Speakers – Social Entrepreneurship
Whether they are non-profit organizations, social enterprises, green initiatives, or people who simply value giving back, the area of community-focused entrepreneurship is becoming prevalent as more and more entrepreneurs strive to make a difference.
Blake Hanacek
Founder and CEO, Agro Cafe Inc.
Blake Hanacek is the founder and CEO of Agro Cafe Inc., a Vancouver-based coffee importer, roaster and retailer. He is also co-founder of AGRODEV (Agricultural Growers Resource Organization Developing Economic Viability), a Kenyan-based non-government organization. He spends his time linking for-profit companies and a not-for-profit NGOs together to help educate consumers and producers on sustainable rural development.
Blake was born in Vancouver and holds a BSc. in Global Resource Systems from the Faculty of Agricultural Science at the University of British Columbia. He also holds a Masters of Watershed Management from the Resource Management and Environmental Sciences Faculty at the University of British Columbia. Blake has studied and worked in Canada, Sweden, Japan, Uganda, Kenya, Costa Rica, Mexico and the USA. His passions are coffee, music, mount biking, food and travel.
Tom Williams
Founder and CEO, GiveMeaning
Tom is a junior high-school drop-out who left school to start working for Apple when he was only 15 years old. Over the past fifteen years, Tom has built a wealth of experience in taking ideas and turning them into reality. Five years ago, he started GiveMeaning, a charitable foundation that helps individuals fundraise for specific charitable projects all around the World. Tom volunteers his time at GiveMeaning. He now earns his income consulting to high profile people, non-profits and companies on how to use the web to build and engage audiences and supporters.
Connie Linder
Founder and President, Insight Creative Communications
Connie has been a social entrepreneur since 2001 when she started her business communications company Insight Creative Communications – a firm dedicated to supporting and enhancing the performance of organizations committed to the integration of social, environmental and economic change. Since its inception in 1999, the firm has worked with start-up companies and established international organizations on projects including alternative and renewable energy, emerging technologies (including clean tech), First Nations negotiations and sustainable real estate development.
In 2008 Connie founded GreenPages Directory Inc., a search tool and business platform designed to help people make better choices. Prior to working on her own, Connie worked within the finance industry as an investment advisor and consulted at the executive level with several emerging companies, securing financing, developing and implementing business and communications strategies. Connie was a finalist in the Action Canada Program, an initiative dedicated to identifying and supporting future Canadian leaders and is identified by the University of British Columbia as a leader in sustainability.
Matt Hill
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Run for One Planet
Matt Hill is the kind of ball of insatiable energy that reminds us all why we love life. Born and bred in British Columbia, Canada, Matt, like his idol Terry Fox, was always running. His parents and teachers thought that making him run might help quell his endless energy. Instead, a mile run down the lane behind his school seemed to give him even more energy. Running was something that Matt just couldn’t get enough of – the only non-athletic award that Matt ever won was for a public speaking contest in the 7th grade. The topic: running.
Matt did not just share the love of running; he also dreamt of doing something that would make a difference in the world. Matt’s dream started when he was 12, watching Terry run across Canada. The dream would take another 28 years to be put into action, but he never let go of that dream. During those 28 years, Matt enjoyed a successful career as an actor in both film and television. Some of his noteworthy roles were in films such as Titanic and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III where underneath the green turtle suit he played Raphael.
During all this, Matt did not stop running. He tried his hand at triathlons and eventually completed the Ironman seven times. Then his passion for the planet, people and running took hold: along with his partner in crime, Stephanie Tait, Matt co-founded Run For One Planet and ran 11,000 miles round North America fuelled by Blueberry protein shakes and the burning desire to fulfill his dream of making a difference. Although the run is now over, Matt’s passion to inspire Fit Kids on a Fit Planet continues as he serves as Co-Director for the Run for One Planet’s Legacy Fund.