Social Innovation Summit

📣 The agenda for #SIS24 on June 4-5th in Chicago is officially LIVE! Here's a sneak peek of our latest speaker lineup. Check out the full list of speakers and the agenda: https://lnkd.in/gKibpkRb Register to join us for two days filled with insightful discussions and networking opportunities with speakers spanning the corporate, philanthropic, investment, policy, cultural, civil society and innovation landscape: ◾ Dr. Chelsea Clinton - Vice Chair, The Clinton Foundation ◾ Danny Wirtz - Chairman & CEO, Chicago Blackhawks ◾ Tiffanie Boyd - Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer, McDonald’s USA ◾ Valerie Jarrett - Chief Executive Officer, Obama Foundation ◾ Alexis McGill Johnson - President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America ◾ Nikole Hannah-Jones - Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist; Domestic Correspondent, The New York Times Magazine ◾ Al Roker - Host & Weatherman, NBC’s Today Show & CEO, Al Roker Entertainment ◾ Ing. Katya Echazarreta - Citizen Astronaut, Electrical Engineer; Board Member, Space for Humanity ◾ Julie Gehrki - Vice President, Philanthropy, Walmart ◾ Eric Ripert - Chef, Author & Television Personality ◾ Ali Velshi - Chief Correspondent & Host, ‘Velshi’, MSNBC ◾ Gretchen Carlson - Former CBS & Fox News Journalist, Co-Founder, Lift Our Voices ◾ Lara Littlefield - Executive Director of Partnerships & Programs, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation ◾ Anne Wintroub - Head of the Centre for Social Impact, lululemon ◾ Reba Dominski - Senior EVP, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, U.S Bank; President, U.S. Bank Foundation ◾ Claire Babineaux-Fontenot - Chief Executive Officer, Feeding America

Another day of Hispanic Heritage Month and another spotlight! I am excited to highlight Mel O., a visionary leader and changemaker who has dedicated his career to driving social impact through innovation and strategic leadership. As the Chief Operating Officer at Landmark Ventures, Mel spearheads transformative initiatives that blend venture development with global investment banking services. He recently launched SIS Omni, an extension of the Social Innovation Summit, to foster real change in areas like CSR, ESG, and DEI, profoundly impacting communities and industries. With a diverse career spanning from Senior Director of Marketing & Communications at Achievement First to leading marketing efforts at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Mel has continually combined strategy, innovation, and heart. As a co-founder of BridgePath, he helped shape the future of enterprise software for the staffing industry, demonstrating his ability to lead across sectors. Mel's commitment to civic engagement is equally impressive. His contributions to nonprofit organizations like The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York, WorldQuant University, and Teach For Haiti reflect his dedication to education, social justice, and equity. Mel is a proud University of California, Berkeley alum with an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. His journey is one of leadership, community, and purpose. To hear more about his work, consider attending the event below (remember to register)! #HispanicHeritageMonth

It was lovely to reconnect with social and environmental impact colleagues from around the country at last night’s reception during the crazy week that is #UNGA and #NewYorkClimateWeek. Thank you to Zak Miller and the Landmark Ventures Social Innovation Summit team for bringing us together! Aylin Oncel, Isabelle Jette, Lindsay Plaskett Fleuriet, Debra Michaels, and J. Keith Brown — it was great to see you!

Bravo, Social Innovation Summit for yet again another inspiring morning during SIS@UNGA driving forward the change we wish to see in the world! Here are a few key takeaways from the conversation with , CARE, and APCO: 🤝 Collaboration is Key - breaking down silos - partnering across sectors - harnessing local knowledge through data collection and findings sharing 💡Innovation is a Conscious Effort - innovative approaches can reshape but need to be practical and effective to quickly implement, especially during emergency response and crisis incidents. 🌱 Empowering Grassroot Support Systems - Ensuring communities are uplifted, reaching far to the most vulnerable individuals, fostering resilience and aiming for long-term success. ❤️ Never Losing the Human Touch Amidst all the discussions on technology and innovation, maintaining empathy and compassion was a powerful reminder that people are at the heart of what we do. #SocialInnovation #PartnershipsForChange #UNGA #CSR #NGO #Impact CARE Mel O. Zeev Klein (He/Him)

Tonight I was absolutely privileged to be a host of PwC’s dinner with Social Innovation Summit at NYC Climate Week alongside my amazing leaders: J.C. Lapierre, Colm Kelly & Cora Lee Mooney. During the dinner what struck me most were all of our personal stories of what inspires as leaders across diverse industries in sustainability. For me, it’s the people and the connections we make during this unique week and moment in time, driving the work forward…both in truly impactful ways and through fun “selfie” moments.

