Monday, May 21, 2012
Progressive Opportunities Conference:
Selected Session Videos
Mon, May 21, 2012 at 3:31 PM
Selected videos from the Progressive Opportunities sessions are listed alphabetically by session title below. Regretfully, we were only able to catch half of the sessions on camera. Also please accept our apologies for the inconsistency of some of our gracious volunteers' filming.
ALL of the sessions were professionally audio-recorded and archived here for your learning and listening pleasure. They are now available for FREE brought to you by Hungry Mind Recording in partnership with the East Bay Express: Progressive Opportunities Conference 2012: Audio
B Corporation: a better way to do business
B Corporations are a new kind of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. They meet transparent and
comprehensive standards of social and environmental performance. They also legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of
stakeholder interests. Being the hub of innovation and social enterprise, California now joined six other states to sign Benefit Corporation into law. This
panel will discuss the why and how to for companies to join this movement and amplify the voice for sustainable business.
Speakers -
Andy Fyfe, Community Development, B Lab - B Corporation; Michael Hannigan, President, Give Something Back Office Supplies; Matthew Bauer, President,
BetterWorld Telecom; Timothy Yee, President, Green Retirement Plans; Jonathan S. Storper, Partner, Hanson Bridgett, LLP
Speakers presented by - Faculty Member at the Presidio Graduate School
Crowdfunding for Local (Food) Economies (Part I)
Are you a social entrepreneur looking to raise money from friends, family, and community members? Are you a community member wondering how to support great
local farmers, artisans, and businesses supporting your local economy? How can you leverage both accredited and non-accredited investors? Learn about
innovative fundraising tools, public policy challenges and solutions, new financing vehicles, and local investment clubs.
Crowdfunding for Local (Food) Economies (Part II)
Discuss more real world examples and how to bring these tools and ideas to your community. This is a great chance to ask questions and discuss solutions
with our expert panel!
Speakers -
Mary Rick, VP, Marketing and Community, The Hoop Fund; Elizabeth Ü, Founder & Executive Director, Finance for Food; Jenny Kassan, Cutting Edge
Capital; Arno Hesse, Slow Money Northern CA
Speakers presented by
- Ariane Michas, Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Economic development for our communities - the potential of decentralized energy systems
Localized energy systems can address both the climate crisis and economic crisis of our cities, rolling back greenhouse gas emissions and providing clean
energy jobs. This presentation explores the economic and social benefits decentralized energy system can provide to our communities, and the kind of
policies and program needed to develop such a system.
Speaker -
Al Weinrub, Coordinator, Local Clean Energy Alliance
Speaker presented by - Carroll Moore, Organizer, East Bay Green Drinks
Laughter Against the Machine: Q&A
Comedians W. Kamau Bell, Nato Green and Janine Brito, are Laughter Against the Machine; a unique kind of comedy troupe where the audience expects to be
challenged, to laugh, and think at the same time. It's an issue-oriented, no-holds-bar show with no preconceived expectations, no party lines, and
certainly no cheerleading - because they have beef with everybody, including themselves. This past fall, LATM set out to tour the nation's most volatile
political hotspots, to find out what role comics can play in the revolution. After an successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, they shot a
documentary of their tour to the most politically polarized places in the USA. In addition to visiting Occupy Wall Street actions in seven cities across
the country.
Speakers - W. Kamau Bell, Nato Green, Evan Donn, Mike Paunovich
Speakers presented by -
Rachel Swan, Music Editor, East Bay Express
New community-building tech innovation presentation by LocalOn
Small business owners can learn about a new technology that promotes their business through a unique collaboration between East Bay Express, local
business associations, business districts, and all their social networking channels. This tool is super easy to use and saves merchants money and time in
promoting their businesses while vastly expanding their marketing reach.
Speakers -
Shahbano Imran and David Tolioupov, Founders, LocalOn; Shari Godinez, Executive Director, Koreatown Northgate Community Benefits District
Speakers presented by -
Terry Furry, Sales & Marketing Director, East Bay Express
Slow Money - investing as if food, farms, and fertility matter
Slow Money. ACRES USA calls it a "movement." NPR calls it a "revolution." One thing is for sure: what began with a book and a set of ideas three years ago
has blossomed into a network of investors, philanthropists, farmers, entrepreneurs, and everyday folks who are concerned about where their food comes from
and where their money goes. Today, over $12 million has been invested directly in small food enterprises through the Slow Money network, both nationally
and through over a dozen local chapters, one of which is in Northern California. We are still at the beginning and at the same time we are well on the way
to our goal of 1 million people investing 1% of their money in local food systems, this decade. Come learn how, in Wendell Berry's words, these "millions
of small acts" can begin to rebuild our economy… from the ground up.
Speaker - Woody Tasch, Founder and Chairman, Slow Money
Speaker presented by - Temra Costa, Sustainable Food Advocate and Author of Farmer Jane
