NewBridge Cleveland – Center for Arts and Technology
3634 Euclid Avenue

Have you thought about launching a business? Are you interested in solving problems in your community?

Attend a panel discussion to be inspired by others’ successes in cities like Cleveland, then work with designers and business entrepreneurs in an all-day workshop to identify shared opportunities and how to work together to realize them.

Agenda

Thursday, February 23: Discussion and panel
6:00-7:00 p.m. Check-in and networking
7:00-9:00 p.m. Panel discussion and Q&A

Friday, February 24: Workshop
8:00–9:00 a.m. Registration and coffee
9:00-10:00 a.m. The principles of entrepreneurship
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Matching skills and interests
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Lunch (included in your registration)
1:00–3:00 p.m. Personalized training and planning

In this all-day workshop on Friday, February 24, designers and business entrepreneurs will work together to identify shared opportunities and learn to work together to realize them. After a few demonstrations to start the day, participants will work in teams to map opportunities, match skills with needs, develop business ideas and formulate strategies.

Workshop participants will learn to use the “positive deviance approach” to problem solving, which enables the group to discover existing solutions to complex problems. Using examples of designers and entrepreneurs who’ve succeeded at creating their own futures in challenging times, workshop participants will follow a unique process to identify and optimize existing, sustainable solutions from within the community to speed up the innovation process.

Your registration for this workshop also includes a ticket for our Thursday evening event, “Designing Opportunities: Presentations and Discussion.” It’s a great way to hear success stories and start thinking about how the lessons can be applied to your future.

If you’ve thought about starting your own business, see a problem that needs to be addressed or already have a business plan in hand, this workshop is for you! You’ll leave with new relationships, new ideas and tools to accomplish them—including the confidence to play a leadership role in your community and company. Register now!

Workshop faculty

Cheryl Heller is Chair of the MFA Design for Social Innovation program at the School of Visual Arts in New York, the founder of Heller Communication Design and Board Chair of PopTech, a laboratory for disruptive innovation focused on technology and social change. As a pioneering communication designer and business strategist, she has led transformational initiatives at American Express, L’Oreal, the National Audubon Society, Reebok, Sappi, Seventh Generation and the World Wildlife Fund. Her work in design, advertising, branding, marketing and writing have given her experience and perspective on every aspect of social innovation for the corporate world, non-profits and foundations.

Julie Engel Manga, Ph.D., has been a coach, consultant, facilitator and trainer for over 25 years, focusing on helping leaders be resourceful and grounded while navigating the fast, dynamic and challenging circumstances of their work and personal lives. Julie is on the faculty of the MFA Design for Social innovation program at the School of Visual Arts and at New Ventures West, and is an adjunct faculty member at the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship where she leads classes for corporate managers and executives on organizational change. She has authored several studies and articles based on her research in corporate citizenship.

Gregor Barnum has served as the Director of Operations/Business Development for o.s.Earth, Inc. a consulting firm that used the concepts of R. Buckminister Fuller to help Fortune 500 companies design business “to do more with less.” He worked for eight years as Director of Corporate Consciousness at Seventh Generation, Inc., where his work focused on integrating sustainability, systems thinking and innovation into the company. He has been studying with Otto Scharmer at the MIT Sloan School of Management on Theory-U innovation methodologies for the last 4 years.

Registration fees

Members of AIGA have access to a wide range of benefits, including discounted rates for this event. Join AIGA before you register to save!

Register now for this event.

Registration policies
Your registration constitutes permission to use photos, audio and video recording taken of you at the event for promotional and educational purposes in connection with AIGA conferences and activities, in corresponding publications, in AIGA‘s archives and on AIGA‘s website. Substitutions must be from member to member or from nonmember to nonmember, otherwise the difference in per person registration fees is due.

If you need special assistance to participate in this program, please contact . For reasonable assistance accommodations to be provided, please notify us at least 14 business days in advance of the program. If we do not receive timely notification of your reasonable request, we may not be able to make the necessary arrangements by the time of the program.

Please note: When you register for this workshop, you’ll also be asked to provide a statement of where you are in your career and what you hope to get out of the workshop. This initial assessment will help our faculty tailor the Friday event to meet your individual needs.

Cancellation policy
AIGA will refund 50 percent of event fees paid for cancellations made before February 10, 2012. No refunds will be available after February 10, 2012.

Event is subject to cancellation or change. Speakers are subject to change without prior notice. Liability is limited to funds remitted for event registration. If the event is cancelled due to extreme weather, participants will be notified by email.

About AIGA’s professional development programs

This panel discussion is the first event in AIGA’s new “Social Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship for Designers” program.

The design profession, like nearly all others, is in transition. As businesses and institutions address the need to transform and adapt to changing dynamics, design must remain relevant to the new (lack of) order. Designers need to have a respected voice in the conversations that will shape the future, and be among the leaders gathering to realize it.

AIGA’s Social Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship program is a learning initiative designed to address this need. It will augment professional designers’ skills through exposure and insider insights into the best practices in social innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and change management.