Social Enterprise Conference
Current website: http://socialenterpriseconference.org/


 

For a number of years this was the official website for the Social Enterprise Conference.
Content is from the site's 2006 -2009 archive pages as well as from other outside sources.

For the most up to date information about the Social Enterprise Conference go to their current web at: http://socialenterpriseconference.org/

 



There is a CONVERGENCE taking place across the private, public and non-profit sectors and you are at the epicenter.  Now, more than ever, achieving success in any one of these spheres requires an understanding of their mutual dependencies.  On March 5, 2006 join more than 900 students and practitioners to develop the tools necessary to lead in a world shaped by the simultaneous push and pull of corporate interests, non-profit missions and public sector objectives.

We invite you to learn from industry-leading experts including Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz, Ashoka Chair & CEO Bill Drayton, and over 50 panel participantsp at Harvard’s 7th annual Social Enterprise Conference.  Together we will explore opportunities to advance global society by effectively pulling the levers of business, government and non-profit organizations.  As in years past, the event will also include a career fair and an alumni networking event.

We hope that you will be able to join usp!


 


The Social Enterprise Club (SEC) at Harvard Business School is a forum for students who are interested in the intersection of non-profit, business and government.

The SEC works to bring social enterprise issues into the mainstream at HBS by providing interested students the opportunity to meet leaders from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. It supports students interested in pursuing careers and summer jobs in the social sector. The club also creates connections among students, alumni, faculty and administration with an interest in social enterprise.

Our activities include speaker engagements, focus groups, peer networking, the business plan contest, career development support, and building alumni relations.

Our biggest event is the annual ;Social Enterprise Conference, which will be held on March 5, 2005.

The Social Enterprise Club also works closely with the Social Enterprise Initiative in curriculum development, admissions and student affairs.


 

Jeffrey B. Swartz, President & CEO, Timberland

William Drayton, Chair & CEO, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

Jeffrey B. Swartz, President & CEO, Timberland



Jeff is the third generation of the Swartz family to lead Timberland. His grandfather Nathan started the predecessor company to Timberland in 1952. Jeff’s father Sidney and his uncle Herman launched the Timberland brand in the early 1970s. Jeff was promoted to President and CEO in 1998, after working in virtually every functional area of the company since 1986.

Under Jeff’s leadership, Timberland has grown rapidly, from $156 million in 1989 to $1.5 billion in 2004. Timberland today competes in countries around the world, designing, manufacturing and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children.

Today, Jeff leads an organization that believes that doing well and doing good are inextricably linked. Timberland struggles every working day to demonstrate that the business of business is to deliver extraordinary, sustainable results for shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, and consumers worldwide. At the center of this commitment to be accountable to all stakeholders is Timberland’s commitment to service.

In 1988, Timberland launched a groundbreaking private/public partnership with City Year, a national youth service organization. Jeff joined the City Year’s Board in 1989 and was the national Chair from 1994 until 2003. As a national founding sponsor, Timberland has invested more than $15M to fuel City Year’s growth and impact. Timberland is City Year’s official outfitter, providing Timberland’s signature yellow boots and a full uniform to the service heroes who work in 15 sites in America and in South Africa.

Inspired by the young people who invest a year of their life putting idealism to work, in 1992 Jeff initiated a Social Enterprise department, recognizing that there was passion within Timberland for voluntary service. The Path of Service enables all Timberland employees to experience their greatness, providing 40 hours of paid leave each year for community service during the workweek. Service sabbaticals, which provide up to six months of paid time leave for employees to serve in capacity building roles in social justice organizations is the latest evolution of Path of Service.

Being accountable to a whole range of stakeholders, from shareholders to community activists, has made Timberland a better company. Since Fortune magazine began publishing the index, Timberland has consistently been one of the 100 Best Companies To Work For in America and in 2004 the company was named one of the Best Places to Work by Working Mother magazine. In 2002, Timberland received the Ron Brown Award, a Presidential award recognizing outstanding corporate leadership in social responsibility.

Jeff is one of 19 founding CEOs selected for President Bush’s task force on national service called Business Strengthening America. He is on the board of directors for Share Our Strength, Honest Tea, City Year, the Harlem Children’s Zone and Limited Brands, Inc. In addition, Jeff is a member of the World Economic Forum and the Two/Ten Foundation, an organization providing charitable funds and services to individuals in the footwear industry. In 1999, he received an Honorary Degree from Lesley College and in 2002, he received the Two/Ten Foundation’s T. Kenyon Holly Memorial Award for Humanitarian Achievement. He also received an Honorary Degree from Yeshiva University for his advocacy of volunteerism and community service in May 2005.

Jeff received an MBA from Dartmouth in 1984, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown in 1982. He is also on the boards of Combined Jewish Philanthropies and is a member of the Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton, MA.

William Drayton, Chair & CEO, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

Bill Drayton is a social entrepreneur.  As a student, he was active in civil rights and founded a number of organizations, ranging from Yale Legislative Services to Harvard’s Ashoka Table, an interdisciplinary weekly forum in the social sciences. He graduated from Harvard with highest honors and went on to study at Balliol College in Oxford University, where he attained his M.A. with First Class Honors.

