MARCH 12, 2016 LIMITLESS PRESENTED BY THE
UBC SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CLUB
WELCOME TO THE CONFERENCE Dear Delegate, This conference has been put together by the UBC Social Enterprise Club, a group of students who are collectively working towards creating changemakers, uniting students and social enterprises and finally bridging disciplines for a more collective approach to problem solving. Today will be filled with a sequence of noteworthy speakers whose sessions are not only meant to inspire but also challenge your thinking on how to use social enterprise as a tool to create systemic change. As you listen to all the speakers we hope you understand that these individuals have worked day in and day out to make their ventures successful in creating the change they envisioned. It is not as easy as waking up one day wanting to change the world, it takes grit, resilience and most importantly a deep understanding of the reality of the problem you are trying to solve. We want you to know that as a social entrepreneur, intrapreneur or changemaker you have the mindset and skills to innovate an idea into a sustainable solution and prove to the world that change is limitless if you adapt, push the limits, question status quo and be at the frontline of positive social change. Thank YOU, Priyanka Vasudev Chairperson, UBC Social Enterprise Conference
KEYNOTES EAKERS OPENING KEYNOTE
MIKI AGRAWAL Miki Agrawal is a force of nature. Named 2013’s Forbes’ “Top 20 Millennials On a Mission”, she is also leading the underwear revolution with THINX. She and her partners teamed up with AFRIpads in Uganda to fund 7 reusable cloth pads for every pair of underwear sold to get millions of girls back in school.
CLOSING KEYNOTE
JOE ROBERTS Joe Roberts, known as the Skid Row CEO, went from living under a bridge in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in 1989 to becoming a Canadian millionaire before he turned 35. When motivational speaker Joe Roberts speaks, no one leaves unaffected as he proves, beyond a doubt, that setbacks can be our greatest assets.
SPOTLIGHT KEYNOTE
DHAIRYA PUJARA Founder, CEO at Ycenter - Dhairya has created community centered projects in Mozambique, Africa and India. Dhairya is a "Global Shaper" chosen by World Economic Forum's Philadelphia Hub Community. He has been a global TEDx organizer and a public speaker on entrepreneurship and international development.
PANELISTS ALFRED LAM Alfred joined Chrysalix in 2012 with more than 10 years R&D experience in the energy sector. He is a technology innovator with three patents, more than 10 peer-reviewed papers, and was awarded an NSERC Innovation Award recognizing his entrepreneurial spirit and the commercial potential of his PhD research.
VICTORIA PELLETIER Victoria Pelletier is a consultant in Deloitte’s Human Capital practice. She focuses in designing change management and training programs for large scale transformations. She has worked across a number of industries and is recognized for her critical thinking, client focus and solutions-based orientation.
THIJS MATHOT While working for a Mexican project developer on real estate investments, Thijs pooled money with some friends to support a Mexican student through university. Witnessing the high financial and social returns of this student’s degree first hand, Thijs got an idea: Why not invest in high potential students instead of real estate to eliminate financial barriers to higher education? Leading to Brighter Investment.
PANELISTS PRAVEEN VARSHNEY Praveen is director of Varshney Capital Corp., a Vancouver-based merchant banking, venture capital, and corporate advisory services firm. He also served on UBC’s Sauder School of Business’ Faculty Advisory Board for twelve years, is a former board member of the Vancouver Board of Trade, and has served on the board of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) for many years.
ELISE HUISMAN Elise moved to Vancouver to pursue a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at UBC. Besides extensive clinical research experience, she also worked as a global medical device market research analyst, performing market size forecasting and competitive analysis at iData Research. With over 6 years of research experiences she leads clinical research and impact measurement at Arbutus Medical.
SPEAKERS MODERATOR
ERIN MILLAR Erin Millar has received multiple awards for her journalism innovation work, including being named 2015 Bob Carty Fellow by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, a solutions journalism fellow by Ashoka Canada and an AMEX Emerging Social Innovator. She is a published author and the CoFounder of Discourse Media.
