Regular Events
We present monthly Brown Bag “lunch & learn” meetups at DISTRICT Coworking in New Haven every 1st Tuesday at 12:30pm. These are free for members and first-time guests. Quarterly forums are held on zoom – be sure you’re signed up to our newsletter to receive the registration links. We also produce panel discussions at area colleges and universities by invitation, and work with our partners to stay visible to various business communities in many other ways.
Upcoming Events
Past Events
We’re Co-Working at DISTRICT for the Remainder of 2023!
Working alongside others seeking better ways of doing business beyond traditional capitalism benefits us and our companies. By special arrangement, professional members of our chapter will have complimentary day passes on 1st & 3rd Tuesdays (normally a $29 value) to gather at the DISTRICT New Haven. Invite a colleague or two – we have up to 25 spots we can fill on each of these dates!!
Oct 17 – Jack to facilitate a discussion around 2pm on Chat GPT: Tips & Tricks
Nov 7 – Ask David & Jennifer about getting the most out of a professional conference
Nov 21 – Elinor can chat with you about how solopreneurs can be Agile
Dec 5 – A quick crash course on using Slack to communicate!
Dec 19 – Do you want to volunteer a topic? Let us know! (to be confirmed, since it’s so close to the holidays)
CT Conscious Capitalists: A Quartet of Pecha Kucha-Style Presentations
Internationally known best-selling business authors Neha Sangwan, MD, and Raj Sisodia team up to deliver a powerful joint message on resiliency as a winning business strategy from the perspective of the self, local communities, and global society. From navigating the early stages of a career to decision-making with broad ramifications while leading a department or organization, these two share hard-won experiences regarding pitfalls to avoid on the journey towards achievement in the workplace. Above all, today’s business challenges call for long-term commitment to health and well-being at all levels of planning, management, and implementation. Entry includes book signing and refreshments.
CT Conscious Capitalists: A Quartet of Pecha Kucha-Style Presentations
Join us to hear real-life experiences applying four core tenets of Conscious Capitalism. These presentations will be highly visual and interactive. Each will consist of a punchy set of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds, followed by Q&A. Networking reception for students and professional members of Conscious Capitalism CT will be hosted by hosted by UCONN Technology Incubation Program and TIP Innovation Fellowships. Attire is professional or business casual.
Experience Athletic Brewing and Their B Corp Journey
Athletic Brewing Co. is an award-winning non-alcoholic beer company dedicated to making great-tasting craft brews, without compromise. Athletic was founded on values that align with those of B Labs; Quality, Inclusion, Innovation, Integrity, and Community. They became B Corp certified in April of 2022 and are thrilled to host the B Local CT community.
An evening of beer sensory and tasting, tours, and socializing at their newest facility and HQ in Milford, CT. Presentations from:
Sarah DeLorenzo, Quality & Sensory Technician
Cara Wilson, B Corp and Two for the Trails Manager
John Walker, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Sponsored by: B Local CT, Conscious Capitalism CT, and Athletic Brewing Co.
Greening Commercial Systems
Join a panel of conscious business leaders who are navigating the development of green tech and sustainable innovations. All are concerned with legacy industries of core importance to Connecticut commerce.
This event is open to professional and student members of the Chapter, the entire SCSU campus community, and guests. Attendees will be able to network and ask questions. Please bring your curiosity and desire to explore new approaches!
Branding the Business Community: Stories from Maine
Our Board Chair Gavin Watson chats on this topic with special guest Tara Jenkins of Portland, Maine, co-founder of the Maine Conscious Business Collective. Tara is also the founder of Conscious Revolution, a consulting practice that works with CEOs and founders to build conscious businesses.
Tara joins us to share her journey. We’ll discuss structures, systems, and practices to support elevating humanity through business.
Democratizing Investment in Clean Energy
How can energy initiatives get financed in ways that stimulate and fulfill our hunger for environmental, economic, and social justice? This panel brings to light two award-winning examples, with opportunities for Q&A as we develop and deepen shared understandings.