In 1970, he graduated from Yale Law School and began his career at McKinsey and Company in New York.  From 1977 to 1981, Mr. Drayton served in the Carter Administration as Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he launched emissions trading (the basis of Kyoto) among other reforms.

After his term at the EPA ended in 1981, he returned to McKinsey half-time and launched both Ashoka and Save EPA and its successor, Environmental Safety.  At McKinsey, he helped the firm develop tax and regulatory design work and then its use of industry strategy (an increasingly useful first step to company strategy).  With the support that he received unexpectedly when elected a MacArthur Fellow at the end of 1984, he was able to devote himself fully to Ashoka.

Mr. Drayton is currently the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Ashoka:  Innovators for the Public.  Ashoka is a global association of over 1600 leading ‘social entrepreneurs’, individuals who envision and implement pattern-setting social changes in the environment, education, human rights, and other areas of human need.  Ashoka helps launch these major social innovations and the public entrepreneurs who drive them, helps them succeed over their full life cycle, weaves them together into a field far more powerful than the sum of its parts, and contributes to the design of the field’s overall architecture.  He is also chair of Youth Venture, Community Greens, and Get America Working!

Mr. Drayton’s has won numerous awards and honors throughout his career. Most recently in 2005, he was selected one of America’s Best Leaders by US News & World Report and Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership. In the same month he was the recipient of the Yale Law School’s highest alumni honor, The Yale Law School Award of Merit- for having made a substantial contribution to Public Service. In 2004, he received the National Wildlife Federations Conservation Achievement Award International.  


 


Pitch for Change Competition

This "elevator pitch" contest is open to participants with an idea for a new social enterprise venture.  Unlike traditional business plan competitions, participants do NOT need to have a completed business plan.  They simply need to have a great idea that will have a significant social impact!   

The contest will take place in two back-to-back rounds during the Social Enterprise Conference: 

·         30 Seconds to Social Impact
In Round 1, 15-20 selected participants will have 30 seconds to present their ideas.  A panel of judges will select 5-7 participants to move forward to Round 2. 

·         Pitch for Change
In Round 2, participants will have two minutes and up to two slides to elaborate on their ideas. 

The panel of judges will then select the 2 winning ideas. Participants will not only get the opportunity to win cash prizes, but also a fantastic opportunity to receive feedback from both the judges and the audience.

Who can enter?

The contest is open to individuals and teams.  At least one member from each team must be a current graduate student and be registered for the HBS Social Enterprise Conference.

How can I enter?

·         Submit a 200 word abstract of the business plan or idea (via the link below) by 10pm EST on February 20, 2006.  Only one member of the team should complete the poll, preferably the team member who has already signed up for the Conference.

·         At least one member of the team must sign up for the Social Enterprise Conference by February 20th.

How are the participants for Round 1 selected?

A panel will review all applications and select 15 – 20 teams to participate in Round I, based on the criteria outlined below.  All participants will be notified on February 23rd.

What are the judges looking for?

Winners will be selected based on the following key criteria:  innovativeness of the idea, magnitude of impact, viability of the idea, and overall persuasiveness of the presentation.  Ideas can be non-profit or for-profit.

Once I’m selected for Round I, what do I need to do?

·         Participants should submit 2 slides that they will use if they are selected for Round 2 by 10pm EST on February 28th.

Participants should practice their 30 second and 2 minute pitches, the time goes quickly!

·         To prepare, participants are invited to a workshop on March 2 from 5:00 – 6:30pm on “Presenting a Social Enterprise Business Plan,” in which they will learn tips on presenting their ideas and have a chance to craft their 30 second pitch. The workshop will be led by Professor Stacey Childress of Harvard Business School in Aldrich 209.

Enter the contest!

We encourage everyone to sign up as soon as possible.  If you don’t have your idea or team fully formed yet, you can still sign up to express interest and get on the e-mail list to receive any future information.http://poll.hbs.edu/poll/open/pollTakerOpen.jsp?poll=112145 .

Key dates:

February 20th 
Deadline for submission of the 200 word abstract on the business plan or idea (via the poll).  At least one member of the team must be signed up for the conference by this date.

February 23rd
Teams are notified if they have been selected to participate in Round One.

February 28th
Round One teams submit 2 slides to present if they are selected for Round Two during the contest.

March 5th
Pitch for Change Contest and Social Enterprise Conference!

 





Social Enterprise brings together the nonprofit, private, and public sectors - and puts best practices from across industries and around the globe to work toward the common good.

 

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE

(March 4, 2007)
This year, Harvard’s eighth annual Social Enterprise Conference will be held on Sunday March 4, 2007.

