Carol Goss is selling hope — for free.

Goss, an advanced leadership fellow at the Harvard University School of Business, will share a free, public talk — “No Longer Stuck in Place: Hope for the Future” — as the first speaker in the 2014-15 season of the Brothers on the Rise, Alpha Phi Boule and Association of Black Faculty and Staff Lecture Series.

Her presentation will be held Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ingman Room.
The subject of hope, particularly as it applies to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, is familiar territory for Goss, who retired last year after 15 years with Detroit’s Skillman Foundation, the last nine as president of that storied nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the future of Motor City children.

“I’ve mentored a lot of young people, given them a lot of advice on how to be successful, and I believe that older adults with experience should find ways to share,” said Goss, whose career in philanthropy also includes stints with the Stuart Foundation in San Francisco and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich.

A call to action will be central to her speech.

“My message is a message of hope,” Goss, who grew up in the Motor City, said. “If the students who listen will work hard, if they’ll display grit and determination, if they really see themselves in the future and work toward that goal, they don’t have to be fated to a life of poverty.
“Success is tangible, and it can be achieved.”

The event is co-sponsored by the Black Student Union, Latino Student Union and the Association for the Advancement of African American Women.