Spark Talks

Life’s journey is not always a straight line, but it can be a bridge between a destructive life on the streets to one with purpose, empathy, and community impact. That is the journey of Jesse Herrera, chief visionary at Urban Theory, who’ll share how his experience influences his work and how organizations can illuminate and address the complexities of their challenges. You’ll leave this session with insight into: How Jesse’s journey can inspire you and other changemakers to consider how oppression transcends generations How society can force bad decisions, and the importance of the question, “Why?” How your organization can illuminate complex challenges. How you and your organization can help advance innovation and community well-being Presented by Urban Theory

In February 2019, GuideStar and Foundation Center merged to become Candid. Through research, collaboration and training, Candid gets people the information they need to do good. In this talk, you’ll learn why the two organizations decided to join forces, and get insight into the funding, systems integration, branding, vision, and strategies that made it possible. And, you’ll hear share what Candid staff have learned along the way.

Every aspect of your brand should reinforce your social mission. Join this Spark Talk by Megan Patel to learn how to design your brand so that all components work in harmony to elevate your mission.

Finding a job can be tough, and even harder when you’re also struggling with recovery, whether from addiction, incarceration, or simply loss of self – an unemployment dilemma that often can be generational.Cara (Gaelic for “friend”) helps job-seeking adults secure and sustain gainful employment — interrupting generational poverty – by addressing poverty of esteem before poverty of assets, informing the role of socio-emotional skills in Cara’s work. Cara’s self-actualization coaching model builds workplace competencies through experiential and immersive learning – advancing the transforming effect of employment in restoring hope and prosperity to individuals, families, and Chicago. Presented by Cara

No one can predict the future, though it is clear we are heading into a time of market volatility and political uncertainty. What is certain is that the need for strong, effective nonprofits will continue to rise. This Spark Talk will elevate lessons learned from the last recession and draw from Bridgespan client work in the years since, sharing examples and practices that have emerged to highlight how organizations not only survive, but thrive in tough times. Mission-driven leaders will leave this Spark talk with strategic management tools you can use to gain greater control over your business – in good and difficult times. Presented by The Bridgespan Group

A changemaker is someone who can transform suffering into hope through the power of unconditional love. We all suffer, but it is how we use our suffering that differentiates a changemaker from others. Because we all suffer, we all have the capacity to be a changemaker. In this Spark Talk, James will share his experiences of personal suffering, the people who gave him unconditional love, which then allowed him to transform his suffering into hope and become a changemaker. This insight, along with his early work, led him to develop a new theory of social change called Ripples of Hope. More about this Spark Talk: Transformational Suffering Can Transform Your Changework

Individuals and companies are engaged in and taking stands on social issues more than ever. But what if we could identify and address emerging social issues before they negatively impact individuals and society? What if we better understood individual and family needs and targeted resources more effectively? Stop by United Way’s Spark Talk to find out how they’re leveraging data across 1200 worldwide locations to build longitudinal data capabilities that bridge existing data systems for better predictive and evaluative capabilities. Presented by United Way Worldwide

Join this SparkTalk to explore the role narrative, society’s deeply held beliefs, plays in advancing equity. More about this Spark Talk: On Narrative and the Equity Gap

When I was young, I thought lawyers were white, old, worked in fancy offices, and did more harm than good to communities of color. But the truth is that lawyers have the potential to be social justice change makers. They write, defend, and challenge laws. They right historical wrongs in our courtrooms and beyond. But in order to unleash their social justice power, we must redefine what it means to be a lawyer, and make way for the next generation of legal changemakers. Presented by California ChangeLawyers

Arts are a powerful tool for improving lives, bridging communities, and encouraging civic participation. Arts-involved Individuals show an 86% increase in civic involvement, are 40% more likely to have diverse friends, and twice as likely to register to vote. Yet access to the arts remains significantly economically and racially disproportionate. Find out how Hyde Park Art Center’s new “Community Supported School” model of arts participation encourages shared ownership while strengthening communities across generations, socioeconomics, and racial disparities. Presented by Hyde Park Art Center

Data shows the effectiveness of incorporating the arts and creative arts therapies into person-centered health and wellness plans. And no longer confined to large cities, practitioners in creative arts therapies and therapeutic arts are but a close drive away in most urban, suburban, and rural areas. Join this Spark Talk by Marete Wester to learn how the arts and creative arts therapies can boost the quality of life. Presented by Americans for the Arts

After four years of launching an equity movement based on listening deeply and paying attention to people, data, history, and social structures, a new place-based Foundation with $150 million in assets is opening the Center for Health Equity in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Center will be both a physical place and a process focused on closing the equity gap in Pinellas County with policy, research, strategic support, and highly-trained operations to realize the community’s goal of a more civilized, equitable county. Presented by Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg

Organizers – the glue for social change – are often confronted by the challenges of thoughtfully considering diversity, equity, and inclusion in their daily work. How does implicit bias affect organizing? You’ll find out during Young Invincible’s Spark Talk, along with how to work with communities of color, amplify DEI work within your organization, and incorporate safety into your organizing work. Presented by Young Invincibles

We pay lots of rhetorical homage to the importance and impact of relationships in our lives. But is our focus obscuring our ability to think about our relationships structurally and systemically, and how they factor into ensuring safe and thriving communities for our young people? David Shapiro will share insight into how to leverage your relationships and social capital with rigor and intentionality to solve stubborn problems associated with healthy and equitable development of our young people. Presented by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership

How we position our messages determines whether our ideas cut through or get swallowed up. It also can make the difference between progress and a backslide into greater injustice. But how do we harness the power of this realization to affect the policies that are made and create space to advance a social justice agenda across issues? Are the same challenges holding all of our issues back? And what if the only way to overcome these challenges – is all together? Presented by FrameWorks Institute

More than 4,900 people have been murdered in Chicago since 2012, excluding those shot or wounded. Unfortunately, trauma goes unaddressed and many community residents are uninformed about it. The result? Many black and brown people go without counseling, and hurting people tend to continue to hurt people – creating a vicious cycle of violence. Pastor Chris Harris and Bright Star Community Outreach are countering the system of street justice through the TURN Model – The Urban Resilience Network. Presented by Bright Star Community Outreach, Inc.

