Ideagen Global Podcast

In 1992, Kyle Zimmer, then a corporate attorney, was volunteering regularly at a soup kitchen in Washington DC. Realizing that the kids she was working with had no books to call their own, she set out with some friends to remedy the situation.

 

Twenty-one years and more than 110 million brand-new books later, Kyle continues to lead First Book, the nonprofit social enterprise she co-founded to ensure that local schools and community programs across the country serving children from low-income families would have a steady supply of the brand-new, high-quality books they so desperately needed.

 

Under Kyle’s leadership, First Book distributes millions of new books and educational resources every year to a growing network of schools and programs across the United States and Canada – nearly 90,000 at last count. 

 

Kyle is a passionate advocate for social entrepreneurship, educational equity, and the importance of literacy to further economic competitiveness and global understanding.  In 2013 Kyle was a presenter at the University of Oxford’s “Power Shift:  Forum for Women in the World Economy” at the Saïd Business School at Oxford.

 - See more at: http://www.firstbook.org/first-book-story/first-book-leadership#zimmer

Drew Nannis serves as the chief marketing officer for the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), joining the organization in 2011 as one of its first employees. PHA works with the private sector and its honorary chair, First Lady Michelle Obama, to help make the healthy choice the easy choice for families. Mr. Nannis’ role at the partnership covers all aspects of its marketing and communications efforts from co-branded marketing campaigns with its partners to new media to sub-brands such as the Drink Up initiative and Play Streets to PHA's Building a Healthier Future Summit. Mr. Nannis previously served as senior vice president at AARP for media relations and strategy, and in various communications roles on Capitol Hill.

www.ahealthieramerica.org

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Corporate Citizenship Center (CCC).  

Marc DeCourcey is the executive director. DeCourcey leads the Chamber Foundation’s initiatives to help businesses improve and grow their corporate responsibility programs and community impacts.

“Marc understands the important role businesses play in solving the world’s biggest social challenges,” said David Chavern, executive vice president and COO of the U.S. Chamber. “His proven leadership and previous experience in forming innovative, cross-sector partnerships will help drive CCC’s continued impact and growth.”

Prior to joining the Chamber's CCC, DeCourcey served as vice president of strategic partnerships at the American Red Cross. In this role, he fostered partnerships with a diverse group of organizations that helped grow the reach and presence of the organization. Previously, DeCourcey served as chief of staff to American Red Cross president and CEO Gail McGovern and was senior director of federal relations.“BCLC’s work shows the remarkable ability of business to innovate and work together to solve problems,” said DeCourcey. “I’m honored to join the Foundation and help foster the role business plays in improving communities and lives.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

Join us for an exclusive interview with James Starr, Vice President for Volunteer Engagement at the American Red Cross.

James has over 22 years of experience in the non-profit, healthcare and management consulting fields. He spent the first ten years of his career in the management consulting industry leading strategic planning efforts for hospitals and health systems. In the past twelve years, he has been of service to the mission of the American Red Cross. Jim brings a valuable combination of field experience and headquarters leadership experience in executive management, operations, corporate strategy, P/L responsibility, change leadership and management consulting.

The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. The American Red Cross, through its strong network of volunteers, donors and partners, is always there in times of need. They aspire to turn compassion into action so that in an emergency, there are always trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills to save lives.

Join us for an exclusive interview with Tony Sgro, CEO of EdVenture Partners (www.EdVenturePartners.com) on Thursday, October 17 at 11am ET.

 

Working out of his living room at first, he started EdVenture Partners, with his wife Laurel.  From its early inception in 1990, EdVenture Partners focus has been to create innovative partnerships between industry and education.  Working with over 500 colleges and universities throughout the US and Canada, EdVenture Partner's unique curriculum-based, peer-marketing model provides marketing, brand building, sales, research, community outreach and recruiting for companies such as the General Motors, FBI, Qatar, the American Petroleum Institute, Honda, Toyota, the Kingdom of Morocco, U.S. Army, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ford, Lockheed Martin Saturn, Citicorp, People Magazine, TIME Magazine, Bausch & Lomb, American Century Investments, SBC Communications, Clairol, Wells Fargo, Coca Cola, CIA, NSA and NGA.

Tony has been a featured speaker at events sponsored by the American Marketing Association, National Business Education Association and Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs and numerous FBI International Recruiting Conferences.  He has been quoted and/or generated coverage of EdVenture Partners in such leading publications as NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Workforce Management, Business 2.0, BrandWeek, Promo Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Financial Services Marketing, Event Marketing Magazine and American Demographics.

Join us for the exclusive Ideas Leader Interview by Ideagen with Lisa Gables, Executive Director of the Physician Assistant Foundation. 

Lisa Gables is an association executive with extensive experience in health care and aging services.  She is the executive director of the Physician Assistants Foundation (PAF) where she is rsponsible for directing all activities of the foundation.  She is also the chief development officer for the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), responsible for fostering external strategic outreaach to individuals and like-minded organizations.  She is responsible for developing and implementing an overarching and integrated strategy that generates opportunities to provide the PAF and AAPA funding to support their missions.

Join us for the live opening remarks by the founders of Ideagen, George and Adriana Sifakis, followed by an exclusive live interview with The Hon. Daniel Glickman and the Hon. Louis Stokes at the Ideagen Summit in Washington DC broadcasting live from the Willard Office Building Conference Center where many of the the nation's leading organizations will come together for cross sector collaboration and ideation.

Ideagen was formed by Axela with a simple goal in mind: to change the world. Ideagen is a zero degree platform for cross-sector collaboration by serving as the catalyst for influentials across sector lines to come together and discuss pressing issues facing our nation and world.

Daniel Glickman is Vice President of the Aspen Institute and Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program.  Mr. Glickman served as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from March 1995 until January 2001. Before his appointment as Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Glickman served for 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 4th Congressional District of Kansas. Mr. Glickman is also a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.   Mr. Glickman served as Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) from 2004 until 2010. 

www.idea-gen.com

Join us for the Inaugural Idea Leader Interview by Ideagen with Jamie Merisotis, President and CEO of Lumina Foundation.

Merisotis is an expert on a wide range of higher-education issues. He is well versed in domestic and international issues related to higher-education access and success, including student financial aid, minority-serving colleges and universities, global higher-education policy strategies, learning outcomes, and the social and economic benefits of higher education. 

 

- See more at: http://www.luminafoundation.org/about_us/president/full_biography.html#sthash.Dr2UQ3t7.dpuf