Recovery and Resilience

Social Innovation Summit 2020 Recap: Session 3

The second day of Social Innovation Summit 2020 launched us into a topic on all our minds: how we are going to come back after COVID-19. As much as we feel the despair of our newly exposed structural inequalities, this moment is also an opportunity and a turning point. It’s a call to action, an invitation for change, and a galvanizing time for leaders across all sectors and communities to set a vision for the future and carry it out together.

In Session 3 of the summit, we heard from leaders about how education and policy can play an active role in recovery by supporting entrepreneurial ambition. I was inspired to learn about an incredibly innovative application of gaming technology to help our frontline medical professionals hone their skills in treating unprecedented COVID-19 cases. We also discovered how a college student became the founder of a nonprofit that has amassed an army of volunteers to serve at-risk groups during the pandemic lockdown. And we heard how CEOs can forge recovery strategies and hope both within their organizations and across their communities.

Inspiration amid all the current hardship is hugely welcome at this time, but those providing inspiration in thisday’s presentations are clear in their call to ongoing, collaborative, and targeted action.

A Look Inside Session 3

Our second day of the conference began with a collective grounding. Wellness practitioner Sydney Strabala provided an inspirational and motivational reading to set the tone for the day. Watch her opening remarks here.

America’s New Business Plan to Ensure Inclusive Prosperity

We can’t talk about recovery for all without acknowledging the deep inequalities that are poised to reassert themselves if we are not intentional in our recovery strategy. Minority-owned businesses have historically been denied access to the American Dream through policy, practice, and omission. This session was a conversation among leaders seeking to build a new and inclusive economy: Philip Gaskin, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at Kauffman Foundation, Tawanna Black, Founder and CEO of the Center for Economic Inclusion, and Miles Sandler, Director of Engagement, Education, and Public Affairs at Kauffman Foundation.

Conversation highlights included:

(2:42) Ms. Black provided rich and necessary context of America’s past inequalities that must inform the steps we take toward a future where all people thrive economically.

(5:55) Mr. Gaskin described Kauffman Foundation’s recently launched initiative, America’s New Business Plan, a bipartisan policy roadmap focused on supporting entrepreneurs and reducing barriers to new business creation.

(8:22) Ms. Black described how education must play a crucial role in closing the “belief gap” and making entrepreneurship a core part of K-12 curriculum.

(10:00) Mr. Gaskin explained how policy must also play a role in supporting, encouraging, and reinforcing the risks of entrepreneurship.

(13:02) Ms. Black called for race- and place-based resource deployment that serves the specific needs of local businesses and their owners, who need resources that will not just help them reopen, but grow and thrive.

Watch the whole conversation here.

Fighting COVID-19 with Video Game Technology                                                                                 

The healthcare sector is no exception to having its systemic problems exacerbated by COVID-19. Medical professional training has been exposed during this time as lagging far behind what’s needed to serve patients during the pandemic. Sam Glassenberg, the founder and CEO of Level Ex, has expanded his already robust offering of training video games in order to meet this very need. Now, medical professionals can use Level Ex games to practice COVID-19 intubations, among a host of other procedures, diagnostics, and treatments.

Presentation highlights included:

(2:18) The story of how Level Ex pivoted amid the pandemic to offer medical professionals new skills needed to treat COVID-19 patients.

(4:01) Exciting live demonstrations of real Level Ex games designed to help medical professionals practice complex procedures and learn new guidelines at the same time.

(6:50) A live demo of a new diagnostic game to help medical professionals recognize and respond to new or changing symptoms.

Watch Glassenberg’s entire presentation here.

From Idea to Action: Service During Crisis

Liam Elkind was a full-time college student before he became a co-founder of Invisible Hands. His story of showing up to meet an urgent local need during the pandemic will inspire anyone who has a stirring to do something helpful during this time. Opportunity is all around us, and it only takes the awareness and willingness to act to turn an idea into a growing nonprofit.

Presentation highlights include:

(1:15) Liam described how Invisible Hands was founded and grew to a force of 10,000 volunteers delivering over $1 million in food and medicine across New York, New Jersey, and beyond.

(2:49) Liam shared an emotional and moving story of one volunteer’s incredible impact on a homebound client with no one else to turn to.

(4:15) Discover one of Liam’s earliest and biggest mistakes, which involved both Blake Lively and Senator Bernie Sanders.

Watch Liam’s entire presentation here.

Leadership from The Boardroom: How Chief Executives Can Be a Force for Good

While it’s tempting to look to leaders for all our solutions, building the future is up to all of us. It’s when our purpose lines up with our organization’s that we can be truly empowered to find proactive and creative solutions. As Barbara Humpton, CEO of Seimens USA, and Daryl Brewster, CEO of CECP, showed us, leaders can make an important difference when they recognize their employees’ whole self at work as they “build forward” together.

Conversation highlights included:

(2:00) We’re familiar with B2B and B2C, but Ms. Humpton explains that B2S (Business to Society) is the new standard for companies that need to bring value to society.

(4:41) Ms. Humpton described how Seimens responded to COVID-19 and rose to the occasion with innovative thinking about teams, skills, and infrastructure.

(10:22) The most important lesson learned from this crisis must be how to reach across organizational lines and network for change.

(11:18) Ms. Humpton and Mr. Brewster explained why empathy is the most crucial business asset.

(18:26) “Build forward” is the mindset that will help businesses take this moment as an opportunity for reinvention.

Watch the entire conversation here.

Check out previous recaps of Social Innovation Summit sessions. You can find every presentation on our Main Stage.