Center for Social Innovation

Past Conferences and Speakers

2013 Conradin Von Gugelberg Memorial Lecture

The overuse of fossil fuels is leading to increased CO2 in the atmosphere, trapping more and more heat and warming the Earth. As a result, we’re seeing more dramatic weather patterns across the globe. Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board, discussed the new cap-and-trade system and the current thinking around regional and federal policies.

Corporate Responsibility Through the Stakeholder's Lens

Author of Leveraging Corporate Responsibility: The Stakeholder Route to Maximizing Business and Social Value, CB Bhattacharya shared insight about how tapping into the reactions of consumers and employees can maximize the impact of corporate social responsibility investments.

Responsible Supply Chains Conference

Featuring all new speakers and topics, this one-day event brought together corporate and nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and academics to examine strategies companies can utilize to take supply chain responsibility to the next level.  (October 2012)

The Science of Getting People to Do Good

What can research tell us about how to inspire people to do the right thing? This exclusive one-day briefing will share simple, practical, and cost-effective solutions for encouraging social activism and other responsible, caring, and prosocial behaviors. Using common societal examples including nutrition, voter turnout, bullying prevention, and recycling behavior, we'll examine what motivates society and what influences individual choices. (March 2012)

2012 Conradin von Gugelberg Memorial Lecture on the Environment

Eric Schlosser is the author of New York Times bestseller "Fast Food Nation" and a co-producer of the documentary FOOD INC. Considered a leading authority on the impacts of industrialized agriculture, Mr. Schlosser will speak on the intersection of food, agriculture and the environment as the 2012 Conradin Von Gugelberg Memorial Lecturer on the Environment. (March 2012)

Social Entrepreneur Structure Lab

The Social Entrepreneur Structure Lab helps budding social entrepreneurs build their ventures from the mission up. The workshop will cover the various legal structures at their disposal and the pros and cons of each option. We will also explore asset management, financing, governance and more. The workshop will prepare participants to consider unexpected challenges and opportunities, while safeguarding their mission and vision for their venture. (February 2012)

USRIO+ 2.0: Bridging Connection Technologies and Sustainable Development

The Stanford Graduate School of Business is joining with the U.S State Department to sponsor USRIO+ 2.0: Bridging Connection Technologies and Sustainable Development, an international development conference focused on how social media and mobile networks are helping to improve lives in the developing world. This will be the premier U.S. Government event in the run-up to the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).(February 2012)

In Conversation with Bill Drayton

Professor Bill Meehan hosted a "fire-side chat" with Ashoka CEO, Founder, and MacArthur Fellow, Bill Drayton. Drayton shared his vision that everyone can be a Changemaker, and explained Ashoka’s approach to supporting social entrepreneurs, group entrepreneurship, and the infrastructure to allow this sector to thrive. (November 2011)

Rupert Scofield, The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook

Co-Founder and President of FINCA International, Scofield has been a social entrepreneur for 40 years. Scofield examined the challenges of running a social enterprise, and shared personal success stories and advice on what not to do — lessons he learned the hard way. (November 2011)

Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard, The Responsible Company

Patagonia founder and author of Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard discussed how to lighten your social and environmental footprint and help make economic life more socially just and environmentally responsible. Chouinard addressed elements of business responsibility for our time, how to our gifts of moral capacity and adaptive ingenuity to take stock of what we do, how to do less harm to the natural world and each other, and how to create healthier businesses in every sense. (November 2011)