Elevating Impact Summit – Portland State University
ELGL is excited to be a community partner for the Elevating Impact Summit on February 5, 2016 in Portland, OR. The event is brought to you by Portland State University’s Impact Entrepreneurs.
What is the Summit? The full day program includes a social innovation pitch fest; candid keynotes with renowned social entrepreneurs; diverse perspectives on funding for social impact; how an intrapreneurial company is partnering with employers to lower national recidivism; a look at the power of zip codes vs. genetic codes in lifelong health, and an exploration of the often untold risks, failures, and first steps to creating social change.
Speakers include:
- John Tucker, CEO, Dave’s Killer Bread
- Charles McGee, President and CEO, Black Parent Initiative
- Gun Denhart, Founder, Hanna Andersson
- Ami Dar, Founder and Director, Idealist.org
Ready to attend? Purchase Early Bird and Student Tickets Here.
For more information about the event, we went beyond the headlines with Abby Chroman (LinkedIn and Twitter), Project Manager, Impact Entrepreneurs.
Lightning Round
I feel…Driven, challenged and motivated by the incredible variety of social change work that happens in and around Portland.
My ideal Saturday morning is….Outside!
I want these bands to play at my retirement party…
- The Woolen Men
- The Moondoggies
- Fleetwood Mac
I love Portland but….I would prefer a world where I can collapse distances and be closer to the hubs of activity and innovation on the east coast
Describe the inside of your car.
Like a tiny house
Q&A
(Complete the sentence) The Elevating Summit 2016 is…
An inspiring daylong Portland event for changemakers across sectors to explore topics including diverse perspectives on funding for social impact; how an intrapreneurial company is partnering with employers to lower national recidivism; a look at the power of zip codes vs. genetic codes in lifelong health, and an exploration of the often untold risks, failures, and first steps to creating social change. The Elevating Impact Summit, curated and hosted by Portland State University’s Impact Entrepreneurs, invites you to join and celebrate this movement known as social entrepreneurship.
Give us tidbits on the event that we won’t find on the website.
- You won’t just hear about successes and great ideas — you’ll hear about failures too.
- Bob’s Red Mill is donating all the oatmeal.
- There might be a heated geodesic dome in front of Lincoln Hall
How do I know whether the event is for me?
You want to create positive social impact in your life and career and you’re willing to collaborate across sectors to do it.
Social entrepreneurship doesn’t just mean business with a social purpose — it means starting with a social problem you care about deeply, and that you’re connected to intimately, and then borrowing tools from the business world to solve that problem.
Three examples of social entrepreneurship in Portland.
My Street Grocery from Dark Rye on Vimeo.
- My Street Grocery is a mobile grocery store, started by a graduate from PSU’s Business School, that is focused on improving access to fresh, healthy food to food deserts and low income neighborhoods.
- Safi Water Works is a Portland based organization that develops human-powered products that use the proven technology of UV light to safely, quickly and affordably disinfect drinking water. Safi pairs clean water technology with a business model that offers local entrepreneurs the opportunity to earn a living wage by operating a water business franchise in her/his community.
- Sustainable Harvest is a specialty-grade green coffee importer who pioneered the Relationship Coffee model, ensuring quality, transparency, and sustainability for our supply chain.
Talk about what local government can do to encourage social entrepreneurship.
Government leaders and social entrepreneurs are committed to solving complex social problems. They are seeking effective, sustainable models for social change, and both have essential skills and resources to put toward those shared goals. To encourage social entrepreneurship, government officials can seek out early stage social ventures that are creating measurable impact and draw from those ideas for policy change, contribute to the ideas with public funding, or partner with those ideas to help them grow. At the same time, social entrepreneurs can be supporting public policy by sharing their findings with local officials, inviting government employees to participate in their work, and considering public policy as a potential channel to grow the impact of their new ideas.
(Complete the sentence) The Elevating Summit 2016 will be a success if…
Attendees discover at least one creative way to solve a social problem, make at least one valuable connection, and feel inspired to consider ways that throughout their work and life, they contribute to positive social change.
Supplemental Reading
