BALLE 2011 Conference Agenda
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 | Wednesday, June 15, 2011 | Thursday, June 16, 2011 | Friday, June 17, 2011
Please note that on-site registration opens Monday, June 13 at 2:00 PM at Fairhaven Commons!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Pre-Conference
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Accelerating Community Capital Workshop
Academic Instructional Center West, Room 204
New for 2011, a day-long workshop devoted to community capital, with leaders in community capital, examples and instruction in the workshop setting. Registration includes breakfast and lunch.
The day will consist of:
A Welcome from BALLE and Slow Money
Place Matters: New Mexico Presentation: What does it take to meet regional needs with regional resources? This presentation will set the stage for the day as the lens through which we will explore communities’ capital requirements and capacities.
The Legal Landscape: Most great community-capital ideas are, unfortunately, illegal under existing securities laws. What are the key rules that community-capital pioneers must be mindful of, and some of the emerging openings?
Investment When Place Matters Panel:Three community capital innovators will share their personal experiences using ‘place’ as their investment lens. Each of these pioneers combine philanthropy, equity, loans, and capacity support, to grow thriving local networks of entrepreneurs using regional resources to meet regional needs.
Rapid Fire Case Studies: This will be a tightly-run showcase of seven practical grassroots innovations for accelerating community capital. Each model is currently in practice, has been effective, and will be presented by the pioneers who are leading the work. Each presenter will have 20 minutes to present his or her model and to answer clarifying questions.
Regional Discussions: Participants will sit with others from their region to explore which of the models presented are most relevant to their communities, and to get advice on applicable models from resources in the room. Our goal is for participants to develop concepts for their communities, and to lay the foundation for a peer support network over the coming year.
Bringing it All Together - A Closing from RSF Social Finance
8:30 AM - 6:00 PM
How to Build a BALLE Network Workshop
Academic Instructional Center West, Room 304
Learn how local, independent business networks throughout North America are transforming their economies into community-centered, green, and fair places to live and work through a focus on green jobs, sustainable industries, investing locally, and buying local first.
Through a jam-packed day of presentations, group discussion and hands-on activities, you will pick up best practices and develop a plan for your community. We will cover the following aspects of network development, growth and success:
- Getting started and catalyzing community change
- Operations and staffing
- Communications and community-based marketing
- Fundraising and partnerships
- Membership benefits and recruitment
- Volunteer management
- Step-by-step program planning for community campaigns
You’ll leave equipped with key principles, tools and relationships for building business and community innovation through the building blocks of a local living economy.
Registration includes breakfast and lunch, a 100+ page workshop binder, and a DVD of sample materials and program ideas to share in your community.
Volume discount: $99 for each additional registrant from same community. (If multiple people are registered at the same time, the volume discount will automatically be applied. If you register separately, please email us for a discount code.)
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
LLE Tour: Organic Valley Dairy Farm Tour
Meet at the Fairhaven Commons/Dorms Parking Lot
Travel through the verdant farmlands of northwest Washington to the Wolfisberg family’s organic dairy, part of the Organic Valley cooperative. As you walk the pastures, you’ll hear their inspiring story and own reflections on the benefits of cooperative dairy farming. Tour-goers will learn about the importance of cows foraging on grass, discover what the milking parlor and milk house are all about, and explore the topics of holistic care and humane animal treatment with an Organic Valley veterinarian. Delicious, organic snacks will be provided at the farm.
And a bonus visit to a new dairy manure digester operating in Whatcom County that contributes renewable energy to the power grid and heats a large commercial greenhouse. Discover how this project was funded by local investors.
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
LLE Tour: A Green Building Urban Expedition
Meet at the Fairhaven Commons/Dorms Parking Lot
Take a bicycle adven-tour of Bellingham’s most efficient and unique eco-friendly homes and businesses, which helped the city become one of the country’s top sustainability hubs. Get an insider’s view of urban sustainable development, and learn the basic how-to of designing a successful Eco-Home Tour in your community. Moderate biking/physical ability required. The bicycle and a local Northwest microbrew at the end of the tour are included.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Pre-Conference
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
BALLE Network Leaders Exchange and Network Leader Only LLE Tour (new!)
The Leopold Ballroom, 1224 Cornwall Avenue in downtown Bellingham
Registration is complimentary for current dues-paying BALLE networks.
A small $20 fee for breakfast and lunch will be collected at sign-in.
8:00 AM
Breakfast and Network Leader Sign In
8:45 AM
Network Leaders Exchange Program:
The annual North American gathering for staff and board members of existing BALLE networks! This peer gathering is designed by network leaders for network leaders, and is an opportunity to share ideas, recharge, and plan for the year ahead.
