Holiday, School Shopping? Sustainable Fashion – Annie Gullingsrud, Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute

Annie Gullingsrud

Buying Clothing With an Eco-Consciousness “85% of disposable apparel ends up in a landfill,” Annie Gullingsrud, Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute Think of all the stuff that you’re buying for back-to-school this time of year…or new fashions for the fall season… What if you bought even 10 percent of it with sustainable clothing? Is it… Continue reading Holiday, School Shopping? Sustainable Fashion – Annie Gullingsrud, Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute

Comedy & Innovation! Courtney Bickert, Comedienne & Social Innovator, Formerly at UN Foundation

“Comedy loosens the brain. It generates creativity. There’s something physiologically that happens in our brains. We stop thinking linearly and start thinking non-linearly when we hear jokes, when we try to tell jokes.” Courtney Bickert And now for something different….To solve today’s most intractable problems – from climate change to inequality to combating terrorism and… Continue reading Comedy & Innovation! Courtney Bickert, Comedienne & Social Innovator, Formerly at UN Foundation

The Enthusiasm Gap Between Men & Women – Kristin Haffert, Mine The Gap

“You have to take a long-term view, which means you may need to invest more up front in order to give people the flexibility or better benefits, and the returns we know we get with a more diverse workforce are greater innovation, we get an improved bottom line.” Kristin Haffert One of the ways that… Continue reading The Enthusiasm Gap Between Men & Women – Kristin Haffert, Mine The Gap

How to Get More Women STEM Leaders – Heather Metcalf, Assn. of Women in Science

“These women have had networks and support structures and other kinds of community support that helped them get there in spite of an uphill battle….For men, the narrative is that they made it on their own. We downplay the role that mentorship played in (men’s) making their way into a leadership role.” Heather Metcalf “Research… Continue reading How to Get More Women STEM Leaders – Heather Metcalf, Assn. of Women in Science

Adapting to Climate Change – Beth Gibbons, Adaptation Professionals

“We now have an appetite for intervention. There’s a willingness because we are all at a point where the impacts are being felt so broadly…The urgency is being met with a will to act.” Beth Gibbons Local leaders are managing the very real devastation to their communities and economies caused by extreme weather events, while… Continue reading Adapting to Climate Change – Beth Gibbons, Adaptation Professionals

New Year, New Workforce – Mary Lee Gannon, Healthcare CEO & Executive Coach

“We have more generations in the workforce than ever before and their life experiences are very different….Look at the other person as a peer.” Mary Lee Gannon You probably visited with people of all ages over the holidays, and today you have the same variety in the workplace  – and it’s both a gift, because… Continue reading New Year, New Workforce – Mary Lee Gannon, Healthcare CEO & Executive Coach

Buildings Made From Plants – Laura Busse Dolan, Owner, CEO & President, Applied Imagination

“The story of the building is important for the artist (because) every model they create, they build a relationship with….they spend hundreds of hours working on that model…It’s a work of art.” When I visited the U.S. Botanic Gardens in Washington, DC a couple of months ago, I saw these amazing miniatures of landmark buildings… Continue reading Buildings Made From Plants – Laura Busse Dolan, Owner, CEO & President, Applied Imagination

Start-up Resources – Julie Lenzer, UMD Entrepreneur Program

“It’s easier to change the world with money…Ideas are out there…the trick is in the execution. It’s not always the best technology that works…Be persistent.” Julie Lenzer Having a great idea for a new technology or new business model that you think can change the world is terrific. But it will only make that change… Continue reading Start-up Resources – Julie Lenzer, UMD Entrepreneur Program

Managing Creativity – Deborah Rutter, President, John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts

“You have to give up a little bit of control in that (creative) process….it is an iterative process and allowing people to be as creative and crazy as you possibly could imagine and then noticing when there was really a fantastic moment that we all had to say, ‘Ah-ha! that’s it, let’s go there.’” Deborah… Continue reading Managing Creativity – Deborah Rutter, President, John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts

Insurance Climate Protection – Tina Kirby, Insurance Innovators

“When you think about what you are claiming from an insurance perspective, it’s partly property damage, but it’s largely also business interruption. So, your lack of sales, your lack of being able to produce things, your lack of being able to distribute things.” We all have way too much experience with disasters after the past… Continue reading Insurance Climate Protection – Tina Kirby, Insurance Innovators