Last year’s conference featured two keynote speakers, including Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz and Bill Drayton of Ashoka, and 20 panels focused on a variety of topics in social enterprise. The keynotes and panels were organized around a theme of convergence, reflecting the increased tendency of government, nonprofit and for-profit enterprises to focus on social problems irrespective of functional silos. The conference highlighted some of the ways organizations collaborate across sectors and/or share best practices to create social value. As in years past, the day also included a career fair, an alumni networking event and a forum to share innovative ideas for social enterprise.

Social Enterprise brings together the nonprofit, private, and public sectors - and puts best practices from across industries and around the globe to work toward the common good.

The 2007 Social Enterprise Conference is a forum for sharing ideas to create a better world. We are in an exciting time for social enterprise - each week brings news of multi-billion dollar philanthropic initiatives to solve global problems and new corporate strategies fostering sustainability and social responsibility. Social enterprise offers not only economic resources, but also the strategic and management expertise to ensure that change is long-lasting and large-scale.

As students and practitioners - and as present and future leaders - it is up to us to turn these ideas into reality. Are you ready to engage your values, your work, your world?


Featured Speakers

The 2007 Social Enterprise Conference will include 27 founders/CEOs/presidents/executive directors, 8 VPs/COOs, 10 directors/managers, and 2 journalists.

.

Daniel Doctoroff

 

KEYNOTE
Daniel Doctoroff
Deputy Mayor, City of New York

Daniel L. Doctoroff is the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. Prior to his appointment, Doctoroff was the managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Management and the founder and president of NYC2012, the not-for-profit corporation created to bring the Olympics to New York City in 2012. Early in his career, he was an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and a pollster. Doctoroff is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Chicago Law School. He is a member of several not-for-profit boards, including NYC and Company, the New York City Partnership and the YMCA of Greater New York. He and his wife Alisa have three children, Jacob, Ariel, and Jenna.

Cheryl Dorsey

KEYNOTE
Cheryl Dorsey 
President, Echoing Green

An accomplished social entrepreneur with expertise in health care, labor issues and public policy, Cheryl Dorsey was named President of Echoing Green in May 2002. She is the first Echoing Green Fellow to lead the social venture fund, which has awarded nearly $25 million in start-up capital to over 400 social entrepreneurs worldwide since 1987.

Dr. Dorsey served as a White House Fellow from 1997-1998, serving as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, advising the Clinton Administration on health care and other issues. She was later named Special Assistant to the Director of the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Labor Department. Most recently,Dr. Dorsey served as the first Director of Public Health Initiatives at Danya International, Inc., where she developed products and services aimed at substance abuse treatment and prevention, child and family services, minority health and community outreach.

Dr. Dorsey has received numerous awards and honors for her commitment to public service, including the Pfizer Roerig History of Medicine Award, the Robert Kennedy Distinguished Public Service Award and the Manuel C. Carballo Memorial Prize.  She currently serves as a board member of CORO, a leadership development organization.

Dr. Dorsey holds a B.A. in History and Science from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, an M.D. from the Harvard Medical School and an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Victoria Hale

KEYNOTE
Victoria Hale
Founder and CEO, Institute for One World Health

Dr. Hale established her expertise in all stages of biopharmaceutical drug development at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; and at Genentech, Inc., the world's first biotechnology company. She presently maintains an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Biopharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is an Advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) for building ethical review capacity in the developing world, and has served as an expert reviewer to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the topic of biodiversity. In 2004, Dr. Hale and OneWorld Health were included in the Scientific American 50, the magazine's annual list recognizing outstanding acts of leadership in science and technology. Dr. Hale's recent honors include being named Executive of the Year by Esquire Magazine (2005), receiving The Economist Innovation Award for Social and Economic Innovation (2005), as well as the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Skoll Foundation (2005), being selected as a Fellow by Ashoka, Innovators for the Public - a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs (2006), and being named one of the "Most Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs" by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in Switzerland (2004).

Sara Horowitz

ALUMNI LUNCHEON FEATURED SPEAKER 
Sara Horowitz 

Founder, Working Today and Freelancers Union

Sara Horowitz founded Working Today in 1995 to represent the needs and concerns of the growing independent workforce. Working Today seeks to update the nation’s social safety net, developing systems so that all working people can access affordable benefits, regardless of their job arrangement. As executive director, Sara takes an entrepreneurial approach, pursuing creative, market-based solutions to pressing social problems.

In recognition of her efforts to create a self-sustaining organization of flexible workers, Sara was awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1999. In 1996, the Stern Family Fund named her a Public Interest Pioneer, and she was also an echoing green fellow for four years. Recently she was named as one of Esquire Magazine’s Fifty Best & Brightest.

Before founding Working Today, Sara was a labor attorney in private practice and a union organizer with 1199, the National Health and Human Service Employees Union. Prior to joining 1199, Sara was a public defender in New York City.

