
Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Classroom Success, Creating Optimal Conditions for Learning
Melanie Ginn, President and CEO of Ginn Group Collaborative and Architect of the SMART Model is joined by David Casey, Vice President of Workforce Strategies and Chief Diversity Officer of CVS Health; Ernie DuPont, Senior Director of Workforce Initiatives, CVS Health; Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09); and Karen Cutler, Vice President of Public Affairs at Aramark, at the 2019 SMART Congressional and Industry Leaders’ Panel on Capitol Hill following the unveiling of Ginn’s SMART Chronicle: 6 Years of SMART Model Impact, Data, and Outcomes.

Welcome to The Ginn Group
Ginn Group Collaborative (GGC), led by President and CEO Melanie Ginn, is a nationally recognized design management firm with a proven track record in delivering exceptional outcomes and incisive analysis for clients. GGC brings objective and insightful perspective and expertise to review, research, develop, and deliver advanced business and legal analysis, strategies, and solutions. The GGC team is comprised of an exceptionally “deep bench” of talented multi-disciplinary professionals. Every aspect of their work is infused with an entrepreneurial spirit, a drive for excellence, a fearless willingness to take the road less traveled, and a passion for solving problems with the most efficacious, cost-effective, and swiftest solutions. As one client exclaimed, “Melanie is like a Corporate Sherpa, providing guidance that delivers incredible results!”

The SMART solution aims to break the cycle of poverty, proactively deploying an Active Access strategy to deliver Active Care that is changing the trajectory of lives by identifying and reducing barriers to academic achievement and competence. Focused on educational outcomes, the model provides preventive and integrative physical and behavioral health care that is. Ginn designed the SMART business model to support the goal of ensuring the wellness of every student in an educational setting, not just treating the acute needs of the minority.
The creation of SMART and its customized data collection system, eTHOSRx, are just two examples of the Ginn Group’s passion for bringing business and entrepreneurial zest to solve some of the most critical issues of the day. It was developed with the funding support and thought-leader collaboration of CVS Health’s Workforce Initiatives department, in recognition of the significant interconnections between health, education, and workforce.