11:00 AM
Networking Lunch
12:00 PM
Network Leader Only Walking Tour of Bellingham:
Network Leaders will enjoy this exclusive walking tour of downtown Bellingham’s “Best of Sustainable Connections” impacts. See Think Local First, Toward Zero Waste, Community Energy Challenge, Green Building and Food & Farming impacts on the ground – even visit the SC office and see the green roof! This walking tour will stretch your legs, your mind and your network as you will have an opportunity to build closer relationships with key network leaders (people who can make your jobs easier!) from around North America.
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
LLE Tour: Growing the Food Economy : City to Country (NOTE THIS TOUR IS FULL)
Meet at the Performing Arts Center
Tour innovative and sustainable food and farm businesses that demonstrate the region's interconnected food community. Travel to nearby farms with views of the Cascade Mountains. Along the way, experience what’s working in farm-to-institution projects, meet participants in the cutting edge "Food to Bank On" beginning farmer business training, tour the farmers market, learn about the Farm Fund microloan, and get a firsthand look at the newly launched “Eat Local First” campaign. A delicious, seasonal lunch is included.
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
LLE Tour: Manufacturing the Triple Bottom Line
Meet at the Fairhaven Commons/Dorms Parking Lot
Hop on board for a bus tour of local, inventive manufacturing businesses. Paving the way in employee engagement and ownership, and implementing a wide variety of sustainable practices, these companies truly make “business as usual” anything but. Learn from industry leaders how to grow a business through a triple-bottom-line approach with campaigns including: Toward Zero Waste, Workplace CSAs, Smart Trips, Community Energy Challenge and Green Power. Lunch is included.
Conference Kick Off
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Welcome Reception and Conference Opening at Performing Arts Center, Outdoor Plaza
Cirque du Bellingham: circus performers, jugglers and local music legends the Gallus Brothers and the Crow Quill Night Owls.Bountiful, local dessert buffet and local brews and wines.
6:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Living Economies Expo Open in Performing Arts Center Lobby
7:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Opening Night Presentations at Performing Arts Center
7:30 PM
BALLE Conference Opening Session
Passing of the Prayer Bundle: Judy Wicks, cofounder, BALLE; Jamee Haley, Lowcountry Local First; Derek Long, Sustainable Connections
Lummi Blessing
Welcome from Don Shaffer, RSF Social Financ
Welcome from Michelle Long, executive director, BALLE
8:45 PM
Opening Keynote: Living Cities, Living Futures
Jason McLennan of the International Living Building Institute
9:15 PM
Life is What You Make It: A Concert and Conversation with Peter Buffett
10:30 PM
Book Signings with Peter Buffett and Jason McLennan at the Living Economy Expo
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Conference
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Breakfast -- Sponsored by the Capital Institute at Viking Commons
8:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Presentations at Performing Arts Center Concert Hall
8:30 AM
Opening comments, welcome from Michelle Long of BALLE
8:35 AM
WWU Sustainability: On campus, In the Community and Beyond
Richard Van Den Hul of Western Washington University
8:50 AM
A New Economic Agenda for the 21st Century
Naomi Klein, Author of The Shock Doctrine
Introduced by David Korten of Yes! Magazine
9:20 AM
Will Raap of Gardener's Supply
Introduced by David Korten
9:45 AM
Intermission
10:15 AM
Regionalizing Supply Chains: How to Make a Local Living Economy Pizza
Introduced by Derek Long of Sustainable Connections
11:20 AM
Leslie Christian of Portfolio 21 Investments
Introduced by Kat Taylor of One PacificCoast Bank and Foundation
11:45 AM
NiazDorry of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
Introduced by Nicola Williams of the Williams Agency
12:10 PM
Jamila Payne of National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers
12:25 PM
Local Living Economiy Business Plan Competition presented by Organic Valley, Introduced by Jamila Payne
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Lunch at Viking Commons
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM
Living Economies Expo
Performing Arts Center Lobby
The Expo is open all day, but this is an opportunity to network, attend book signings and other special events
2:45 PM - 5:45 PM
Interactive Sessions
In various classrooms at Academic Instructional Center West and the Communications Facility
2:45 PM - 4:00 PM
first set of concurrent interactive Sessions on Thursday
Track: A New Economic Agenda for the 21st Century
Session: Local Food Systems as Economic Development: Understanding and Identifying Opportunities
Description: As the sustainable food economy continues to emerge, the phrase “local food systems” is increasingly used. What does it mean? In this interactive, Kitchen Table Conversation workshop, we’ll take a close look at the urban and rural components that make up a local food system – seed, production, aggregation and processing, distribution, retail and wholesale markets, waste, and finance, marketing and business development. We’ll hear from experts about the real life successes and challenges they encounter as they build their local economies by strengthening local food systems.