A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY, Sara comes from a long line of labor advocates, including her father, who was a labor lawyer, and her grandfather, who was vice president of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union. This family history of involvement in the labor movement led Sara to Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, where she was awarded its labor prize. She later earned a law degree cum laude from the SUNY Buffalo Law School and a master's degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Jay Coen Gilbert

PITCH FOR CHANGE CHAIR 
Jay Coen Gilbert
Acting Co-Chair, Investors Circle
Co-Founder, AND1, B-Lab/B Holdings

Despite having no game, Jay Coen Gilbert co-founded and sold AND 1, a $250M basketball footwear and apparel company based outside Philadelphia. Jay is Acting Chairman of Investor’s Circle, a national network dedicated to “Patient Capital for a Sustainable Future.”   Since 1992, Investors’ Circle members have invested over $107 million in 171 deals, in such areas as environment, healthcare, education, women-led companies and community development.

Jay is currently co-creating two related organizations: B Lab and B Holdings.  B Lab is a non-profit organization whose mission is to build the For-Benefit sector.  The For-Benefit sector is a new sector of the economy, sitting between the for-profit and non-profit sectors, which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit.   The For-Benefit sector is comprised of a new type of corporation --  the B corporation – which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.  B Holdings is the Berkshire Hathaway for purpose-driven investors, a For-Benefit holding company focused on consumer products, financial services, and media.

Jay is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Board member of the Philadelphia chapters of KIPP, a national public charter middle school, City Year, a leading Americorps youth service program, and Monteverde Friends, U.S.

Jay recently returned from family sabbatical Down Under and in Monteverde, Costa Rica with his yogini wife Randi and their two children, Dex, 8, and Ria, 6.  They live in Berwyn, PA. 

David Gergen

MODERATOR
David Gergen 
Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Editor-at-Large, U.S. News & World Report

David Gergen is a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is also editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. Mr. Gergen also regularly serves as an analyst on various news shows, and he is a frequent lecturer at venues around the world. In the fall of 2000 he published a best-selling book titled,Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.

In the past, Mr. Gergen has served in the White House as an adviser to four Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. Most recently, he served for 18 months in the Clinton administration, first as Counselor to the President and then as Special Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State. He returned to private life in January 1995. From 1984 to 1993, Mr. Gergen worked mostly as a journalist. For some two-and-a-half years, he was editor of U.S. News. During that period, he also teamed up with Mark Shields for political commentary every Friday night for five years on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. The two were a popular political team and won numerous accolades for their political coverage.

A native of Durham, North Carolina, Mr. Gergen is an honors graduate of Yale University (A.B., 1963) and the Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1967). He is a member of the D.C. bar. In addition, Mr. Gergen served for three-and-a-half years in the U.S. Navy, where he was posted for about two years to a ship home-ported in Japan.

Mr. Gergen has been married since 1967 to Anne Gergen of England. She is a family therapist and they live in Cambridge, Mass. They have two children, Christopher and Katherine.

Bill Shore

 MODERATOR
Bill Shore 
Founder and Executive Director, Share Our Strength

Bill Shore is the founder and executive director of Share Our Strength, the nation's leading organization working to end childhood hunger in the United States. Shore is also the chairman of Community Wealth Ventures, Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of Share Our Strength, that provides consulting services.

Shore founded Share Our Strength in 1984 in response to the Ethiopian famine and subsequently renewed concern about hunger in the United States. Since its founding, Share Our Strength has raised more than $200 million to support more than 1,000 anti-hunger, anti-poverty groups worldwide. Today, its priority is to end childhood hunger in America ensuring that the nearly 14 million American children facing hunger have access to the nutritious food they need to learn, grow and thrive.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shore earned his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He currently serves on the board of directors of The Timberland Company, City Year, College Summit, and Venture Philanthropy Partners. In October 2005, US News & World Report selected Shore as one of America's Best Leaders, an accomplished group selected by an independent committee of judges assembled by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

 

Panel Descriptions

MICROFINANCE: INNOVATIONS IN BUILDING CAPITAL
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 7

Donna Childs, Senior Policy Advisor, UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors
Ben Mangan, President & CEO, EARN
Yana Watson, Co-founder, Advocates for Financial Inclusion
Daniel A. Weiss, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Microfinance International
Moderator: Bindu Ananth, Manager, ICICI Bank

Panel Managers: Daniel Chu and Suba Sivakumaran

Traditional models of microfinance may reach only certain segments of the poor. This panel will examine innovation in for-profit and nonprofit models in this sector, particularly focusing on how very different models of microfinance can reach those in need. Given the trend of commercialization to serve clients with predictable cashflows, what kind of microfinance institution can best access population segments in poverty or other segments traditionally underserved? How can we extend the lending approach of microfinance to create social capital in communities? Advocates from four different organizations with unique perspectives will share their expertise for a debate on cutting-edge innovative organizational models in this important field.

 

MAKING PEOPLE CARE:
Successes and Challenges in Engaging Public Support for Social Enterprise and Global Development
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 8

Colin Brady, Chief Operating Officer, (PRODUCT) RED 
Myrna Greenfield, Director of Communications and Education, Oxfam America 
Johann Olav Koss, President and CEO, Right to Play and Olympic Gold Medalist
George Roter, Founder and Co-CEO, Engineers Without Borders Canada
Moderator: Tiziana Dearing, Executive Director, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University

Panel Managers: Andrew Graham and Abigail Falik

This panel will explore some of the creative ways organizations are engaging the public - through outreach, awareness campaigns, and opportunities for action - in support of social enterprise and/or anti-poverty efforts in the developing world. Panelists will discuss successful approaches as well as enduring challenges in moving people from caring to long term, effective engagement to alleviate poverty.

