Today at 5 p.m. Amy Pearl digs in with Adam Klugman, host of Mad as Hell, a relatively new show on Saturdays, from 3 – 6p.m. 620 AM KPOJ radio. Adam Klugman (Yes, he is Jack’s son) has launched Mad as Hell show around moving people to get off their couches and into action. A new friend and ally in the NW, we’re thrilled he showed up at ReVV2011 and got excited about what he heard. Tune in!
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If you’ve been keeping up with Springboard Innovation activities, you are aware the annual ReVV conference is almost upon us. This will be my first year at the conference, but reading comments and feedback from the previous year(s) gives me great confidence it will address issues, inspire and evoke response from those that attend and go back to their funds, non-profits and enterprises to make an energized difference in communities, environments and the world. I recently read a great book, “The Blue Sweater”, by Jacqueline Novagratz, founder of the Acumen Fund. In this story she does a great job – using herself as an example – of guiding the reader to an understanding of not only lending aid but exacting and measuring accountability to communities that have a desire to lift themselves from poverty to subsistence. While her example takes place in Rwanda and India, and the issues discussed at ReVV2011 seem to be focused on local communities, the parallels are significant. How can we empower citizens by giving them tools to make ecological changes in their community, make a socio-economic differences in their neighborhood, lift themselves to self-sufficiency? These questions are in the forefront of what will be presented at the ReVV2011. The speakers for this year’s event are, happily, diverse. Here are some I’m particularly looking forward to meeting: Woody Tasch | Founder of SlowMoney.org A venture capitalist, foundation treasurer, and entrepreneur, whose explorations shed new light on a truer, more beautiful, more prudent kind of fiduciary responsibility . . . which reflects the economic, social, and environmental realities of the twenty-first century.
Henry Petroski | Author, Professor of Civil Engineering, Duke University He will talk about his book, ”The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems“, the strategy of failure, and the promise of the engineer in all of us.
Tim Draimin | Executive Director, Social Innovation Generator; Chair, Causeway Social Finance Tim will share strategies for city and government leaders about how policy and networks can accelerate local innovation for good.
Michael Van Patten | Founder & CEO, Mission Markets and Mission Markets Earth, LLC Heather Fleming | Co-Founder and CEO, Catapult Design You can see more speakers when you register for the fast-approaching conference at http://www.revisioningvalue.org/event_registration
The Lemelson Foundation has joined a host of others who see the connections between their work and the ReVisioning Value conference in Portland, OR, March 7&8. The agenda of cross-sector collaboration and inventive thinking towards problem solving is perfectly aligned with their mission, and offers a chance to support an international event happening right in their backyard. Lemelson Foundation ”improves lives through invention,” an apt statement for ReVV2011. With Henry Petroski joining us to talk about the role of the engineer in problem solving, the connection is elegant. “While science studies what is,” he says, “engineers create what doesn’t yet exist.” We welcome the Lemelson Foundation as a partner in thinking about “what doesn’t exist yet” as we seek new solutions and strategies to our growing concerns, bringing talent, finance, and experience to the challenge. We need designers, tinkerers, engineers, and inventors to gather together with us to invent a future we can all live with. Learn more about the conference program. It’s all about a gathering together. Can there be anything better than learning of the allies and colleagues suddenly on your side? Or, am I on their side? Or, perhaps, we are all on the same side now, confounded (or inspired) by a common enemy. Global crisis and backyard sadness. And there they are, the people you didn’t expect to meet who are helping you move that mountain with their own kind of shovels and buckets. Engineering for Change is a project of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Just what does it mean that a standards organization is trying to solve global problems? It means we have a new ally. E4C just came out of beta, and is being lauded for its vision and efficiency-building objectives. It cuts across discplines, engineering and otherwise, to connect needs with solutions. We will get to hear about it, and learn how to use it, at this year’s ReVisioning Value conference. I am delighted we will have Tom Loughlin, the visionary behind the online space e4c. He is joined by another astounding problem solver and visionary, Henry Petroski, noted author and engineer’s engineer. His latest book is a must read: “The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems.” And, we are also graced with others in the design and problem-solving community! Heather Fleming of Catapult Design will join us, leading a session on problem solving and design thinking. It is a unique opportunity to be inspired by and meet up with new allies in the global project of problem solving. Learn cutting edge thinking and strategies. Buy your ticket now. Use the secret code: friendsandfamily for a 30% discount! SHHHHH. This is for you only. Portland, Ore has two opportunities to hear from visionaries who are making change on the ground. The first is Wednesday, February 9th, when the Mayor of Port Townsend WA will describe the Local Investing Opportunities Network (LION). It’s a chance for Portlanders to learn how to improve economic opportunities through investing. The second is ReVisioning Value March 7&8. We just received word that Ted Howard, who Utne Reader included on the “25 visionaries who are changing your world” list, will join us for ReVV2011 to talk about the Evergreen Cooperatives, an astounding community job creation project in Cleveland, Ohio. The session at ReVV2011 will highlight how for-profit, job-creating, community development coops are changing the landscape in economic and community development. A rare opportunity to dig into how to replicate Evergreen Cooperatives in your city.
The first Evergreen Cooperative businesses – Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, Ohio Cooperative Solar, and Green City Growers Cooperative – launched in 2009–2010. Watch the video.  Ted Howard Ted is the founder and executive director of The Democracy Collaborative, recognized as a national leader in the fast growing field of community wealth building strategies and policy development. Its “Anchor Institutions” project focuses on the role universities, hospitals, and other place-based anchors can play in fostering inclusive economic and community development. Among the Collaborative’s most recent reports are “Building a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership” and “The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads.” (These and other reports are available as free downloads at: www.Community-Wealth.org.) In July 2010, Mr. Howard was appointed as the Steven Minter Senior Fellow for Social Justice at The Cleveland Foundation. In this position, he has been responsible for developing a comprehensive job creation and wealth building strategy which has resulted in the Evergreen Cooperative Initiative. During the past year, Evergreen has been profiled in sources ranging from the Economist and Business Week to The Nation, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and David Brancaccio’s PBS special, “Fixing the Future.” For his leadership of the Evergreen Initiative, Mr. Howard was designated a CFED Innovation Award recipient in 2010. Utne Reader has named him one of “25 visionaries who are changing your world.” |
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FROM THE WEBSITE: “The Evergreen Cooperatives of Cleveland, Ohio are pioneering innovative models of job creation, wealth building, and sustainability. Evergreen’s employee-owned, for-profit companies are based locally and hire locally. We create meaningful green jobs and keep precious financial resources within our community. Workers earn a living wage and build equity in their firms as owners of the business.