Coming Together: Innovations for Economic and Social Change
PLENARY SESSIONS
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Kevin Lynch
President and Chief Executive Officer of Social Enterprise Alliance Author of Mission, Inc
"Building an Economy on Purpose"
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T Marni Voss
Award winning humorist and President of Laughter's Echo Inc.
"Curiosity, Creativity & Innovation = Thriving Community"
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Dell Gines
Senior Community Development Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank, Kansas City
Grow Your Own: Why Entrepreneurship Based Economic Development Is Critically Important for Your Community
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Break Out Sessions
Blue Star Recyclers Presenter Bill Morris, CEO
Blue Star Recyclers is an award-winning 501c3 social enterprise based in Colorado Springs, CO. Founded in 2009, the core mission is recycling electronics and other materials to create local jobs for people with autism and other disAbilities.
Bill Morris is an energetic speaker who shares a wealth of knowledge in many aspects of social enterprise from community messaging to achieving an incredible bottom line. Among his many honors Bill was named Recycler of the Year from the Colorado Association for Recycling, Employer of the Year from the Arc of the Pikes Peak Region, and Small Business Person of the Year from the Colorado Springs Better Business Bureau. He was invited to the White House as a "Champions of Change" finalist and was a Colorado Biz Magazine "CEO of the Year" Award finalist. Most recently he was selected as a Beanstalk Foundation Leader.
The Lift Garage Presenter Cathy Heying CEO, the Lift Garage
Explore the issues of transportation and learn about the remarkable The Lift Garage in St. Paul MN which provides low income people with afforable transportation. The Lift Garage offers people a vehicle out of poverty py providing low-cost quality car repair, offering skilled jobtraining in the field of auto mechanics, connecting with community partners to strengthen the support network: and linking customers to needed resources.
Cathy Heying worked at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church from 1999 to 2008. During her work on the Pastoral Staff at St. Stephen’s, she found over and over again that transportation was a major stumbling block to getting and keeping employment. Always fond of 2 and 4-wheeled vehicles, Cathy wondered how she might make a difference with this specific stumbling block to ending homelessness. She returned to school, at the Dunwoody Institute, as one of a few women amidst the 18-year-old young men, and she earned her auto technology degree.
One Town. Two Stoplights. Unlimited Possibilities
Presenter: Brent Comstock Innovator, BCom Solutions
Take action and bring innovation to rural communities in this exciting workshop. We'll ask the tough questions, develop the creative solutions and learn from an entrepreneur who started his first company at age 12.
Brent Comstock grew up in rural Southeastern Nebraska in a town with two stoplights. Compelled to make a difference in the way people perceive rural communities, Brent established a technology company at age 12. BCom Solutions now manages digital branding and technology solutions for over 500 clients around the world with marketing strategies reaching over 1 million people per year.
Brent’s passion for helping young entrepreneurs lead him to be the first Student Entrepreneur in Residence at an incubator in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he attends the University as a Robertson Scholar. He has been blessed with the opportunity to deliver keynote speeches around the country – from Oklahoma to New York City. He recently participated in the Lincoln TEDx event where he debuted his newest venture: a rural start-up program for young adults that is unlike any other.
Circle C Market: It’s Not Just a Store Its Our Future
Presenter: Stacey Adamson and Youth from Cody Kilgore Schools
Discover how partnership of schools, community members and funders to meet a rural need for a grocery store while providing entrepreneurial education and experience for students. From design, through constructions, marketing and website design this Nebraska project has a rich story to share about meeting community needs and developing skills.
Stacey Adamson, a teacher at Cody Kilgore schools, and some of the students will share the journey.
Into the Future …. Facilitated Dialogue
For those who need to get a word in…. this dialogue session will encourage and capture the ideas and innovations sparked by the conference – or life in general. Bust barriers, share needs and ideas for how rural communities can encourage entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity.