 

THE EMERGING ROLE OF PRIVATE CAPITAL IN DEVELOPMENT
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 11

Sarah Alexander, Executive Director, Emerging Markets Private Equity Association
Jay Gilbert, Co-Founder, B.Lab
Milton Namude Wanyama, International Finance Corporation
Yasmina Zaidman, Director Of Portfolio Strategies, Acumen Fund
Moderator: Michael Chu, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Panel Managers: Ann Berry and Sri Mani

Access to capital is core to any country’s recipe for economic development. Traditionally, this role has been filled by NGOs such as the IMF and World Bank. This is now changing. Private capital is playing an increasingly critical role in economic development. Developing economies, in particular India and China, are receiving increased interest from Western banks, private equity and venture capital firms. This interest is just beginning and will likely grow unabated. While the West’s financially deep pockets are of great importance, they also raise fundamental questions. At its core, firms employing private capital expect to achieve sustained and high rates return.

 

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE INCUBATORS:
Can the Success of the For-profit Business Incubator Be Replicated in the Social Sector?
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 12

Vivek Chaudhry, Program Administrator, Infodev Incubator Initiative
Susanne Goldstein, Founder, Social Enterprise In Action at Harvard and The Accelerator
Christopher Jurgens, Senior Manager, Accenture Development Partnerships
Taz Tagore, Co-Founder, The Reciprocity Foundation
Moderator: Gordon Bloom, Adjunct Lecturer and Director, Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory

Panel Managers: Norris Provost and Steve Koon

In most communities today, Social Enterprises are still just happening by chance. The for-profit sector has shown that business incubators can rapidly increase the number of successful new businesses being created. Universities like Stanford, Harvard, and others have introduced Social Enterprise Incubation Labs in their teaching programs. How do we get these models into communities where people live and feel the social needs every day?

 

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 107

Mary Gardill, Project Manager, Harvard Medical School, Brigham Women’s Hospital, and Extell Partnership 
Daniel Hernandez, Principal, Topology LLC
Todd Stern, Vice President, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group
Moderator: Jerold S. Kayden, Professor, Co-Chair, and Program Director, Harvard Graduate School of Design

Panel Managers: Paul Woody and Joe Cohen

Public-private partnerships have been a popular form of cross-sector collaboration in recent years. This model has been used frequently in urban real estate projects where federal, state, and local agencies partner with private developers to stimulate economic development and incent socially-minded construction. This panel takes a close look at both the performance and future of these partnerships.

 

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE:
Can Wall Street, Ethics, and Science Join Hands to Shape Our Future?
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 108

Richard Cizik, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals 
Paul Epstein, Associate Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard 
Medical School 
Marc Gunther, Senior Writer, Fortune Magazine 
Moderator: David Gergen, Director, Center for Public Leadership and Professor, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Panel Managers: Cristiana Fragola and Marilyn Raichle

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report announced an "unequivocal" correlation between the climate change crisis and human action.  Are we running out of leaders for what society needs?  Do CEOs have the free choice or the moral duty to go "green"?  Can they afford not to care about the environment?  Can they afford to care?  Is the gap between private interests and public good shrinking, just as the Arctic cap?  A veteran columnist for Fortune Magazine and CNN Money, a Reverend who is influencing millions of American lives, and one of the top world experts on environmental health will guide us through these inquiries.

 

BEYOND COMPLIANCE:
Can Every Company Develop Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility? A Debate
Session 1 | 10:10am | Aldrich 112

Clive Crook, Chief Editorial Advisor to the Chairman for Atlantic Media Company 
Mark Kramer, Managing Director and Founder, FSG Social Impact Advisors 
Moderator: Herman “Dutch” Leonard, George F. Baker Jr. Professor of Public Management, Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Panel Managers: Kye Lee and Jeremy Sturchio

In a recent article, Mark Kramer makes a case for focused, “strategic” CSR efforts that create social value in addition to profits. He contrasts strategic CSR with “responsive” CSR efforts that primarily seek to protect the corporate reputation and mitigate any adverse impacts of business on society. Clive Crook, on the other hand, has voiced his skepticism of CSR in a series of articles written for The Economist and argues that though corporations should respect government regulations, they have obligations first and foremost to their shareholders. Given these perspectives, the debate will focus on when and how firms should engage in CSR efforts. Will firms that ignore CSR lose competitive advantage? Will every firm that pursues strategic CSR gain competitive advantage? What are the limitations? What are the risks?