Panelists:
Jessica Brooks, Chief Development Officer, Sunwealth Solar
David Beech, Manager, Clean Energy Finance, CT Green Bank
Networking & Tour at Hotel Marcel
Historic meets modern at the all-electric sustainable Hotel Marcel! Join us and our other partnering organizations for a networking happy hour and tour of the building’s Bauhaus design and sustainability features.
Presented to you by Conscious Capitalism Connecticut Chapter, Connecticut Green Business Council, and Connecticut Passive House.
Sept. 29, 2022
Conscious Job Seeking: Find the Right Fit
It can save time and effort to refine your purpose and distinguish companies who really walk the talk from those just paying lip service to the tenets of Conscious Capitalism. Join us to hear valuable advice from those who have experience and are happy with the results.
Employee Engagement from the Inside Out: Stories from Watson, Inc.
An overview of how the four tenets of Conscious Capitalism work together as a winning formula for high employee engagement.
Learn how low engagement can harm a company’s bottom line, and how one Connecticut manufacturer reduced energy use and grew the business while bringing these principles to life.
Led by: Gavin Watson Board Chair & Consultant, Gavin Watson & Associates
Stakeholder Capitalism: Building an Inclusive Culture for Innovation
Join BLACK + DECKER President Allison Lawrence and Stanley Black and Decker CTO Dr. Mark Maybury in exploring questions of culture and performance on both macro and micro levels. We will look at the big, strategic picture, day-to-day examples, and details of the model programs that have enabled the company to achieve some audacious Environment, Social, and Governance goals. Emphasis will be placed on how Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion correlates to Innovation.
Conscious Culture & Corporate Finance
Why do some companies choose to practice full disclosure of information and sharing financials throughout all levels of leadership?
Our Board Treasurer, Judi Otton, CEO of GrowthCast and a CFO for hire to many outstanding businesses, will present how implementation works and what to expect along the way going this route.
Is it in fact “radical transparency” or simply good business sense? You will leave with a robust basis for forming your own opinion and some practical steps to consider going forward.
Performance Reviews: Does a Conscious Culture Need Them?
Do performance reviews achieve the high levels of trust and engagement that a conscious business needs to be productive, agile & innovative?
Hear some alternatives to the traditional performance review process practiced by HR specialists and corporate leaders in Connecticut and beyond. We’ll discuss their results to date and interpret the future of performance reviews as we (used to) know them.
Presented by: Paul Murphy Board Member & Owner, MVVP LLC
Sustainability/ESG and Law Firms: Challenges and Opportunities
Clients in business, industry, government, and nongovernmental organizations are increasingly committed to sustainability and increasingly expect their lawyers to have the same commitment and understanding. This session will discuss why incorporating the tenets of Conscious Capitalism is relevant for the legal profession, addresses core concerns for law firm leaders, and supports those law professionals working with ESG/Sustainability goals who are both starting and seeking to progress further.
We will discuss the challenges traditional law firms face when incorporating these principles and the new opportunities and the idea of ESG – an umbrella term – and Conscious Capitalism in particular as Practice Differentiators.
Intro to Conscious Capitalism
An overview of how the four tenets of Conscious Capitalism work together & fit what we know about adult learning, neurobiology & psychology.
A lively discussion led by our Board Chair, Gavin Watson of Watson & Associates, a consulting firm for manufacturers who want to integrate sustainability practices into their operations.
Fireside Chat with Guests from Stanley Black & Decker
Stanley Black & Decker has developed a three-pronged business purpose: Create a More Sustainable World, Innovate with Purpose, and Empower Makers. Through these efforts, the company aims to become a carbon-positive organization, address unmet societal needs to improve the lives of 500 million people, and empower 10 million makers through STEAM education, vocational and trade skills, makerspace training, and resources for employee career mobility – all by 2030!
