A member of the Class of 2010, Mr. O’Connor is the co-founder of Curbside Enterprises. He is listed on Forbes’ List of 30 Under 30 in the Social Impact category. He is committed to helping others and launched the publication Curbside Chronicle as a college student at Vanderbilt. The Chronicle is partially written and completely sold by individuals experiencing homelessness and provides a source of income as well as a platform to educate the community. He and Rayna Forgotson, co-founder of the Chronicle, were recently awarded the Rodney Bivens Innovation award by the Oklahoma Center for Non-Profits.

A member of the Class of 2010, Whitley grew up in a low-income household, and is committed to helping others by launching the publication Curbside Chronicle as a college student at Vanderbilt.

The Chronicle is partially written and completely sold by individuals experiencing homelessness, providing a source of income as well as a platform to educate the community. The organization has sold nearly 1 million magazines and helped upwards of 300 people move into affordable housing.  

“Although honors like this are awarded to individuals, I have been very fortunate to have the support of wonderful mentors, peers, and colleagues along the way, and the entire Curbside team deserves immense credit for their work building and implementing our employment, housing, and case management programs,” said Whitley.  

From OSSM Whitley attended Vanderbilt University where he earned a bachelor’s in Sociology and Human and Organization Development. He joined the Homeless Alliance in 2018 as a social enterprise strategist and co-founded the Curbside Chronicle with his now wife, Ranya Forgotson, in 2013. grew