11:30 - 12:00 - Welcome + Q & A
12:00 - 12:30 - Opening Keynote: Lynn Johnson from Hella Social Impact and Jorge Méndez from Seed Spot
11:30 - 12:00 - Welcome + Q & A
12:00 - 12:30 - Opening Keynote: Lynn Johnson from Hella Social Impact and Jorge Méndez from Seed Spot
Transforming the economy from shareholder- to stakeholder-centric and from single to triple bottom line requires visionary, executive leadership from intrepid founders, CEOs, investors, and others. It also requires leadership at the management level within the full range of organizations, from startups to large corporations. Despite the exponential growth in recent years of impact and ESG, change management in such organizations is severely lacking. Strikingly, there is currently no profession for people to become licensed in impact management, creating a significant gap in the infrastructure necessary for a well-established impact economy.
How can organizations recruit and train impact managers in businesses large and small? What skills are most needed to be an effective impact manager? What kinds of standards are needed to establish an impact management profession?
In this virtual fireside chat, Impact Entrepreneur’s Laurie Lane-Zucker discusses with CASE’s Cathy Clark and Crewcial Partners' Tuokpe Ajuyah how to effectively fill the leadership gap in impact enterprises and large corporations.
11:30 - 12:00 - Welcome + Q & A
12:00 - 12:30 - Opening Keynote: Jessica Norwood from Runway & Randal Wyatt from Taking Ownership PDX
Join the Inclusive Capital Collective in partnership with Shift on Thursday, May 19, 2022 for a powerful discussion on "Shifting Capital to Shift Power.” In this panel, our speakers will discuss lessons learned, best practices, and the impact of the Inclusive Capital Collective’s educational and financial products including our inaugural regranting facility and one-of-a-kind Black Paper series. The Black Papers are a series of briefings written by and for practitioners that illuminate the systemic barriers in financial markets, focusing on specific areas and segments that are ripe for interventions by investors interested in deploying their resources for social justice. Black Paper #1 focused on Shifting Power and Capital in Real Estate Finance. Black Paper #2 takes a look at the unique possibilities to spark wealth-building with entrepreneurs and communities of color in the manufacturing sector. (Both Black Papers are available in the Documents section for this Session)
11:30 - 12:00 - Welcome + Q & A
12:00 - 12:30 - Opening Keynote: Tynesia Boyea-Robinson from CapEQ & Lauren Paul from Common Future
We are facing a window of opportunity to advance systemic change that can help create a more equitable economy that benefits all people and the planet. Traditional business groups have long had the only voice that matters to policymakers. Recently, governments around the world are looking to sustainable businesses as a demonstration of what a better future can look like. These businesses are providing a source of innovative business models and ideas, and are vital supporters of policy and regulatory change. Join B Lab, B Corps, and local business groups to hear about how they’re leaning into this moment and using their voice to transform laws and regulations for the better.
Business has a critical role and moral obligation in meeting the social, economic, and environmental challenges we face. While there is more expectation than ever on business leaders to address societal issues, especially those challenges it helped create, business alone does not have all the answers.
Many solutions may in fact already exist – among the communities and individuals that experience the consequences of these issues most acutely. Yet such communities are often overlooked as a source of ideas and partnership for change, including those most affected by systemic discrimination and racism.
This session presents the recent stories of how business leaders – partnering with the communities and individuals – have shown it's possible to unlock solutions. This approach to engagement is not limited to social enterprises or a single set of challenges. In the cases featured, the work across communities has centered on racial equity and economic justice, as part of longer term efforts toward economic system change.
In this discussion, you’ll hear from companies, community members, and change agents collaborating to transform leadership and the rules that shape leadership behavior to meet the challenges of the 21st century and create a new norm of shared well-being on a healthy planet.
This session is brought together as part of the RESET Leadership initiative by:
The playing field is not level. The COVID pandemic and murder of George Floyd have shed light on the challenges experienced by historically marginalized groups. While we are making some progress, it is not nearly enough.
Black, indigenous, immigrant, refugee, and low-income communities and formerly incarcerated people struggle to overcome hurdles, not because of their abilities but due to structures in their way created through a history of systemic injustice.
This session highlights equitable ecosystem builders in the trenches leveling the playing field. As our SHIFT conversations continue to explore the theoretical, potential, and real-world examples of urgent global issues, we uncover barriers we may not be aware of and work towards more access, opportunities, and equity for our communities.
Is your company continuing the work and self-reflection that so many of us were called to in the wake of the social unrest after the George Floyd murder? Are the pull of business as usual and the urgency of running and growing your business making it hard to follow up on the early efforts and promises of the last two years?