Ms. Lawrence is a leading voice in RISE (Reach, Inspire, Support, Engage) – a company-wide approach to addressing and supporting equity initiatives. On the tech side, Dr. Maybury has been directly involved in socially-inspired innovation. Both will also draw upon collective experiences in Stanley Black & Decker’s signature Employee Resource Groups.
Fireside Chat with Mark D. Wolf
In this fireside chat event, Conscious Capitalism Connecticut puts the spotlight on Mark D. Wolf, Founder and President of LavaFish Advisors, a coaching and consulting firm. With expertise in career coaching and a new sustainability degree, Mark also founded the International Society of Sustainability Professionals New York Chapter to create a meaningful community of sustainable professionals.
A lot of people who want their work to have more purpose and impact than in their current role. In this chat, Mark will provide lessons, tips, and hacks to effectively manage your career path and take action. He’ll share how you can address speed bumps on the road to making a difference in your work. The result – having a more meaningful role that fully recognizes your skills, intelligence, and passion.
The Challenges of Fulfilling New Corporate Sustainability Roles
As companies start to prioritize their social and environmental impact on the world, job descriptions have changed, new sustainability roles have been created and even new departments have emerged.
Don’t miss this opportunity to discuss the challenges of fulfilling these new roles and gain insight into how companies can approach this transition in the most impactful way.
Young Mentors of Arts & Culture
Adriane Jefferson and Kolton Harris hold up the cultural lens this week to look at art’s role in creating equitable communities and sustainable economic conditions that work for all people.
Representing New Haven’s Department of Arts, Culture & Tourism and the Connecticut Office of the Arts, respectively, they will lead a discussion on how conscious businesses can engage more productively with cultural groups and together build up our state’s profile as an equitable place to live, work, play and create.
The Journey to B-Corp Certification
Certified B Corporations are held to a high standard of doing business in a way that balances purpose and profit and legally requires companies to consider the impact of their decisions on all their stakeholders.
Bob Hendrick, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility for Bigelow Tea joins us to talk about how the journey of becoming a Certified B-Corp elevated some of the things they were already doing and opened doors for other areas of improvement.
Young Mentor of Entrepreneurship
Co-Founder of Trifecta Ecosystems, KIERAN FORAN, is using urban aquaponics to help communities sustainably feed themselves. As a result of his work, Kieran is also a strong advocate for farmers across the state of Connecticut. He has testified at our state’s legislature, and spoken at conferences, accelerator programs, classrooms, and panels.
Kieran will share his story and advice on navigating a startup investment through his experiences of being a young entrepreneur and farmer – the good, the bad and the ugly side of following your dreams.
Investing in Green Energy
You may have discussed clean energy projects at work or in your community. But did you ever wonder how they get financed? Meet Connecticut Green Bank President & CEO Bryan Garcia and PosiGen Community Marketing Manager Susan B. Young to discuss their business model – a first for the nation.
Learn how the organization is working to provide greater equity in access to green building strategies statewide while meeting the growing public demand for greener investment products.
Young Mentors of Entrepreneurship and the Movement for Justice
Young people’s voices and perspectives shed valuable light on the future of work, business, society and the life of the planet.
Join the Co-Directors of Collab, Margaret Lee and Caroline Smith, in a discussion about the role of entrepreneurship in the broader movement for justice. This discussion will focus on Collab’s approach to their work, including involvement in the Solidarity Economy, their Heart Ethos model, and their prioritization of community leadership.
Conscious Conversation: Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Emotions are critical to one’s performance, learning, decision-making, engagement, collaborations and just about everything else we do. Improving your teams’ emotional intelligence can result in better collaboration, higher engagement and low burnout, leading to improved results in business.
Join Research Psychologist and Author Marc Brackett and his colleague Andrea Hoban from Oji Life Lab for a discussion on emotional intelligence in the workplace backed up by research and years of experience.