Speakers: Ari Derfel of Slow Money, Martin Ping of the Hawthorne Valley Association, Tammy Morales of Urban Food Link, Vicki Pozzebon of Santa Fe Alliance will moderate
Track: Innovative Business Models and Ownership Structures
Session: Cooperative Ownership: Rooting Businesses in Local Economies
Description: This workshop will present an introduction to cooperative models, issues facing co-ops, and resources available for co-op development and support. Emphasis will be placed on practical actions for the use of marketing and purchasing co-ops that can take a BALLE chapter to the next level, as well as cooperative options for ownership succession. This workshop will include small-group discussion about how cooperative ownership can support the work of BALLE networks. Panelists include representatives from the National Cooperative Business Association, Spain’s Mondragon Cooperative Corporation and Women’s Action to Gain Economic Empowerment.
Speakers: Andrew McLeod of the National Cooperative Business Association, Michael Peck of the MAPA Group and Mondragon, Ivette Melendez and Cristina Hernandez of WAGES, Kelley Rajala of the Share Exchange Cooperative will moderate
Track: Accelerating Community Capital
Session: Localizing Financial Systems for Economic Resilience
Description: BALLE thinkers, anticipating the collapse of the world’s rickety system of banking and money, are busy developing promising local alternatives. This Session will explore three of them. Author David Korten will lay out a practical plan to restructure the money/banking system to restore a system of strong community-accountable financial institutions supportive of real investment. Kat Taylor will discuss her One PacificCoast Bank as an innovative experiment in community banking. And Jared Gardner will talk about his work in Oregon leading statewide campaigns to Move Your Money and to establish a state bank modeled on North Dakota’s.
Speakers: David Korten of Yes! Magazine and Author, Jared Gardner of Oregonians for a State Bank, Kat Taylor of One PacificCoast Bank and Foundation, Michael Shuman of BALLE will moderate
Track: Business Case Study Showcase
Session: Conscious Fashion: Local Perspective, Global Impact
Description: This Session will uncover the potential for shifting the social and environmental impact of the clothing lifecycle, from design and sourcing to manufacturing and retail. With three leaders of the industry’s move to a more sustainable business model, we will explore the potential for local living wage jobs, sustainable sourcing, innovative partnerships and more.
Speakers: Sarah Van Aken of S.V.A. Holdings Corporation, Jamila Payne of the National Association of Sustainable Fashion Designers, Nicole Bridger, an Eco Designer, Amy Robinson of LoCo BC will moderate
Track: The Rise of Collaboration and the Relationship Economy (Tactics and Tools)
Session: Making a Case for Local Living Economies: Communicating Complexity and Getting Beyond the Choir
Description: It’s one thing to talk “living economies” in Boulder, but how do you do it in rural Appalachia or inner-city Newark? This interactive workshop will explore the means to effectively communicate complex ideas such as sustainability and local living economies to ordinary people. Public speaking, oral and written communication will be considered, as well as effective messaging for organizations, networks or campaigns. Participants will work with their own messaging and communications challenges, whether to members, the community or the media. Examples will be shared that weave stories, data and analysis into straight forward communications.
Speakers: Anthony Flaccavento of SCALE, Kimberlee Williams of FEMWORKS
Track: The Rise of Collaboration and the Relationship Economy (Tactics and Tools)
Session: The Art of Giving Great Service: How Zingerman’s Treats Customers Like Royalty
Description: Zingerman’s has set the standard for great customer service in the specialty foods industry by combining an innovative service philosophy with practical working systems. Zingerman’s approach has been successfully applied in a wide variety of businesses and nonprofits that are committed to improving the quality of their customer service including banks, insurance agencies, health care providers, museums, schools, libraries and non-food retailers.
Speaker: Paul Saginaw of Zingerman's Community of Businesses
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Complimentary snacks and beverages available between Sessions
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM
second set of concurrent interactive Sessions on Thursday
Track: A New Economic Agenda for the 21st Century
Session: Advocating for the World We Need: A Local Living Economy Policy Agenda at the Local, State and National Levels
Description: New and powerful voices are emerging within America's business community that are advocating for policies that support a new economy. This Session will explore how business networks and businesses can work to develop a multi-faceted approach, which pursues local/state wide as well as national legislative strategies. What are the examples of local and national policy efforts already underway, what successful strategies are being employed and what are the mechanisms that we can collectively use to bring the allied business voices forward to challenge the U.S. Chamber and build towards a sustainable economy?
Speakers: David Levine of the American Sustainable Business Council, Andy Shallal of Busboys and Poets, Andrea Cohen of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Mike Krajovic of the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Kimber Lanning of Local First Arizona will moderate
Track: Innovative Business Models and Ownership Structures
Session: Meet the New Consumers: Trends That Will Shape the Green Economy and the Opportunity for Local
Description: A more resourceful, creative and sustainable economy is beginning, with a growing number of new consumers re-thinking what really matters and creating new ways to do more with less. The panelists will introduce you to these values-aspirational, practical purchasers, and share trends, research and insights on how sustainability and localism can drive consumer engagement and positive impact. This interactive workshop explores the consumers relationship with local and why local connects more than 'green'; taking sustainability to scale, generating growth and value beyond just more consumption; and consumer roles in shaping, co-creating and inspiring sustainable innovation and positive social impact.