FIRESIDE CHAT SPEAKER
ELIZABETH LOUGHEED GREEN Liz has many years of experience as a community developer, social policy advocate and social enterprise practitioner. She is the Director of Business and Community Development for Vancity, managing a variety of teams in the impact business, impact real estate, Aboriginal partnerships, sponsorship and events and granting spaces.
NETWORKING PRESENTER
CHRIS SCHUCHMANN Chris is a purpose-driven young professional and change maker who believes that business and innovation are tools for social change and sustainable development. He is a participant in the Groundswell Social Venture Program, the Radius Fellowship, and is currently starting a social venture himself.
EXPLORATION FORUMS CHIN HING CHANG Chin is a serial entrepreneur who’s passionate about helping other entrepreneurs succeed, this is where his roles comes in at Spring. Chin is interested in utilizing technology to leave a lasting impact in the world and wants to help other young entrepreneurs do the same.
MIKE TAN A life-hacker, serial social entrepreneur, surfer, and wannabe yogi, Mike is the COO of Change Heroes, a social enterprise on a mission to help people wake up to their power to make a massive difference in the world. Previously, Mike co-founded TeamPages.com and was selected as one of Vancouver Island’s Top 40 Under 40.
DANA STEPHENSON Dana Stephenson, Co-Founder and Chiief Connectiing Offiicer of Riipen, learned firsthand how difficult it is for students today to transition from education into a relevant, meaningful career upon graduation. Combining talents with a few of his peers at graduation, he launched Riipen, an experiential learning platform that transforms class assignments into relevant, skill-based, industry projects.
EXPLORATION FORUMS MICHAEL MOLL Michael Moll is a community and technology obsessed social commerce visionary. He describes himself as having resilient sustainable communities rooted in his DNA. He’s currently using his marketing prowess and startup experience to steer the vision for My Green Space, a digital garden planner and seed shop on a mission to make communities more sustainable and resilient.
MANISHA NARULA Manisha is the Program Director of GradusOne, a Vancouver-based social venture designed to help students and recent graduates discover and refine their career paths. She helped launch GradusOne in March 2015 and is dedicated to helping youth face the question “What’s next”.
NICOLE WHELEN Nicole is a seasoned marketing and branding specialist, having worked across the retail, fashion, and government sectors for major brands including Nature Conservatory, Group Health, and Norco. She joined GradusOne in 2015.
EXPLORATION FORUMS DAVID LEPAGE David is a co-founder and Director of Buy Social Canada. Buy Social Canada facilitates social purchasing relationships and offers a certification program for social enterprise suppliers and purchasers. His years of experience cross all dimensions of social enterprise activity, in rural and urban settings, across cultures, and internationally.
SUSANNA CARSON Susanna Carson is an entrepreneur building her personal and corporate legacy through the business of sustainable/compostable packaging. She is the founder and CEO of BSI Biodegradable Solutions, a compostable packaging distribution company, and more recently Besics Packaging Corporation, a compostable retail products company.
SCOTT HENRY Scott Henry is an ICT Innovation Intern at the World Bank focusing on enhancing urban tech innovation ecosystems, exploring new methods of market-based approaches and mobilizing climate technology to solve environmental issues. Scott has prior experience in non-profits, social media, community management and business development.
CHANGEMAKERS CARLY SOTAS Carly is currently the co-program director for Vancouver's Heart of the City Piano Program and the President of the Pencils of Promise student group at UBC. She hopes to continue working with youth empowerment programs and to pursue a career in community development and planning.
MARISSA WILLCOX An innovative leader with a passion for facilitating change, Marissa is at the forefront of the Buy Social Canada Campaign as the Information and Services Coordinator. Through her education at UBC, and a love for writing she has facilitated community connections, certified social enterprises and developed an online forum for the social movement.
CHERIHAN HASSUN Cherihan has become passionate about social entrepreneurship through her involvement in the Social Enterprise Club at UBC. As the 3rd member of the Wize Monkey team she is responsible for building and managing a brand ambassador program, creating content and design concepts for any visual needs and constantly evaluating potential partnerships and sponsorship opportunities.
THIS CONFERENCE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY: SPONSORS
PARTNERS