Job Creators Network Foundation

The foundation proposed the “Healthcare for You” plan as an alternative to the Obamacare law and a fully government-controlled “Medicare for All” plan. ² It also established the “Flatten the Fear” campaign during the economic shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic to try to encourage businesses to reopen. ³

Background

Job Creators Network Foundation is the research and education arm of the advocacy group Job Creators Network founded by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus. ¹

The foundation promotes “E2E” (employer-to-employee) educational programs on free-enterprise public policy issues. ¹

Advocacy

In 2019, the Job Creators Network Foundation joined patient advocacy groups to launch the “Healthcare for You” plan, which was meant to be an alternative to a fully government-controlled “Medicare for All” health care proposal being pushed by the far-left members of the Democratic party in Congress. ⁴

The “Healthcare for You” initiative also educates voters about how the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, left holes for millions to lose health insurance. ⁵

The Healthcare for You framework focuses on deregulating insurance markets and allowing state officials to set insurance parameters. The plan would also maintain protections for those with preexisting conditions. ²

The JCNF opposed the Biden administration’s proposal to repeal the 20-percent tax reduction signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017, contending the tax deduction helps the smallest of the small businesses.” ⁶

When much of the economy was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the JCNF launched a “Flatten the Fear” campaign to encourage the lifting of restrictions on businesses imposed during the pandemic. ³ The JCNF conducted a survey of small business owners in August 2021 that found only one in 10 small businesses had been able to “claw themselves out of the financial hole” that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⁷

The Job Creators Network Foundation created a Legal Action Fund, which announced it would sue the Biden administration regarding a vaccine mandate imposed on large employers. ⁸

Leadership

Elaine Parker is the president of the Job Creators Network Foundation, a job she has had since 2013. She is also the chief communications officer for the Jobs Creators Network. Before that, Parker was a public relations manager for Chrysler from 1998 to 2001. She previously worked for 12 years as an independent consultant for EPL Communications, where her clients included the energy drink manufacturer 5-Hour Energy. ^{1 9}

Phil Willard is the chief financial officer for JCNF. Willard has served in senior financial roles for companies such as Celanese, Terex Corporation, and Reliant Worldwide Plastics. ¹

Alfredo Ortiz is the president and CEO of the Job Creators Network and a board member of JCNF. He previously worked for Georgia Pacific and Kraft. He later became vice president for CSM Bakery Products’ Food Service Division. ¹