 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 7

Dickson D. Despommier, Professor of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Chris Landry, Communications and Development Director, Sustainable Food Lab 
Kimberly Manno Reott, Full Economic Citizenship Initiative, Ashoka: Innovators for The Public
Moderator: Mary L. Shelman, Senior Researcher and Director, Harvard Business School Agribusiness Program

Panel Managers: Jared Simon and Emmanuel Arnaud

Agriculture faces four challenges in becoming sustainable. First, hunger: today more than 850 million people lack sufficient food for an active and healthy life. How will we become able to feed them? Second, trade: negotiations have been suspended primarily because of disagreements on agricultural protections. How do we reach a consensus acceptable by all parties? Third, the environment: agriculture has a tremendous impact on the two most pressing environmental issues: global warming and access to water. How can agriculture minimize its environmental impact? And fourth, health: from obesity issues to supply chain security, the impact of agriculture on health has become a major issue in the public debate. How can our food become more healthy?

 

CAREER PATHS IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 8

Carly Janson, Director, Social Impact, Boston Consulting Group and Founder and President, New Sector Alliance 
Emily McCann, Chief Operating Officer, Citizen Schools 
Fernande Raine, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public 
James Weinberg, Founder and CEO, Commongood Careers 
Moderator: Philippe Taieb, Consultant, Non-Profits and Governments

Panel Manager: John Kim

Social enterprises are now attracting top talent. How is the infusion of top MBA’s unfolding in these social enterprises? What are the emerging career paths? Is it better to gain experience and skills in the private sector first or go right into the nonprofit sector?

 

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 11

Peter Kinder, President, KLD Research and Analytics, Inc.
Cheryl I. Smith, Executive Vice President, Trillium Asset Management Corporation
Moderator: Stacey M. Childress, Lecturer of Business Administration and Senior Researcher, Harvard Business School

Panel Manager: Karen Singson

What is socially responsible investing (SRI) and what are the pros and cons of common SRI strategies such as screening, shareholder advocacy, and community involvement? As the SRI field matures, what new products are in the SRI pipeline and how can the field be taken more seriously by the rest of the investment community?

 

THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF MICROFINANCE
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 12

Jeffrey Ashe, Manager of Community Finance, Oxfam America
Nancy Barry, Former President, Women’s World Banking
Carlos Castello, Executive Vice President, ACCION
Moderator: Michael Chu, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Panel Managers: Christopher Sutton and Myra Valenzuela

Microfinance has gained attention in the past few years from both non-profit and for-profit enterprises. The endowment of the Omidyar Microfinance Fund, the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to innovator Dr. Muhammed Yunus, and the growing attention commercial banks have shown to the industry raise questions about the role of profit in microfinance. This panel seeks to explore the innovations as well as the limitations of these business models. How can microenterprise effectively expand the level and quality of its services? How far can we push traditional models without losing focus? Does the emergence of for-profit models in microenterprise advance or hinder the sector’s collective goals of poverty alleviation?

 

FOUNDATIONS AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 107

Constance Cannon, Time Warner Foundation 
Charlotte Kahn, Director, Boston Indicators Project, Boston Foundation 
Mark Kramer, Managing Director And Founder, FSG Social Impact Advisors 
Moderator: Loren Gary, Associate Director, Center For Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Panel Managers: Maxwell Anderson and Rye Barcott

What does “social entrepreneurship” mean to leading foundations in the U.S.? Is it a meaningful concept or an ephemeral buzz-word with more hype than substance? Are foundations seeking to fund social entrepreneurs, and, if so, what do they use to identify grant recipients?

 

THE ARTS AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 108

Clare Dowd , Executive Director, Artcorps Inc. 
Abby Gerdts, Program Director, Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP) 
Docey Lewis, Special Advisor to the Board, Aid to Artisans 
Elizabeth Silkes, Executive Director, FilmAid International
Moderator: Steve Seidel, Director, Arts in Education Program, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Panel Managers: Zulema Quintans and Jennifer Lee

This panel will address how the arts succeed in engaging the community and will explore the powerful role of arts in social and economic development. In light of recent press surrounding the issue of the changing nature of philanthropy, this panel will also seek to address supporting and funding the arts in the context of other philanthropic causes. Social entrepreneurs from different artistic mediums will discuss the ways in which the arts can serve as a tool for empowerment, education, and community engagement.

 

INNOVATIONS IN GLOBAL HEALTH
Applying Industry Models to Tackle Infectious and Tropical Disease through Product Development
Session 2 | 11:40am | Aldrich 112

Victoria Hale, Founder And CEO, Institute for Oneworld Health 
John McGoldrick, Senior Vice President, International Aids Vaccine Initiative
Jeffrey Sturchio, Vice President (External Affairs), Merck & Co. 
Moderator: Jonathan Quick, CEO, Management Sciences For Health

Panel Managers: Soumya Rangarajan and Renata Rutman

Over the past decade, product development public-private partnerships have formed to develop safe, effective, and accessible interventions to combat the spread of infectious disease. By combining non-profit commitment to international public goods for health with private-sector business models and product development capabilities, these partnerships bridge public- and private-sector interests with a view toward resolving the barriers to industry involvement in the development these products. This panel will examine the relationship between the private, public, and non-profit sectors in developing and delivering such pharmaceutical interventions.