George Esteller applied and was accepted to the Pathfinder Program, a joint social venture between Salesforce and Deloitte to train community college students, veterans, and career changers for careers in the Salesforce ecosystem. In this talk, George will share how his interest in technology led him to Pathfinder and a promising career in software development at Deloitte. Presented by Salesforce, Sponsored by Monitor Institute by Deloitte

Religion is a topic that’s normally banned from polite conversation. But it’s in the news constantly these days; three Muslim students murdered assassination style by their neighbor, a county clerk refused to give marriage licenses to gay applicants, Black churches set on fire in Louisiana, and a Pittsburgh synagogue that lost 11 members to an act of terrorism. Our collective aversion to the subject has only fueled our collective ignorance, contributing to a culture of fear. Even if we’re not personally religious, we do need a better understanding of the religious diversity all around us, and we need to be comfortable in conversation about it. But we aren’t comfortable, and that discomfort reduces our ability to address the culture of fear when we come across it. Recovering angry atheist, Allison K. Ralph of the Aspen Institute Inclusive America Project, talks religion, pluralism, and our collective consciousness.

Impact is a common and often elusive goal in today’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) landscape. Research suggests employees and consumers expect corporations to maximize public good and provide meaningful paths to action, yet corporate citizenship, philanthropy, and employee engagement models often fall short of promised impact. Impact Volunteerism, an emerging best practice can help evolve strategies to develop shared objectives, relevant community service, and long-term civic relationships that maximize impact and spark long-term change. Presented by Chicago Cares

Birds guide the way to the landscapes and communities that National Audubon Society serves. And while their work historically focused on preserving large-scale ecosystems, polling shows that urban residences desire increased access to green space. Stop by Audubon Dakota’s Spark Talk to learn their unique approach to re-establishing natural habitat in concrete jungles, and achieving the mutual goal of enhancing environmental health while filling a community need. Presented by Audubon Dakota

Each year trillions of dollars are spent on human services but often the way they are allocated prevent them from reaching their full potential. By creating well-defined outcomes that are pursued in deep partnership with the people being served, governments, service providers and their partners can create a radically more inclusive approach to addressing social issues that advances people’s lives. More about this Spark Talk: Reinventing Government and Community Partnerships

One of the greatest deterrents to well-being is the chaos of the mind. But if you can take control of your breath, you truly can tame your mind. The Buddha said, “The greatest enemy of your life will be an untrained mind, but your greatest ally will be a trained mind.” Learn how mastering your breath is the key to learning to meditate successfully. It will teach you to open and be authentically present, available to dwell powerfully in any moment. Presented by Kashi Atlanta

Put your voice, body, and entire being into the work of reconnecting with the rhythmic, call-and-response griot traditions that celebrate liberation, justice, and freedom, particularly from institutional and systemic oppression. Join Jonathan Lykes as he uses freedom music from the Movement4BlackLives to tap into the healing, joy, and spirit work of our time, embodying the liberated world we aspire to as a collective compass for the future for which we fight. Presented by Keeping Ballroom Community Alive Network

Across the world, New Power has changed the way that society functions. This community-centered democratic approach is altering the way that organizations and businesses are structured, operate and engage with their stakeholders. In the last year, Walmart has been on a mission to harness New Power in their community engagement in an effort to better serve the unique needs of the over 5000 communities they serve in the United States. During this session, Kabir Kumar, Senior Director of Community for Wamart.org, will discuss Walmart’s journey to transform their giving and community work to a New Power approach. Sponsored by Walmart

This session will discuss the importance of shifting your own mindset in order to shift the mindset of others in order to value, love and stand for a community that has a cloud of hopelessness present. I will discuss my journey of shift my mindset of my community which sparked action to be taken that became an infectious culture created that gave voice and vision to residents who reside in a marginalized community. Presented by Resident Association of Greater Englewood

The youth e-cigarette use epidemic created an urgent need for resources to help young people quit vaping. Truth Initiative filled that need by developing a first-of-its-kind program called This is Quitting, which has enrolled over 40,000 teens/young adults since launching in January 2019. Backed by science and powered by people, This is Quitting delivers cessation support by leveraging the advice young people want to give each other, plus evidence-based approaches for treating nicotine addiction. Participants will learn what e-cigarettes are, why they’re dangerous for young people, and innovative ways to help young people quit. More about this Spark Talk: Helping Young People Quit Vaping

ELLAS is an initiative by women for women to gain confidence, feel supported, and foster personal growth while helping others. Since it started in 2012, ELLAS has achieved success in developing leaders and overcome language, culture, and economic barriers to preventative care. ELLAS has educated thousands of women about breast cancer prevention, referring them for annual check-ups, and promoting the need for health information and more resources for undocumented and uninsured women. This year ELLAS launched a Pop-up Shop of new or gently used cloths. The proceeds are used to support the women and the program. Presented by the Resurrection Project

Liberals and conservatives often disagree, but not because they have different moral minds.  Pop psychology claims that the “roots of morality” differ across politics, but new scientific discoveries point to a more hopeful truth: liberals and conservatives share the same moral cognition. Join this talk to learn more about these findings and their potential for understanding—and bridging—real-world divides.