CHS grad named to Forbes 30 Under 30

Arthur Woods, a 2006 graduate of Chester High School, has been named to Forbes List of 30 Under 30.

The 29-year-old Woods was honored in the category of social entrepreneurship for his company’s work, which strives to improve the workplace environment.

“We wanted to help people, to help them transform their jobs,” Woods said of Imperative, the company he co-founded.

Woods recently relocated from New York to Miami, but his work takes him around the world. He estimates that he spends 45 percent of his time traveling, with recent trips taking him to Singapore, Malaysia, Ireland and Bermuda.

“I’m seeing a lot of Asia and Europe these days,” he said. “People around the world are looking for fulfilling work.”

He’s traveled far from his hometown of Chester, but he credits his upbringing there for providing the opportunities he has now.

“It’s all thanks to an amazing support system I had there,” Woods said and listed the Rotary Club, other organizations and his “amazing teachers at Chester High School” as examples. The support ranged from the practical, such as a gift certificate to the Men’s Wearhouse so he could buy a suit, to the more esoteric — a social foundation that drives how he lives his life.

While his work takes him around the globe, it’s focused on relationships — and trying to make those between the employer and employee as fulfilling as possible.

His work has been reported in Forbes, the Washington Post, Huffington Post and ABC7’s Washington Business Tonight. Woods is no stranger to the news business — his mother Kristin Woods, is a former writer and editor for the Chester Progressive.

She moved to New Hampshire in 2015 to be closer to her son and other family members. And even though he recently moved from New York to Miami, he makes frequent trips north and is able to spend time with his mother.

“I’m unbelievably proud of him,” Woods said of her son, and like him, she credits the community. “Chester shaped him; he had such great adults in his life.”

She singled out Nita Jiminez, his second-grade teacher for her way of “inspiring kids” and had special praise for John Goolsby, Arthur’s fourth-grade teacher, for being a great role model. And also like her son, she listed organizations such as AWANA, Boy Scouts and 4-H, for their part in contributing to his success.

In addition to running his company, Woods is president of the World Economic Forum Global Shaper in New York and also is on the board of Georgetown Technology Alliance, Compass Partners, and, closer to home — the Sierra Institute in Taylorsville.

After graduating from Chester High, Woods earned a business degree from Georgetown University, where he focused on entrepreneurship. He also studied project management at Stanford University.