Alex Simon is Executive Director of Compass Partners, a social enterprise supporting students in their social entrepreneurship, connecting thems with opportunities to engage in microfinance and social innovation around the world. He has worked with a variety of organizations including the Young Presidents’ Organization, Ashoka, MFI Connect and Minga. He is a Startingbloc Fellow, a travel-addict, and former caterer extraordinaire. Alex graduated from George Washington University, where he was a Compass Mentor, with a degree in International Affairs.
Greg Wendt, CFP is founder of two non-profit organizations, Green Business Networking; a non-profit business community of over 4,500 business owners and professionals committed to greening the economy for Greater Los Angeles, and Green Economy Think Tank convening sustainability leaders in cities around the country to evolve actions and solutions for the green economy. The Living Economy Salon, fosters a dialogue and connects people around new innovations in economic models that promise a more fair and abundant economy for all living things.
Jeff Raderstrong is a community engagement consultant. He is the Founder and Editor of UnSectored, an online platform for people interested in developing collaborative efforts to create social change. He has garnered national recognition for UnSectored, as well as grown the site from a group blog into an organization that uses online engagement to facilitate offline action. Jeff co-founded the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell (SEG) in college, which became a microfinance institution. Jeff assisted in a campaign to have SEG recognized as one of five White House Champions of Change.
Jason Hardebeck is a self-described dot connector and maker of things! He is Chief Instigator of gb.tc (formerly Greater Baltimore Technology Council). Armed with a cache of data sets made available by the federal, state and Baltimore city governments, GBTC and its volunteer force of tech hackers, data analysts and community activists gathered looking for answers to some of Baltimore’s seemingly intractable issues: vacant housing, substance abuse and a lack of educational opportunities.
Author of 34 books, Marc J. Lane is a nationally recognized business and tax attorney, founder of Marc J. Lane Wealth Group. Marc is an innovator in helping social enterprises, social entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, and philanthropists leverage capital to maximize financial results while driving positive social change. He teaches Social Enterprise at Northwestern University School of Law. Marc was recently appointed Chairman of Illinois’ Task Force on Social Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise by Governor Pat Quinn.
Antonio Aguilera is president of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of Social Enterprise Alliance, leaders across sectors advancing social enterprise to benefit communities; and part of the largest network of social enterprises in North America. Antonio is hosting usConverging sessions to generate joint business solutions to shared community challenges on the spot. He is founder of Crowd4all, a training game to access paid work online; and former Chief Social Enterprise Officer at CVE, Inc., where he directed 3 businesses that help people with mental health disabilities get jobs.
Susan Rae Ross is currently doing development work in Sri Lanka. If technology permits, she will join this conversation as a subject matter expert. She is a highly regarded business woman, international health and development expert, author and speaker. As founder and CEO of SR International, she provides corporations, nonprofits and government agencies with strategies and tools to actively manage their stakeholder engagement processes and facilitates successful partnerships across traditional sectors.