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Chris Foltz: Reinventing Life (TASC Feature)

How painkillers from dentist led to heroin addiction and prison (BBC Feature)

KiwiTech's Social Impact Panel - Chris Foltz - Sensi Magazine - August 25, 2020

Chris Foltz: Reinventing Life (TASC Feature)

10 Years After Being a TASC Probation Client...

When Chris Foltz was young, his parents were well known in the community as law enforcement professionals. Chris developed an early interest in civics and politics, and after college, he began a successful career running political campaigns.

Chris moved home when his mother fell ill. Not long after, he had oral surgery and was prescribed opioid painkillers, soon becoming addicted to Vicodin and OxyContin, and ultimately to heroin. His addiction was costing him $300 a day. And then his mother passed away.

The next days were a blur, except for one moment that Chris remembers as he left the wake. He spotted a coin purse on the floor of the funeral home and picked it up, his thoughts jumping to where he could go to score some heroin. He walked outside and opened the coin purse to find that it contained 63 dollars, credit cards, a ring, and an ID: the coin purse belonged to one of the funeral staff members, someone Chris knew.

“With everything I was going through, I was thinking of getting high that day and I would have probably died,”

– Chris Foltz

Chris decided he would return the coin purse to the funeral home the next day, and quietly leave it where someone else could find it. But by then, it already had been reported stolen. When Chris returned to pay expenses, he found himself eyeing the monetary donations left by mourners. That money could buy a lot of heroin.

“With everything I was going through, I was thinking of getting high that day and I would have probably died,” Chris says. If so, what happened next may have saved his life. The very police officers who had paid their respects to Chris’ mother at the wake now were there to arrest Chris for theft. Chris spent 119 days in the Winnebago County Jail. During that time, he lost everything. His mother’s home and all his possessions were gone. Chris was devastated that he had disrespected his mother.

While in jail, Chris received a visit from Don Allen, a TASC case manager in Winnebago County. At first, Chris didn’t believe that he needed TASC’s help, but Don helped Chris understand that there was hope in treatment and recovery. Don helped Chris move into an independent living program in Waukegan, many miles from the jail.

Chris Foltz Reinvention
10 Years After Being a TASC Client… Chris builds innovative solutions for nonprofits and people who want to change the world. Current projects include building a system that will recycle non-potable and rain water into clean drinking water (photos above), and robots (photo below) that can assist with landscaping, snow removal and other community improvement needs.

Over the next many months, Don helped Chris navigate clinical appointments, court appearances, and barriers that could have prevented Chris from succeeding. Ten years after being a TASC client, the world is different place for Chris. Now active in social innovation, he and his team are working on a project that will recycle non-potable and rain water into clean drinking water, while also reducing the amount of water used for appliances such as air
conditioners and washing machines. Once this enterprise is fully developed, Chris would like to install these systems for social service organizations that could benefit from the cost savings.

Chris is passionate about working with nonprofits and with people who want to change the world, and often thanks the people who helped him turn his life around. “Don Allen cared about me,” says Chris. “Without him and TASC, I don’t think I would be successful in my recovery.”

Source: TASC Inc
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How painkillers from dentist led to heroin addiction and prison (BBC Feature)

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KiwiTech’s Social Impact Panel – Chris Foltz – Sensi Magazine – August 25, 2020

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  • I am really looking forward to speaking at the Startup Grind #Stockholm community this Friday, Oct 7th 12:00 CEST around Go To Market strategies. (3am PDT / 6am EDT / 10am GMT)

The talk will blend in my experiences from three perspectives: as MD of Silicon Valley-based global advisory firm Responsible Solutions, as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the world
  • Shoutout to my pals at @gettingchill for this epic surprise. It is one of the most well thought out products I have seen in the #CannabisIndustry in a while. Excited to see what
  • Tonight: Dec 2nd 6PM PST - Startup Challenges in Regulated Industries: Legal, Compliance, Funding, & Supply Chain (Online AMA)

Register Here: https://lnkd.in/g7vXZNyN

From rocket engines to regulations and cannabis to compliance - all startups, investors, and supply chain partners face the challenges of staying legal. Sometimes it is harder than you think. The likelihood of success for a startup founder rises with the more understanding they have of the legal requirements of their industry.

Russell Brand - Angel Investor, Startup Advisor, Founder, Responsible Solutions Ltd - Silicon Valley Pioneer

Bethany Niebauer - Chief Licensure, Regulatory Compliance & Legal Consultant – Highly Regulated Emerging Industries - Axial Compliance Consulting

Jay Purcell - Partner, Clark Howell LLP - Business Lawyer for the Green Frontier, Tech Startups, and Highly Regulated Industries

Greg Jelden - Co-Founder and Managing Partner, CMG Media Group - Cannabis Management Group

Moderated by Chris Foltz - Director Founder Institute Southwest

Navigating the startup ecosystem can be tough. Who do you listen to? What is the correct info? When do I incorporate? What about regulations? If you want to dispel common myths and gain a better understanding of how to set-up a company the right way-join us for this online and interactive
  • Zoom
  • #Graduation Day from #IRG100 Fellowship. I posted this on Linkedin 

I have spent around 2,078 weeks on this planet - but the last 26 have been some of the most impactful.

Today marks the Grand Finale of Institute for Real Growth 2021 #IRG100 fellowship. To spend the last 7 months in a fellowship cohort with 100 of the most amazing minds in marketing and leadership in the world has been life changing... to learn directly from two of the greatest #mentors anyone could ever have - Frank van den Driest and Marc de Swaan Arons - along with some of the most prolific leaders I have ever met... is nothing short of #transformative.

To echo what the Lex Bradshaw-Zanger (L
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#feralcatsofinstagram #tnr #catsofinstagram #kitties
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#cereal #Cheerios #LuckyCharms #math #science #huskysincebirth
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