Bill Beattie is founder and chairman of Jericho Partnership, Inc. Raised by his mother in North Philadelphia, he was an at-risk city kid mentored by his youth pastor and his high school chemistry teacher. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord at 16.
Following a profound personal experience in 1996, he sensed a calling to serve God among the at-risk youth of his community. He founded Pathways Danbury, which enlists men from several metro-Danbury, Conn. urban and suburban churches to mentor at-risk boys (www.pathwaysdanbury.org). Currently, 50 boys are in the program. Since the founding of Pathways Danbury, about 80 percent of the boys have graduated from high school, and 80 percent of those have gone on to college. In 2005, Bill felt called to assist other Christian agencies serving the Danbury community, and founded Jericho Partnership to serve the youth, homeless and other at-risk populations of Danbury.
Bill majored in metallurgical engineering at Lehigh University, and was awarded an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He worked for Union Carbide Corp. in various marketing and management positions in the United States and South Africa until 1986, when he formed and became chief executive officer of Strategic Minerals Corp., a privately-owned mining and metals company headquartered in Danbury. He sold his interests in the company in 2006 to the Evraz Group, a Russian steel producer.
Bill and his wife, Kathie, have been married for more than 50 years. They have three children and seven grandchildren. He is a member of the Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, Conn., where he serves on the elder board.