Catalyze Your Cause - Final Presentations

5648 Friendship Avenue,Pittsburgh PA 15206

13 December, 2022

Description

Join us as we celebrate the end of our Catalyze Your Cause program. We will hear from 5 social entrepreneurs working to turn their civic-minded ideas into reality. Each of our cohort members will be giving 10-minute presentations, ranging from mushroom farming to apps that help consumers make better sustainability choices. Business and social innovation experts will be present to ask questions and provide feedback to presenters (bios below) Food will be provided. ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Our approach to changing the current circumstances in our world and the level of dissatisfaction has been to repeat variations on strategies that have already been tried before. We do the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome when we try to influence our circumstances in a meaningful way. involveMINT and ReImagine jobs have partnered to bring an innovative program designed to effect positive environmental, social, and most importantly, systems change. This program is a series of experiential learning workshops that transforms new and existing social, technological, and ecological projects into a means of living. Catalyze Your Cause inspires individuals and groups to realize their vision for their cause while creating systemic change. This 10-week program equips community ChangeMakers, social entrepreneurs, and civic action groups to further their cause by leveraging community & personal relationships and resources. Using the involveMINT Community Impact Network, participants will learn how to form community networks to provide goods, services, and skills they need to make their cause sustainable beyond traditional funding. The Reimagine Jobs Network will provide educational resources and expertise to move your cause forward. PANEL EXPERT BIOS Panel Expert Bios Chris Koch - Chris Koch is the founder of Civic Method and the Director of Strategic Partnerhships at Chatham University. Chris formally served as the CEO of the Design Center, an organization dedicated to design, urban planning and public policy resulting in more livable, equitable and sustainable communities in the Pittsburgh region. Koch, who also co-founded the social enterprise GTECH Strategies in 2006 (now Grounded Strategies), has provided expertise on social entrepreneurship to organizations such as the Brookings Institute, Princeton University, and has been honored at the White House as an emerging leader in the field of social innovation. Cindy Underwood -  Cindy grew up Cindy Bynum and she is a Pittsburgh native. Cindy retired in 2018 after concluding her career as a special agent with the IRS’ Criminal Investigation 2018, after completing almost 30 years of government service. Cindy is currently self-employed as a partner with C & J Financial Foundations, a business dedicated to helping small businesses manage their bookkeeping and finances. Dean Richards - Dean is a Public Ally alum who currently serves as Philanthropy Fellow at the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern PA. In this role, Dean provides administrative support for the foundation, researches areas of interest and best practices, conducts due diligence on assigned grants, and provides continuity with long-term grantees and those grants already in the pipeline. He is committed to providing a compassionate and humbled ear to the youth of our underappreciated communities and representing their voice on all stages. Martina Truche - Martina has mentored 100s of startups through various invovlements including hackathons (MIT, Mayo Clinic, Nurse Hack for Health, Women in AI), NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurship and Founder Institute Health Tech. She was on two winning teams (MIT Covid-19 Challenge and CMU Space Innovation Challenge). She judged pitching showcases at InnovatorMD conferences and Founder Institute Health Tech. She has been utilizing her STEM background as well as experiences from startups to large companies and academia. She is on a mission to inspire (not only health tech) companies to add outer space to their business roadmap and hopes to travel to outer space one day. Robert Young - Robert has a diverse background in various sectors and verticals here in the Pittsburgh region and beyond. Most recently, he worked with Innovation Works in business development, where he was responsible for building and maintaining relationships with various foundations, government agencies, elected officials, corporations, and other stakeholders. Prior to this work, he served as the Managing Director of The Advanced Leadership Initiative, as well as in business development roles for the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Florida, and Temple University. ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS Reimagine Jobs - Reimagine Jobs is a non-profit collaboration between the Climate Reality Project, League of Women Voters, and other organizations)working to connect Southwest Pennsylvanians with careers and opportunities in a sustainable future. involveMINT.io - We enable community ChangeMakers and cause-driven businesses to create social and environmental transformation through their livelihoods.