Leading for Good 2023

9:00 a.m.
Welcome Remarks

• Dr. Mark C. Reed, President, Loyola University Chicago
• Wendy DuBoe, Advisory Board Member, Baumhart Center
• Daniel Cervantes, SVP, National Expansion, Skill's for America's Future
• Karen Weigert, Director, Baumhart Center

9:30 a.m.
Panel: Sustainability Leaps: Taking Action Together
At long last, it seems that everyone is talking about sustainability but how are organizations actually making the internal decisions and cultural shifts to deliver? How are we building bridges and opening more pathways to concrete climate action by and for all? Hear from leading practitioners on how and why things are getting done and the work still ahead.

• Erin Amico, President & CEO, Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
• Paige Graham, SVP, Social Impact & Sustainability, Edelman
• Tonika Lewis Johnson, Photographer and Social Justice Artist, Folded Map Project
• Joanne Rodriguez, Founder & CEO, Mycocycle
• Moderator: Karen Weigert, Director, Baumhart Center 

10:30 a.m.
Innovation Pop-up: VietFive Coffee
Hear from the founder, Tuan Huynh, an award-winning creative director and community organizer based out of Chicago, Illinois, about the story behind VietFive Coffee. VietFive Coffee serves authentic Vietnamese coffee, grown and harvested in the place of his birth and roasted in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to serving coffee, VietFive provides access to marginalized communities and ex-felons by providing career opportunities through industry networking, creative workshops, community-centered events, and employment opportunities. 

10:45 a.m. - Break

11:00 a.m.
Impact in Action: Innovator Awards
The Innovator Awards is a nationally significant award series that recognizes companies who are at the forefront of social innovation in business. The awards celebrate companies across three categories of innovation: Purpose and Profit, Environmental Stewardship, and Social Impact.

• Social Impact Award recipient: Kathleen Caliento, President and CEO, Cara Collective
• Environmental Stewardship Award Recipient: Jimmy Samartzis, CEO, LanzaJet
• Parkinson Award Recipient: Jeff Hogue, Chief Sustainability Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.
• Moderator: Megan Christenson, Sr. Portfolio Manager, REDF Impact Investing Fund

11:45 a.m. - Lunch

11:50 a.m.
Innovation Pop-up: WasteNot
WasteNot Compost is the nation’s only zero-emissions compost collection service for homes, businesses, and events. Liam Donnelly began WasteNot in 2015 out of a desire to do better. While lugging his sixth bag of trash to a cafe’s dumpster, he knew there was a simple solution: composting. Out of necessity, WasteNot started as a zero-emissions company, utilizing a bike and trailer to service members across the city. WasteNot went from operating on a bike to a 100% electric fleet, allowing all WasteNot members to Compost Without Compromise™. Liam is also an alum of Loyola University Chicago’s School of Environmental Sustainability.

12:15 p.m.
Keynote: The Sum of Us, featuring Heather McGhee

12:45 p.m.
Post Keynote Panel: An Economy for All

• Karen Freeman Wilson, President & CEO, Urban League 
• Carl Jones, Jr., VP, Government and External Affairs, Comcast
• Andrea Sáenz, President & CEO, Chicago Community Trust
• Moderator: Brandis Friedman, Anchor/Correspondent, WTTW

1:45 p.m. - Break

2:00 p.m.
Panel: Entrepreneurs and Intra-preneurs Needed: New Ways to Impact
Change is accelerating across the economy, both inside organizations and through new entities. Hear from impact leaders in multiple different roles – some they applied for and some they created – about the skills and approaches they use on the path to greater impact. Leave inspired to accelerate your path to impact.

• Kimberly Evans, EVP, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion and Social Impact, Northern Trust
• Joey Mak, Executive Director, Chicago:Blend
• Stephanie Morimoto, Owner & CEO, Asutra
• Moderator: Cherita Ellens, President & CEO, Women Employed 

2:45 p.m.
Closing Remarks

• Samir Mayekar, Deputy Mayor, Mayor's Office, City of Chicago
• Max Ebacher, Manager of Partnerships, UtmostU

3:00 p.m.
Reception