In this session, we will explore actionable steps organizations and their leaders can take to address specific and critical issues internally to pave the path toward a more inclusive and actively anti-racist business culture. Cultural norms that many white people see as normal or "business as usual" reinforce systems of injustice in our society. We will discuss our understanding of these characteristics of a white-dominant culture and examine the unseen patterns, systems, and behaviors that show up both at work and in our personal lives. We will explore both the theoretical perspective and the changes that can come from taking action to shift ourselves and our organizational cultures.
Since the end of the last century, Lynn has worked at the intersection of social impact, entrepreneurship, and arts + media. She has founded and successfully led several social ventures dedicated to storytelling through the lens of gender and racial justice; including Spotlight: Girls and Oakland Freedom Theater— a first-of-its kind ensemble of actors, musicians and expert facilitators utilizing art and empathy to dismantle systems of oppression.
Lynn is a highly sought-after speaker and leader in the certified B Corp community and has appeared on the stages of SOCAP, Social Venture Circle, SVI Women, Lean StartUp Week, and Wisdom 2.0. Her work has been recognized and supported by SheEO, the Force for Good Fund, and Ashoka Changemakers. Lynn was the 2017 winner of The Pitch competition presented by SheKnows Media at the BlogHer conference in Orlando, FL.
As Founder and CEO of Hella Social Impact, Lynn is focused on helping businesses show up for racial justice authentically and impactfully. She believes her main job is to help today’s leaders access the courage and imagination needed to reshape our economy for the good of all people.
Based in Oakland, CA since 2006, Lynn and her wife currently reside in Albuquerque, NM where their tween, neurodivergent daughter is receiving residential care. When not working, Lynn enjoys living room karaoke, mixing up new cocktail recipes, and walking along the Rio Grande.
Herna (pronounced “Er-Na”) Cruz-Louie is the Chief Organization & People Officer at the Girl Scouts of Northern California and oversees Human Resources & Organizational Effectiveness, Marketing & Communications, Member Success & Retail, and leads the organization’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) strategy and initiatives. She is also the volunteer Director of the American Center of Philippine Arts in Oakland. Herna has 15+ years of experience working as a nonprofit administrator, community organizer, and youth development practitioner as well as 10+ years of HR Management. She earned her BA in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and completed her MS in HR Management from Golden Gate University. She is a certified community mediator as well as holds a certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University. Herna was awarded one of Filipina Women’s Network’s 100 most influential Filipinas in 2011, and currently serves as the Board of Directors Chair at World Arts West (the presenter of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival) and Board Secretary of Kulintang Arts, Inc. (the premiere presenter of tribal and contemporary Pilipino arts). Herna is a Girl Scout troop co-leader and proudly raising her 2 daughters with her spouse in Oakland, CA.
Angela Akinyemi shares leadership of diversity, equity, and belonging initiatives at Akimbo, an organization dedicated to building a world where learning is a human right. At Akimbo, Angela takes an intentional and collaborative approach to the company’s long-term commitment to dismantling systems of oppression. This includes working with leadership and culture-shapers within the organization to ensure that the company’s operations are aligned with our values and goals. In addition to her organizational work, Angela supports healing and empowerment for people with historically marginalized identities in her role as a therapist. Her work across domains highlights the importance of the systems and structures that shape us and utilizes the power of interpersonal engagement as a force for change. Angela’s work also draws on her experiences in the finance industry and in the nonprofit world as one of few employees of color. Angela is queer, Black-biracial, and first-generation American. She is a practitioner of yoga, an avid traveler, and a believer in joy as liberation.
As Director of Strategy, Justin oversees the strategic direction for projects in content marketing, SEO, digital advertising, social media, event marketing, email, and public relations. Clients past and present include the Eastern Band of The Cherokee Indians, Hyland’s Homeopathic, Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, Conscious Company Media, and the Social Capital Markets conference.
Justin brings a strong technical background to the team. He earned a degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He continues to study developments and trends in digital marketing and adapts swiftly to change in technology and the industry. Justin is also the co-founder and a lead instructor for the JB Media Institute, our comprehensive Internet marketing training program. He is committed to sharing his knowledge and helping organizations make informed decisions on their online marketing campaigns.
Justin was honored as the Entrepreneur of the Year by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and was inducted into Asheville’s 40 Under Forty in 2012. He is a 2016 graduate of the Hive Global Leaders program and a 2017 graduate of the StartingBloc Institute social entrepreneurship fellowship.
He loves the Asheville area and is happy to give back through his work as an alumni volunteer with Leadership Asheville and Leadership North Carolina, and as a board member with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and Veterans Healing Farm. He is a former board member of NC Stage Company. Beyond all things internet marketing, Justin enjoys exploring nature, playing sports, and cooking delicious meals for family and friends.
