Adlai Wertman  
President & CEO, Chrysalis

Adlai Wertman is President and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysalis, a nationally recognized non-profit agency dedicated to helping homeless and economically disadvantaged individuals become self-sufficient through jobs. Chrysalis serves almost 2,500 people each year in Los Angeles' Skid Row, Santa Monica and Pacoima with a remarkable 93% success rate. He is a frequent speaker and panelist regarding issues of homelessness, social entrepreneurship and workforce development and is a member of the Faculty at UCLA's Graduate School of Public Affairs. Mr. Wertman's unique background in both business and social services has allowed Chrysalis to create partnerships with business, government, and philanthropy, which have resulted in thousands of jobs for homeless individuals. Most recently, Mr. Wertman worked with the Los Angeles City Council on the passage of the Transitional Jobs Opportunities Program which will allow the City to use its contracting activities to help homeless make the jump to self-sufficiency. He also Chairs the private sector Central City Association's Public Safety and Homeless Committee and Council District 11's Homeless Committee.

Prior to joining Chrysalis, Mr. Wertman served for nearly two decades as a senior investment banker, most recently serving as Managing Director and Manager of Prudential Securities' West Coast Regional Public Investment Banking Group. He had been at Prudential for over ten years following positions at Chase Securities and Bear Stearns. During his career Mr. Wertman served as senior banker for over $22 billion of financings for a broad range of governmental and not-for-profit clients throughout the country. He has also managed several major Wall Street departments and has led dozens of large and diverse project teams.

Mr. Wertman has been active in his community throughout his life. Since 1998 he served on the Board of Directors for Chrysalis (including one year as Chairman of the Board) and in January 2001 was selected to become the new President and CEO. He is a past Board Member of the Southern California Community Ventures; Kehillat Israel in Pacific Palisades; Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and current Member of Rock The Classroom and The Bridge Program. Mr. Wertman is also a Wexner Heritage Fellow and works with the Israeli Government and NGO's to design workforce strategies for the long-term unemployed.

Mr. Wertman earned his MBA with a double major in Finance and Public Policy Management and a Concentration in Strategic Planning from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He received his BA with Honors in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He was also the recipient of the 1980 Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service to the Stony Brook University Community. He has been a guest lecturer at Columbia Graduate Business School and has lectured throughout the country on capital formation and fundraising issues for government and not-for-profit entities. Mr. Wertman was also a contributing author of The Guide to Federal Resources for Economic Development. Mr. Wertman lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Janet Ambrosi Wertman and their three children - Liana, Holly and Elon.

Articles by Adlai Wertman: (1)