Honored to host the Leaders and Luminaries dinner with Social Innovation Summit @ UNGA earlier this week and to share a bit about EVERFI from Blackbaud's founding mission and impact. Grateful for the opportunity to learn from and partner with such passionate practitioners committed to making a difference for the health, wealth and well-being of kids and communities nationwide. This dinner filled my cup!

Social Innovation Summit 2025 is heading to the West Coast! We're excited to announce that our next Flagship Summit will be held in San Francisco on June 3-4th and registration is officially live. Take advantage of Early Bird pricing and join an incredible group of Corporate Executives, Investors, Social Impact Leaders, Philanthropists, Celebrities, and Entrepreneurs for two exciting days packed with mainstage conversations, networking opportunities, breakout sessions, and more. See you there? www.socialinnovation.com

Head’s up — I’m headed to NYC for United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) week! Will you be there too? Together with our terrific partners at Cruise and the team at Social Innovation Summit, Jobs for the Future (JFF) is hosting an event where we'll take on a pressing issue facing frontline workers: transportation. Quality jobs fall apart when people lack reliable and safe transportation to get to and from work. And we won’t achieve inclusive economic growth if employers don't take on this critical barrier. At our small, closed-door breakfast session on Tuesday, Sept 24, we’ll strategize partnerships and approaches that can help address this problem. Want to be part of the conversation? DM me and we’ll save you a seat. https://lnkd.in/eZuKwG-H | Amanda Lenaghan | Caroline Barlerin | Platypus Advisors | Carol Azeez | #impactemployer Separately, be in touch if you'll be in NYC Sept 23-25. I'm excited to catch up with friends and partners on the ground!

I loved this conversation about accessing alternative forms of capital for startups with Natalie Diamond, Amber Dawkins, and 130 of you last week. If you're a founder and you missed it live, I highly recommend watching for insights on funding resources, programming, and surprising pathways to accessing capital for early stage startups. Here are some highlights: "Education continues to be key to make sure we meet entrepreneurs where they are - how can we support them in a way that offers value because time is a huge limitation. " - Natalie Amber shared a story about a small business owner whose business was thriving but her personal credit score wasn't so strong from past challenges. When she was denied a loan due to her personal credit score, the team at Mastercard was able to support her with building up her credit score and making the case for her business which is now thriving. "Another opportunity is with AI - almost 90% of small businesses in a recent survey with Hello Alice expressed an understanding of the opportunities of AI but much fewer are actively using it." - Natalie "We're trying to help leverage open banking data to help qualify smaller businesses for financing options." - Amber "It's not always about accessing new capital, but also optimizing for businesses seeing steady revenue." - Natalie Here are some of the resources we discussed: - ARC Fund: sisomni.com/arcfund - Mastercard Digital Doors: https://lnkd.in/epkF8YQw - Hello Alice's Business Health Score Assessment: https://lnkd.in/eTsSxmmg - Mastercard's Start Path program for Fintech startups: https://lnkd.in/esYchqgc Watch for updates from Mastercard on their AI chatbot for small business owners coming soon. What questions do you have about entrepreneurship and funding? Share in the comments. We'll be back in October with our next #LinkedinLive so be sure to follow me, Mel O. and tap the bell to see when I post. Watch the full conversation below: https://lnkd.in/en6VnRYJ #Impactfounders #StartupFunding #AdviceForStartups #SocialImpact #SISOmni #ARCFund #Crowdfunding #StartupTips

Next Week is the Inaugural LA Climate Week 🌎 We're thrilled to highlight two impactful events happening on Friday, September 13th at ChargerHelp! led by our friends at SidePorch: Beyond Greenwashing: Effective Brand Communication Strategies 🕘 Time: 9-11 AM 📍 Location: ChargerHelp! HQ, 3641 10th Ave, Los Angeles, CA 📄 Join a fireside chat featuring Lauryn N. Nwankpa, Allison Agsten, and Northwind Climate to discover how climate factors influence consumer behavior and learn effective communication strategies based on data-driven insights. 👉 RSVP Here: https://lu.ma/2r6nw5nh Speaker Series: Industrial Decarbonization 🕛 Time: 12-5 PM 📍 Location: ChargerHelp! HQ, 3641 10th Ave, Los Angeles, CA 📄 Engage in a series of panels discussing the challenges and opportunities in reducing industrial carbon emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors. Network with leaders from the LA ecosystem and participate in meaningful discussions. 👉 RSVP Here: https://lu.ma/pri7evdr