New technologies coupled with recent changes to century-old investing regulations have opened up new pathways for anyone to be an impact investor and for entrepreneurs to leverage their online communities, networks, customer base, and social influence to raise capital. This panel will explore both the theoretical potential and real-world examples of how Equity Crowdfunding is starting to break down barriers and democratize access to both direct investing and impact capital for anyone looking to become an investor or raise money. More specifically, we will explore how these fundraising techniques and their corresponding investment opportunities can serve BIPOC business owners who have historically encountered barriers to accessing seed capital, business banking, and venture/private equity funding.
For the first 30 minutes of this 90-minute workshop, the Hella Social Impact team will lead a session on Inclusive Introductions as a means to building safety and trust in the workplace. Participants will learn why and how allowing folx to show up to work with all their identities leads to building real, human connections. These connections are the cornerstone to ensuring the lived experiences, particularly of Black, Indigenous, and non-Black people of color, are seen and believed. Inclusion is intersectional, and centering the most marginalized identities leads to safe and trusted workplaces for all.
The second 30 minutes will feature an immersive preview into an award-winning program that builds mindsets of inclusion and belonging through experiential learning. This experience, made by the researchers studying empathy and DEI at Playground of Empathy, is called Empathable. Participants will have the opportunity to walk in the shoes of a marginalized POC and LGBTQ+ individual, gaining perspectives that are hard to learn through a typical DEI training. The Playground for Empathy team will then explain how such scalable experiences can quantifiably advance your inclusion and belonging efforts within your organizations and showcase how these efforts can improve retention and provide other measurable positive outcomes in the workplace.
The final 30 minutes will offer networking and small group breakout experiences designed by the Hella Social Impact and Playground for Empathy teams to complement their workshop content from the first hour of the event.
With floods, wildfires, and extreme weather events on the rise we know that the climate crisis is here and the time for action is now. Entrepreneurs are scaling solutions and impact investors are mobilizing capital. Many of us in the impact space wonder if we should address the climate emergency by focusing on resilience and adaptation or on preventing additional warming. Both of these critically important approaches need to be funded, but what's working? What's not working? How can we make the greatest impact in the least amount of time?
In this Shift Conversation we're going to look at some of the most impactful ways that investors are allocating capital to build resiliency and adapt to solve the challenges we face from our changing climate today while also directing capital towards the prevention of additional warming tomorrow.
Nicole Davis, a Partner and Senior Wealth Manager at Veris Wealth Partners, will lead this conversation with a variety of actors in the impact space to uncover some of the most promising approaches to stop warming, reduce CO2, and bring about a just and equitable transformation of our global economy so we can transition away from fossil fuels while building resilience in the frontline communities that are already facing the worst impacts of climate change.
Veris Wealth Partners is a wealth management firm with a 100% focus on impact investing. Addressing climate change has been one of the firm’s core investment themes since inception.
Confirmed Speakers:
This will be a unique opportunity to navigate profound questions, and enable each other to elevate our lives and our impact on the world, all while connecting with like-minded impact sector practitioners from over 100 aligned organizations.
This event will be co-hosted by Ivy and Shift.
Edward Dugger III is an early pioneer in impact investing who has over 30 years of deep business development and venture capital experience. As the founding partner and President of Reinventure Capital, Ed uses his expertise to solve the challenges caused by persistent racial, social and economic inequities in the United States. His firm's approach is to target the vast, untapped reservoir of innovative, entrepreneurial talent, comprised of those of color and women consistently overlooked by the mainstream investment community.
For his Shift Conversations sessions, Ed will lead a fireside chat with software engineer and entrepreneur Dexter Turner, the Co-Founder and CEO of OpConnect - a payment processing and energy management platform for Electric Vehicle charging. Turner's company's vision is to make the Electric Vehicle driving experience better by providing a mobile app that reserves a charging station, takes payment, and predicts charging time.
The U.S. and global economy does not work for everyone. It was never meant to. We know the failings: climate change, racial injustice, gender inequities, extremes of poverty and food insecurity, and more. The innovation and scalability at the heart of capitalism should serve as a wellspring of solutions to these challenges. Some companies, like B Corps, use their business as a force for good can and are actively reducing inequality, lowering levels of poverty, building a healthier environment, strengthening communities, and creating high quality jobs with dignity and purpose. But B Corps are still the exception.
There are billions of impact investment dollars - and millions of Black, Indigenous, People Of Color and women-led ventures and entrepreneurs with highly fundABLE business ideas - and yet very little of the available investment capital makes it to them. Why? What can we do to close the gap?
This session features social impact leaders:
To reflect on the present state of the social impact movement and global efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and to chart the future of impact, Laurie Lane-Zucker of Impact Entrepreneur led a Shift Conversation with four of the most significant actors in the impact space:
Shift events are brought to you by JB Media Group