Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Presented by the nationally recognized entrepreneurship center, the Rothman Institute, this half-day intensive seminar is designed to help executives from nonprofits, social enterprises, and small and medium-sized businesses better understand important trends and key factors for success as they seek to grow their organizations in these challenging times. Following remarks from the UN's Amir Dossal, the day will feature presentations from innovation leaders including Ralph Nader, renowned consumer advocate, former presidential candidate, Dick Sweeney, co-founder of Keurig Coffee, and Darian Rodriguez Heyman, former head of Craigslist Foundation.

Learn about:

•      Starting and growing new social ventures
  
•      How management can nurture a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship
  
•      Best practices in implementing and sustaining innovation
  
•      Leveraging technology to grow nonprofits in this challenging economy

7:15 a.m. Registration, Breakfast

8:00 a.m. Welcome
Amir Dossal,Executive Director, United Nations Office for Partnerships
Amir Dossal guides the development of strategic alliances with governments, corporations, foundations and philanthropists in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. He has spearheaded the UN's engagement with a number of sectors, including technology, pharmaceutical, media and entertainment industries in support of humanitarian causes. Dossal is the UN's Representative for the partnership with media mogul Ted Turner's $1 billion donation, covering 450+ programs and projects in children’s health, women and population, climate change, and biodiversity. He also oversees management of the UN Democracy Fund, which he established in 2005.

8:20 a.m. Darian Rodriguez Heyman

9:10 a.m. Coffee Break

9:20 a.m. Dick Sweeney

10:10 a.m. Coffee Break

10:30 a.m. Ralph Nader

11:30 a.m. Networking

Lenfell Hall, Hennessy Hall (Mansion), FDU's College at Florham
285 Madison Avenue
Madison, New Jersey
Registration/Breakfast 7:15 a.m.
Presentation 8:00 a.m. Networking 11:30 a.m.
$145; pre-registration required.
Please call 973-443-8842 to register.
Live webcast available (via SEEC) with video on-demand access post event

SPEAKERS' PROFILES

Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and former presidential candidate, has devoted his life to giving ordinary people the tools they need to defend themselves against corporate negligence and government indifference. He has been honored by Time magazine as “One of the 100 Most Influential Americans of the Twentieth Century,” and as “One of the 100 Most Influential Figures in American History,” by The Atlantic Magazine.

Working to empower the average American, Nader, one of the foremost modern day social entrepreneurs, has organized millions of citizens into hundreds of citizen groups which he helped start. They include the Center for Auto Safety, Public Citizen, the Pension Rights Center, the Disability Rights Center, and the student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) that operate in over twenty states and most recently Single Payer Action, which seeks to provide comprehensive health insurance for every American.

Working with lawmakers, he was instrumental in creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Laws he helped draft and pass include the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Meat and Poultry Inspection Rules, the Air and Water Pollution Control Laws and the Freedom of Information Act and hundreds of other legislative victories locally and nationally. His efforts have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and made healthier many millions more.

Dick Sweeney became a co-founder of Keurig in 1993 and joined the company full time as VP Engineering in 1996.  He brought to Keurig more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing, product development and consulting for industrial and consumer appliances, including espresso machines. Prior to Keurig he was VP Manufacturing for Canrad-Hanovia, a manufacturer of scientific and UV lighting.  Before that was VP Operations for V-M Industries, a consumer appliances manufacturer and importer.  

At Keurig Dick’s responsibilities include Contract Manufacturing in North America and Asia, Quality Control and after market service. Through 2003, Dick was also responsible for Brewer Product Development and Packaging Engineering. Dick has developed several US and International Keurig brewer and packaging patents.  

Following service with the US Army, 52d Infantry (ABN) LRRP in Viet-Nam, Dick received his BS from New Jersey Institute of Technology where presently serves on the board of the Alfred Dorman Honors College, and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. 

Darian Rodriguez Heyman
After four years of service, Darian recently stepped down as Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating, empowering, and connecting emerging nonprofit leaders.  While there, he helped launch Nonprofit Boot Camp, a one-day conference that quickly grew into the largest nonprofit gathering in San Francisco Bay Area history, and he also helped launch the Next Generation Leadership Forum and the Environmental Nonprofit Network. 

Heyman also served as a Commissioner for the Environment and Operations Committee Chair for the City and County of San Francisco, and currently sits on the board of Project Ahimsa, a global effort to empower children through music.  Recently, he was appointed as a High-Level advisor to the United Nations’ Global Alliance for ICT (Information & Communication Technology) and Development, and he continues to speak at major conferences and provide vital support to social entrepreneurs around the world.  For his work, Independent Sector labeled him a “Vital Voice” in the nonprofit sector in their 2007 annual report.

SPONSORS' PROFILES

NJAWBO´s Women´s Business Center believes that a strong base in small business, which includes every segment of the population, builds a strong community, and its past programs reflect a profound impact in the creation of new businesses and job generation for women. Created in 1998, the WBC is the educational arm of the 28 year old New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners and provides a full spectrum of entrepreneurial programs for women throughout the state at three levels; burgeoning women entrepreneurs, experienced business owners and an outreach to underserved communities.

