Bill Strickland

People are a function of their environment, and that environment is a major influence on how they act, a nationally known author said here Tuesday.

“If you don’t remember anything else I say except environment drives behavior, then I’ve done my job,” author and social entrepreneur Bill Strickland said at the third annual Mayor’s Power of One Luncheon.

During his keynote speech, Mr. Strickland discussed how he went from being a failing student in Pittsburgh, Pa., schools to becoming president and CEO of the arts education and training organization the Manchester Bidwell Corp., giving him a chance to help other at-risk youth.

About 90 percent of the at-risk students in his educational program graduate school and enroll in college, he said. And his job placement rate for adults competes with many universities, according to news reports.

Mr. Strickland said he’d like city leaders to consider implementing the model for his program in Chattanooga.

Mayor Ron Littlefield said Mr. Strickland’s story offers great hope and promise to others.

“The secret of the transformation of this community and any others is inspiration,” Mr. Littlefield said. “The Power of One, this short series of luncheons, is just a spark of inspiration.”

In a slide show that accompanied his speech, Mr. Strickland showed how Manchester Bidwell is transforming former welfare moms into chefs despite their having no previous culinary arts training. The slides also showed how students with no former background in science are becoming chemists hired by pharmaceutical companies.

“This is all the work that poor people are doing,” he said, while a slide of edible pastries shaped like bouquet of flowers was on the screen. “This is the work of people who supposedly don’t have any talent.”

It’s the way you think about people that drives behavior, Mr. Strickland said.

“The thing that we’ve discovered about poor people is that the only thing wrong with them is that they don’t have any money,” he said. “That’s a curable condition.”