Pivot Sacramento

About Us

What We Do

Pivot Sacramento helps people with a history of being hard to serve. Success stories include former high school dropouts, single parents and individuals who are homeless, recently incarcerated or aging out of foster care.

Pivot primarily serves people that live in low income neighborhoods of Sacramento where the jobless and high school dropout rates exceed the average in other parts of the city. Many residents in these areas are chronically unemployed or under-employed, struggling to get and keep good jobs and cannot afford food, shelter, transportation and other basic needs.

With a comprehensive and personalized suite of services, Pivot Sacramento provides the support needed to level the playing field for individuals competing for jobs against people without extensive barriers. Pivot ensures participants are employed and that they meet the national self-sufficiency standard. Pivot helps its clients with everything from earning GEDs to changing careers to starting their own businesses.

Organization History

Pivot Sacramento was born when five young men all dropped out of school. Pivot's founder Lisa Miller started working with the men to get them into a GED program and find employment.

Word soon spread that Miller helped people find jobs. Youth and adults began knocking on her door. Miller drove youth to interviews, purchased work clothes and paid GED fees.

Around 2006, a family member told Miller that if she were to start a non-profit, she could get help from companies and foundations wanting to make a difference. She filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service to receive tax-exempt status, initially calling her non-profit CELI, Inc. The organization was renamed Pivot Sacramento in 2018.

In over a decade of formal existence, Miller’s organization has served many people, including:
65 adults who’ve gone through its GED 123 Academy;
507 youth and adults who’ve used its adult mentoring and job readiness programs;
145 adults who’ve been placed into employment;
79 adults who’ve received supportive services, bus passes, interview clothing, live scan and First Aid/CPR classes.

About The Founder

Lisa Miller understands how to help people dealing with hard times because she’s been there herself.

Before she served as the Founder and Executive Director of Pivot Sacramento, Miller was a single mother of three receiving welfare assistance. Through hard work, faith and determination, Miller transformed her life and embarked on a career with the State of California.

Now retired from the state, Miller devotes herself to helping others change their lives, as she did. Since founding Pivot Sacramento as CELI, Inc. in 2006, Miller has counseled numerous individuals with GED assistance, job interview tips, career coaching and much more. She also serves as an advisor to start-up businesses, corporations and non-profit owners, providing a variety of high-level tips and information.

Aside from her non-profit, Miller is a mother of three, grandmother of 10 and active in her church. She lives in South Sacramento.

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