Young Mentor of Collaboration – Mayor Ben Florsheim
Join us as 28-year-old Mayor of Middletown, Ben Florsheim, describes his journey of stakeholder engagement and the bold goals he’s set for his municipality to work with businesses on sustainable development.
We’ll also discuss how he recently collaborated with colleagues from both parties on the Climate Emergency Resolution which was approved in September 2020.
“If you want to make good decisions, it takes proactive effort, and when we’re writing legislation, we don’t need to hear one or two perspectives on how it would affect Connecticut—we need to hear every perspective.”
Earth Day Panel: Decarbonization
For Earth Day, we have assembled a power panel to discuss decarbonization in Connecticut. Who are the early adopters in this arena, and how are they rallying others around the concept? Let’s have a look at some Work-In-Progress as our state is lining up its energy producers, corporations, and investment vehicles to address this worthy goal.
Young Mentor of Business in Connecticut
Speaking on behalf of young professionals, Jesse Imse believes our state should be celebrated as a true triple threat: offering cultural diversity, rich history, and an ideal location.
Young people are, more than ever, in-tune with purpose, ethical standards, and conscious impact where they live, work, and play. Attracting and retaining them means stretching beyond identity as “the land of steady habits.”
The success of Connecticut hinges on collaborations and shared understandings that can break down silos across industries, communities, and organizations. In all of our professional and civic roles, and even within families – are we doing all we can to serve as its positive brand ambassadors? Join us for what will surely be a lively Open Forum.
The Future of Consumer Data
Rapid evolution in 5G mobility, IoT connectivity and cloud infrastructure for e-commerce and other purposes is accelerating exponential data growth projected into the foreseeable future. This trend has exacerbated the risks of security breaches and allowed the proliferation of data brokers who continually sell consumer confidential data for enormous profits.
ODE, (Open Data Economy), a company creating new, more ethical rules of the road will put people in charge of their own ‘data worlds’ and allow them to monetize when they opt in.
Find out more from CEO Sashi Edupuganti, a Board member of Conscious Capitalism, Connecticut Chapter. Leave with an understanding of what it means to have ‘Digital Rights’ in this economy and how you can be protected and share in the profits.
Young Mentor of Change – Senator Will Haskell
Born in 1996, Senator Will Haskell is the youngest member of the General Assembly. With an eye towards Connecticut’s future, Sen. Haskell is determined to help build a state that is affordable and appealing to every generation.
Join us for this interactive discussion to talk about what actions are being taken in Connecticut in regards to climate change.
A Conscious Approach to Business: Lean Manufacturing
Our guest is Chris Ulbrich, CEO of Ulbrich Steel. The company creates precision metal alloys for mission-critical applications in aerospace, automotive, energy, medical, and industrial markets. Their products have even helped us get the moon and back on NASA lunar modules, space shuttles and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Chris is the 3rd generation of family members to lead the business since its founding and has already started bringing in the 4th!
Learn how he has been rolling out continuous improvement strategies to make the company more sustainable, employees more engaged, and stakeholders more invested. Enthusiasts towards Lean approaches won’t want to miss his take on Lean manufacturing as it relates to conscious culture and conscious leadership.
Young Mentor of Empathy: Turning Empathy into Action
The culture of your business is its heartbeat. A Conscious Culture builds trust between a company’s team members and its other stakeholders. Conscious Culture also includes accountability, transparency, integrity, loyalty, egalitarianism, fairness, and personal growth, acting as an energizing and unifying force that truly brings a conscious business to life.
These Narrative 4 students will teach us how we can use empathy as a tool to provide a better workplace culture for ourselves and our employees/colleagues.
The Future of Conscious Capitalism After COVID
Join us to hear Alexander Tobin, CEO of Conscious Capitalism International (CCI), and Karen Sammon, CCI Board Member on practical measures for applying Conscious Capitalism principles to today’s changing landscape. They will share opportunities and priorities both at the macro level and for us as business leaders in what we can do to make the most impact in our own spheres of influence.