 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
Session 3 | 3:30pm | Aldrich 7

Preston B. Cline, Founder and President, Adventure Management
Greg Farrell, President, Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound
Tim Lord, Co-Founder and Director, Dreamyard Drama Project 
Moderator: Katherine Merseth, Founding Executive Director, Harvard Children’s Initiative

Panel Manager: Ethan Dunham

Experiential education is a “hot topic” in education reform and draws proponents and critics throughout the profession. Social Enterprise adds another perspective in bringing “rule breakers” instead of “rule takers” to education who seek reform outside the constraints of the establishment. Can these two perspectives coexist?

 

BOTTOM UP OR TOP DOWN:
Does It Matter Where and How a Social Enterprise Begins?
Session 3 | 3:30pm | Aldrich 8

Ana Marie Argilagos, Planning, Research, and Development, Annie E. Casey Foundation 
David Arizmendi, President and CEO, Azteca Community Loan Fund 
Marshall Ganz, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School Of Government 
Diana Wells, Co-President, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public 
Moderator: Linda Kaboolian, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Panel Managers: Maria Gomez-Murphy and Joan Walsh

This is a topic that should be of interest to all those interested in social entrepreneurship, new or practiced. It strikes at the very heart of why the social entrepreneurship model began. Are we in danger of losing the raison d’etre of the movement, or merely exploring new ways to expand its possibilities? Should every partnership be explored? Is the purpose of social entrepreneurship charity or empowerment?

 

EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND CASH INTERVENTIONS
Session 3 | 3:30pm | Aldrich 11

Ian Heigh, Partner and Consultant, Global Emergency Group 
Daniel Maxwell, Research Director for Food Security and Complex Emergencies, Feinstein International Center at Tufts University 
Tracy Reines, Senior Advisor, Relief & Africa Emergencies, International Disaster Response, American Red Cross 
Moderator: Jennifer Leaning, Co-director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Professor of the Practice of International Health, Harvard School of Public Health and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Panel Managers: Langdon Greenhalgh and Suba Sivakumaran

Experienced field practitioners will debate the positive and negative implications as to the use of cash distributions in emergency operations. While the western world regularly uses cash distributions (e.g. FEMA and Red Cross issued credit cards to Hurricane Katrina victims), there is often a reluctance to use cash distributions for emergency responses in developing contexts, despite the fact that cash distributions have proven to be extremely effective in decreasing logistics and administrative costs, speeding response times, and increasing respect for those affected by a crisis. Based on their significant field experiences working in various emergency contexts and work related to cash distributions, panelists will offer their perspectives as to the future applicability of cash in emergencies.

 

SOCIAL VENTURE CAPITAL
Session 3 | 3:30pm | Aldrich 112

Sarah Di Troia, Director of Strategic Partnerships, New Profit Inc.
Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green
Yasmina Zaidman, Director Of Portfolio Strategies, Acumen Fund
Moderator: Clara Miller, President and CEO, Non-Profit Finance Fund

Panel Managers: Rupert Simons and Nina Stochniol

Venture philanthropy and social venture capital operate between ‘traditional’ models of philanthropy and for-profit investment funds. As these models are still developing, this panel will explore their impact to date. Is it better to lend social entrepreneurs money or provide grants? What are the obstacles to achieving scale and how can they be overcome? How can existing models be improved to make a sustainable impact on global poverty?

 




2009

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE

We are still selecting the date for Harvard's ninth annual Social Enterprise Conference.

Last year's conference featured three keynote speakers and 18 panels focused on a variety of topics in social enterprise. The keynotes and panels were organized around a theme of convergence, reflecting the increased tendency of government, nonprofit and for-profit enterprises to focus on social problems irrespective of functional silos. The conference highlighted some of the ways organizations collaborate across sectors and/or share best practices to create social value. As in years past, the day also included a career fair, an alumni networking event and a forum to share innovative ideas for social enterprise.

Welcome Class of 2009! Welcome back Class of 2008!

At one point or another in our HBS careers, we all ask ourselves very important questions: How will I impact the world? What do I want to be remembered by? What role will I play in giving back to my community? When is the right time for me to devote more time and/or resources to serving others?

The answer will be different for each one of us. Some will engage in philanthropy and/or serve on nonprofit boards. Others will pursue careers in the nonprofit or government sectors. Still others will work to build partnerships between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, or work from within the private sector to leverage business tools to achieve social impact.

For this reason, the goal of the Social Enterprise Club is to provide every single HBS student with the inspiration, the skills, the experiences, and the networks needed to positively impact the world, whichever way they decide to do so.

Our mission is to inspire, enable and support students to use leadership and management skills to achieve social impact. We seek to serve the ENTIRE HBS student body and not just students with specific interest in the nonprofit sector.

 

 

Social Enterprise Conference Named to Forbes.com's Top 12 Executive Conferences for 2009

03 FEB 2009 www.hbs.edu/

Event is the Only Entirely Student-Led Conference Recognized

BOSTON — The 10th Annual Social Enterprise Conference, presented jointly by the Social Enterprise Club of Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School, has been named one of Forbes.com's Top Executive Gatherings for 2009 - alongside several other major international conferences including the World Economic Forum and the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.

