation of wealth

The Greenwood Project collaborates with firms such as Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, and Janus Henderson, who invest in the project and offer paid internships to its students.

By exposing high school students to finance careers, the Josephs hope to enable them to create generational wealth. While not required to pursue finance careers, nearly 80% of program graduates currently work in finance.

The college program draws students from all over the U.S., with interns stationed in cities such as Chicago, Denver, and New York. Meanwhile, the nonprofit's high school program focuses on serving students in the Chicago area. During the summer, high school students participate in a six-week program that provides them with an in-depth understanding of the finance industry through visits to various companies each day.

In 2016, a pilot class of five college students was part of the Greenwood Project. Since then, the project has helped over 400 high school and college students and plans to help 220 college students in 2022. Today, students are recruited nationwide through online ads, and alumni serve as ambassadors, recruiting students and showing them what prospects lay ahead.

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"Hayes Bynum, a 26-year-old fixed income associate at Piper Sandler, says that the Greenwood Project provided him with a network that he would never have been able to access otherwise. He explains that he always believed in his abilities and expected to succeed, but felt that he lacked the necessary information and exposure to pursue his desired career paths."

"We are planting seeds across the industry, and our young people will continue to rise to the top and bring others along with them," Bevon says. "We tell our program's young people that the Greenwood Project will open doors for them, and once they get in their jobs, it's their responsibility to keep those doors open."

Everything changed after George Floyd

The Greenwood Project experienced an increase in partner firms after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

"We had 20 partners over three years in the summer of 2020, and by the end of the year we had 30 partners," Bevon stated.

Currently, the Greenwood Project collaborates with 55 companies, and there are additional firms eager to join.

Elois states that there is an increasing recognition of the importance of diversity in talent and individuals, and their company has taken on the role of providing diversity.

The Greenwood Project has partnered with Citadel and Citadel Securities to increase the number of participants in its summer high school program. The program will now include over 60 students from Chicago's South and West sides, thanks to funding from the Chicago-based hedge fund giant.

Both students and partner firms benefit from these programs. Students gain knowledge about the industry and receive mentorship, while firms, particularly smaller ones, obtain access to a new pool of talent.

Financial recruiting is being disrupted, according to Bevon, who believes that modern recruiting lacks diversity and often overlooks smaller schools.

CNBC and Acorns Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow. are highlighting everyday Americans who are investing in their communities to create better financial futures. Additionally, CNBC is asking readers to nominate individuals in their communities who are making significant changes.

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