Social Entrepreneurship and Education Consortium (SEEC) is for individuals and organizations leading university social entrepreneurship activities, curriculum and academic research. The objective of the consortium is to share best practices, exchange ideas, form collaborations and to develop better integrated strategies. www.seecglobal.org

For 25 years, the Center for Non-Profits has been providing leadership and services for New Jersey non-profits, and remains New Jersey's only umbrella organization for all charities in the state. Through advocacy, education, capacity building programs and member services, the Center gives non-profits the knowledge and tools they need to pursue their missions more effectively, strengthening non-profits as individual organizations and as a community. www.njnonprofits.org

WNYC Radio is New York's premier public radio station, broadcasting the finest programs from National Public Radio and Public Radio International, as well as a wide range of award-winning signature local programming. WNYC, New York Public Radio comprises WNYC 93.9 FM and WNYC AM 820. As America's most listened-to public radio stations both station's reaching over one million listeners each week in the region. Continual innovations reflect WNYC's long and distinguished history of providing the region and nation with unique news, educational, cultural, and public affairs programming. www.wnyc.org

Moran Media Group is one of the largest providers of relevant and practical information to business owners, helping them start, manage and grow their companies. MMG currently publishes three national magazines for the small-to-midsize business market, including: Small Business Success, Urban Success and Winning Bids.In addition to the magazines, Moran Media Group partners with many of the leading small business organizations to host workshops, seminars and national conferences aimed at the various segments of small business. In 2007, MMG launched SmallBusinessEdge.com, a web site dedicated to maintaining the ongoing dialogue between MMG, its partners and business owners. www.moranmediagroup.com

Entrepreneurs often toil alone with few resources to help them overcome the myriad problems endemic to new ventures. For the last four years, help has been available from www.NJentrepreneur.com, a web site offering a host of tools for entrepreneurs struggling to establish businesses in the Garden State. “One of the biggest hurdles is finding the information when you need it to keep building your business, and a key function of the site is to get that valuable information to the entrepreneur on an ongoing basis,” says Jeanne Gray, the site’s editor and publisher – and an entrepreneur in her own right. The site's latest module is Capital Connections - a forum for entrepreneurs and investors to meet.

NPower is a network of locally based nonprofit organizations that provide comprehensive, high-quality and affordable technology assistance to other nonprofit groups nationally. Founded in 1999, NPower currently serves more than 4,000 organizations each year. At NPower, we connect nonprofits to technology so that they can discover powerful new ways of serving their clients and communities. We've proven time and again that almost any nonprofit can leverage the power of IT to achieve transformative rewards.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) is an independent, self-supporting State entity dedicated to broadening New Jersey’s economic base by building vibrant, diverse communities, creating and maintaining jobs, and providing businesses and nonprofits with the necessary financial and technical support to grow and succeed. The EDA creates public/private partnerships to bridge financing gaps and to increase access to capital by the State's business community with an emphasis on small and mid-size businesses and nonprofit organizations. It supports entrepreneurial development through training and mentoring programs. It undertakes real estate development projects important to the State's economic growth that will create new jobs and business opportunities and support community development and revitalization.

The Research and Development Council of New Jersey
Our members are among New Jersey’s most respected Fortune 100 businesses and top universities. Through the dedication of its volunteer membership base, The Council is a big supporter of education and is also committed to honoring and celebrating individual achievements in all aspects of R&D across the state. Programs, forums and discussions provide an invaluable exchange of information for top industry professionals. www.rdnj.org

The New Jersey Technology Council provides business support, networking opportunities, information, advocacy and recognition of technology companies and their leaders. Founded in 1996, NJTC's more than 1,200 member companies work together to support their own enterprises while advancing New Jersey's status as a leading technology center in the United States. In its efforts to serve the technology industries of the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey Technology Council plans networking, informational and educational events for high-tech executives in the following sectors: Communications & Media; Engineering, Energy & Environment (E3); Electronics, Advanced Manufacturing & Materials; Life Sciences; IT/Software and Nanotechnology. www.njtc.org

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies has been supporting entrepreneurship and innovation since 1989. Its top 20 academic program includes a comprehensive curriculum on both undergraduate and graduate levels. Outreach programs include the Family Business Forum, executive training programs, the Female Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, the executive training seminars/courses for entrepreneurs, and the Business Plan Development program. Recognition programs include the Distinguished Entrepreneurial Lecture Series, the NJ Family Business of the Year Awards, the NJ Female Entrepreneur Lecture, the East Coast Student Entrepreneur Awards and the NJ Business Idea Competition.

The Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (ISE) at Fairleigh Dickinson University, was founded in the AACSB—accredited Silberman College of Business in 2005.  ISE focuses on bringing people together to learn how to make their organizations and the world more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.  ISE concentrates on three related areas of contribution: applied research, education and services.

The Silberman College of Business is a leading provider of high-quality, innovative business education. The College is accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Its mission is to prepare graduates to assume leadership positions in a global business community characterized by rapid technological and social change. The educational programs are built on the diverse backgrounds and experiences of both the faculty and students, emphasizing the practice of business management through the applied research and professional activities of the faculty. Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey’s largest private university, is a nonsectarian, coeducational institution offering more than 100 degree programs on the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels.

Supporting Organizations

BioNJ
Bio 1
Usability Professionals Association
Organization for Entrepreneurial Development
AJ O'Connor & Associates
IMC
MCCC