"It is exciting to have this annual conference - led entirely by HBS and Kennedy School students - be recognized by Forbes.com as one of 2009's 12 big conferences," said Laura Moon, Director of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative. "The HBS Social Enterprise Club is one of the largest student clubs on campus. Their work has a direct impact on the School and also reaches beyond to the business, nonprofit, and government sectors that our students become a part of upon graduation. The annual conference is an admirable example of how our MBAs work together to foster dialogue and achieve social impact within their community and beyond."

This year's conference will take place on Sunday March 1, 2009 on the Harvard Business School campus. Approximately 1,100 attendees will gather to explore synergies between for-profit, non-profit, and public sector approaches to addressing critical social issues; and take advantage of various opportunities to learn from experts, network, and explore career opportunities. The conference will host more than 75 panelists and speakers with experience in innovative, cross-sectoral approaches to addressing social issues, and feature keynotes from:

  • Linda Rottenberg, CEO and Co-founder of Endeavor, a non-profit that identifies and supports High-Impact Entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
  • Priya Haji, CEO and co-founder of World of Good, a company dedicated to building ethical shopping experiences with mainstream retail partners.
  • Robert Chatwani, General Manager of WorldofGood.com, eBay's newest community focused on socially responsible shopping.

Additional information about conference speakers, agenda, and registration is available on the Social Enterprise Conference website and will be updated regularly.
In addition, conference attendees with an idea for a new social enterprise venture can participate in the "Pitch for Change" competition - a 30-second "elevator pitch" contest. A panel of judges will recognize three winning ideas with awards that combine cash and consulting hours from a prominent social enterprise consulting organization.

The HBS Social Enterprise Club aims to provide every HBS student with the inspiration, skills, experiences, and networks needed to have a positive impact on the world. More information about the Club is available on the Web: http://www.socialenterpriseclub.com.

ABOUT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 70 open enrollment Executive Education programs and 55 custom programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who make a difference in the world, shaping the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.

 

 


 

2019 SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CLUB Update

It's been more than a decade since this site first appeared on the WWW. The SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CLUB is still very active at Harvard Business School. The mission is still to inspire, educate, and connect leaders who will create social change in the world. To expound on that:HBS’s mission is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. The school clearly recognizes that business and social issues are highly intertwined, but sometimes in the classroom it can feel like we talk about each of them in a vacuum. The Social Enterprise Club is here to help bridge that gap and enable students to explore ways in which business can be leveraged for social good, both within the social/public sector and outside of it. We hope that this will have an impact not only on the students of HBS, but on all of the communities that they are a part of after they graduate.

Relevant: I learned about the SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE 2019 in a rather round about way. My neighbor's son was injured unloading a commercial vessel in a Louisiana port and she thought she may have to go down there to help. I had done some freelance work for an online legal website service and one of the partners practiced in multiple cities in LA as maritime lawyers. Their main site was Gordon-Elias.com and I quickly found their Louisiana site. She put her son in touch with them and they helped him get back on his feet. He was able to convince her that he would fully recover after some needed physical therapy, and convinced her not to come down - he would come and visit her. She was so happy to know he was ok. During our celebratory dinner she mentioned that she would be attending the SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CONFERENCE 2019. A friend was one of the keynote speakers. I decided to follow the competition. In February 2019, the HBS New Venture Competition received 48 entries to the Social Enterprise Track, from student teams across Harvard University. As of April 12 student and alumni finalist teams competed in the Finale of the 22nd annual HBS New Venture Competition (NVC). The four finalists were announced:

Gramhal - Unlocks post-harvest services of storage, credit, and market linkage for smallholder farmers.
Hikma Health - Creates customized data management systems for healthcare providers caring for refugee patients.
New Teachers Thriving - Too many early-career teachers are burned out. And then quit. Our trainings help them thrive.
Vincere Health - We help people get paid for digitally proving health compliance, while keeping control of their data.

According to Matt Segneri (MBA 2010), Director of the School’s Social Enterprise Initiative: “2019 was a banner year, with more than 40% of our student teams entering the Social Enterprise Track,”“They put forward a staggering array of ideas to create better markets and correct market failures. Our social entrepreneurs are solving problems that cut across the private, public, and non-profit sectors, because the entrepreneur of the 21st century is a tri-sector athlete, capable of creating value in all three."

You can go to: www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/new-venture-competition-finale-2019.aspx to find the winners and read more about how these entrepreneurial ventures have the potential to make a positive difference.

Funny how a water pipe break led to my making a new friend and learning about the HBS Social Enterprise Club, Social Enterprise Initiative, the New Venture competition that encourages innovative business practices and managerial disciplines to drive sustained, high-impact social change. Such uplifting news when most of our news relating to our present Trump / GOP governing is so alarming.

~~~

 

SocialEnterpriseClub.com