Home » Sustainable Business Development »

5th annual Spring Business Conference & Expo

The largest business conference in NW Washington, with inspiration and hands-on tools to equip today's entrepreneurs for tomorrow's economic opportunities.

This is a Toward Zero Waste event!

THURSDAY, May 15th 2008

8:00am-5:30pm @ Bellwether Ballroom 1 Bellwether Way in Bellingham

>>>REGISTER ONLINE NOW<<<

Exhibitor info available HERE

See this year's brochure HERE

Check out the day's agenda HERE

OUR GUARANTEE:

At this event you will experience the kind of shivers you only get in ‘ah-ha’ moments, and the kind of hope you feel when you recognize a revolutionary idea as a critical piece of the path forward.

WHO ATTENDS?

Successful entrepreneurs, business innovators, community and economic development professionals, elected officials, aspiring entrepreneurs – all interested in changing what it means to succeed in business!

from a 2007 conference attendee...

"I wanted to write and let you know how much Friday's event meant to me.
I was moved deeply by the sense of community you all are promoting. I have lived in Whatcom County almost all of my life but have never felt connected to it. As an artist I've mostly been working in my ivory tower. However, now as an art tile maker and wholesale business, I need to build my local market and to do that I've needed to reach out but it has been difficult. Now as a proud Sustainable Connections member I know some of the people I need to meet... Thanks!!"

2008 SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Arran Stephens -

Arran is president and co-founder (with life-companion, Ratana) of Nature’s Path Foods – North America’s largest organic breakfast food company, employing 250+ people at state-of-the-art facilities in BC, Washington State and Ontario. Unusual in a time of industry consolidation, Nature’s Path remains independent and family-owned.

Some accomplishments:
Ernst & Young 2002 Entrepreneur of the Year Award – Pacific Region
Exporter of the Year award – 1992 & 2005
CHFA Lifetime Achievement Award
Canada’s Top 100 Employers – 2003, 2004 & 2005 – MacLean’s Magazine
BC’s Top 20 Employers, 2005

Arran has been involved for years on various non-profit boards, and is a key figure in coordinating the purchase and development of the SOS Eco Centre. This Ecology centre is being established to teach all aspects of sustainability, demonstration composting, organic gardening, as well as to offer free non-profit courses on yoga, healthy vegetarian cooking, and meditation. A lending library and a pre-school will be set up in this former public school property in 2006.

Author of Journey to the Luminous (Elton Wolf, 1999, 386 pages) – Arran exquisitely details his spiritual quest with great Indian Mystics, while exploring the frontiers of consciousness.

Sharif Abdullah -

Sharif Abdullah is the Founder and Director of Commonway Institute and catalyst for inclusive social, cultural and spiritual transformation. Sharif challenges people to rethink values, actions, and the reality of the world. His books include The Power of One: Authentic Leadership in Turbulent Times and Creating a World That Works for All. Sharif is the recipient of the 2007 “Hero of Humanity Award” and has criss-crossed the planet, taking his inclusivity work to over twenty-five different countries and close to 100 distinct cultures, working with groups who struggle with their differences: heads of state and poor rice farmers, peace activists and members of militias. Recognizing that we will not solve humanity’s global problems with the same attitudes, philosophies and consciousness that created the problems in the first place, Commonway teaches people how to shape a world that works for all.

“My work is essentially spiritual. Not the empty platitudes that are mouthed on Sundays (or Fridays or Saturdays…), but a real-time dynamic search for meaning in a world gone crazy. We are not here to increase market share, freshen our breath or root for the home team. We are here to actually act like we love each other, and to act out that love on a daily basis. Spirituality for me is an unrelenting commitment to honor the Divine within each of us. I can’t do that if I am at war with others or at war with myself. I am committed to ending war. I am committed to creating a world that works for all.” ~ Sharif Abdullah

Kevin Wilhelm -

Kevin is an expert and national thought leader in the field of business and Climate Change. Currently he is the CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting, a Seattle based firm focused on profit improvement through the use of sustainable business and climate reduction practices. Kevin brings over 13 years of bottom-line financial experience to the field, having worked with clients ranging from next generation renewable energy start-ups to Fortune 500 multinationals. Active in the Sustainability Community, Kevin is an advisor to both the Corporate Climate Protection Agreement and the Sustainable Business Institute. Locally, he chairs the Sustainability Committee of Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

He is also nationally recognized speaker on this topic and has been published several times in this past year: He was the lead author on: “Clean Technology – The Answer for Washington’s Carbon Constrained Future.” And he is in the process of completing his first book, “Business and Climate Change: Risks, Opportunities, and How Companies Can Profit by Saving the Planet,” due out this fall.

Kevin holds an MBA from the University of Denver and two Graduate Certificates from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship.

Lee Collinge -

In her more than eight years as a communication consultant with Metropolitan Group, a strategic and creative services agency working with social purpose organizations, Lee has worked with a diverse mix of nonprofit, public sector and socially responsible corporate clients. She understands and celebrates the impact of organizations, especially businesses, working to make the world a better place. Lee is skilled at developing and implementing strategic communication and social marketing campaigns that engage constituents and achieve high returns on investment all while staying true to client mission. She is particularly experienced in helping clients––no matter their area of focus––build authentic and evolving relationships with key audiences.

Lee has had the pleasure of working with many socially responsible business clients. Her recent work has included conducting local and national media and marketing outreach for Portland’s South Waterfront District, the largest sustainable urban development project in the country; providing strategic communication, brand management, community relations and media relations for Portland’s locally owned and operated New Seasons Market; helping launch a public awareness campaign for RugMark, a child-labor-free certification program for imported handmade rugs; and providing strategic marketing and community relations counsel for Burgerville, a 39 location Northwest restaurant chain dedicated to sustainable business practices.

Mayor Dan Pike -

On November 27, 2007 Dan Pike was sworn in as the 20th Mayor of Bellingham after living and working in and around Bellingham for 25 years. Mayor Pike’s administration is committed to fostering an open, collaborative government while focusing on key issues such as waterfront redevelopment, Lake Whatcom water quality, permitting, environmental protection and neighborhoods.

Mayor Pike is a graduate of Western Washington University's Huxley College (BA 1994) and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government (MPA 1998). He also worked for ten years in the seafood industry as a line worker, dock manager, and fisherman.

Jessica Coven -

Jessica Coven serves as policy associate for Climate Solutions, a research and advocacy organization pioneering practical and profitable solutions to global warming. . Her work focuses on ensuring strong policies are passed and implemented to protect the climate throughout the Northwest and on coordinating Climate Solutions' work around green collar jobs. Her co-panelists will be from the Opportunity Council, Bellingham Technical College and Sustainable Connections. They will provide more information on the burgeoning national movement to create “Green Collar Jobs,” which meld efforts to reduce poverty while addressing environmental challenges, as well as what’s being done to bring these opportunities to Whatcom County.