How to be a Socially Conscious Business

  • Posted On 27th January 2020

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 11:30a-1:00p at Gold Coast Transit District’s new Community Room, 1901 Auto Center Drive, Oxnard.

Tickets are now available for what is sure to be a sell-out community event!  Register Here before February 4th to qualify for early bird pricing. Box lunches by Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins are provided with ticket price!

The businesses we lead can play a critical role in helping improve our communities and the world. Socially conscious businesses are a growing power for good. These businesses bring their values to life through intentional actions. Leading your business with purpose can also provide new opportunities with a growing class of consumers looking to align their purchasing power with businesses who reflect their values. 

We all want our businesses to help make the world a better place. With overwhelming need and so many options, where do we start? What steps we can take to be more socially conscious as business owners?  In this fast-paced panel discussion featuring local experts, you’ll learn more about this growing trend, and come away with specific strategies to incorporate in your own work. 

We will be joined by a stellar group of panelists

Andrea Chase

Andrea Chase is the Director of Corporate Responsibility and Social Impact at Arbonne and an owner of two Southern California certified B Corporations. Ms.Chase has a demonstrated history of leadership in environmental industries and is an expert in project management; brand and identity execution; international product development, launch and compliance; sustainable business benchmarking and auditing; and several process specific, product specific and company-wide sustainability certifications. Ms. Chase’s passion lies in environmental stewardship and education. For the last five years, she has served the sustainability community as the Executive Director of B Local Los Angeles, a community of Los Angeles B Corporations dedicated to sharing knowledge to better each other’s business practices

Catherine Von Burg

Catherine Von Burg is a Founder and the President & CEO of SimpliPhi Power, a technology company that designs and manufactures non-toxic, efficient, and enduring energy storage and management systems that seamlessly integrate solar, wind, generator, or any other power generation source–in conjunction with or independent from the grid.

Catherine’s career spans a diverse portfolio of strategic planning, policy development, executive management, and multidisciplinary team building in the fields of biomedical engineering and research, health and human services and environmental conservation. Committed to the transformation of the power grid and creating universal access to clean energy by leveraging distributed energy storage solutions, she has published white papers and spearheaded national program, policy and business-driven initiatives with organizations such as Pew Charitable Trusts, Rockefeller Institute, ColumbiaUniversity, NY March of Dimes Foundation, John Hopkins School of Biomedical Engineering,Wilderness Education Association and First 5Commission of California.

Dr. Janis Shinkawa

Dr. Janis Shinkawa (aka Dr. Jan) is the Medical Director, Veterinarian and Partner of Ohana Pet Hospital, a small animal veterinary general practice established in 2012 in Ventura, California, by four women veterinarians. Ohana Pet Hospital specializes in providing compassionate care and the highest quality medical, surgical, dental, imaging and preventative care services for a variety of small animals. The facility also offers holistic services.Ohana is committed to environmental stewardship, and models green building and sustainability practices.Since opening, Ohana has won three green awards at theCity, County and State levels, including the CoolCalifornia Small business Climate Leader Award presented by the California Air Resources Board. Prior to attending veterinary school, Shinkawa was a CPA with Ernst & Young, LLP.

Caleigh Hernandez

Caleigh Hernandez is founder and CEO of RoHo, an ethical accessories brand committed to creating educational and employment opportunities for artisans in Kenya. Caleigh graduated cum laude from Northwestern University with honors. Upon graduating, she accepted a Princeton in Africa fellowship where she worked for the International Rescue Committee in Kasulu, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. While attending the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative University Conference, she was named a Resolution Fellow for RoHo, which awarded her seed money and mentorship. Since then, she’s been off the ground running, as RoHo was selected as one of 50 projects featured in the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth Solutions Report as well as in Forbes

Our panel will be moderated by Maria Ballesteros-Sola

Maria Ballesteros–Sola, DBA, MBA, LLB, Fulbright Scholar, Paul R. Lawrence Fellow. After a career in financial services and management consulting on both sides of the Atlantic, Maria joined the MVS in 2007 as a lecturer and in 2017 as an Assistant Professor of Management. Apart from her teaching responsibilities, Maria serves on the boards of the Case Research Foundation, the B Academics Association, which she co-founded, and Start-Up Kids, a local non-profit that she also co-founded. Maria’s research focuses on social enterprises, hybrid organizations, B Corps, as well as non-profit organizations engaging in Earned Income Strategies (EIS). She has published in the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, International Journal of Social Business, Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy and the Journal of Social Business. She serves on several editorial review boards, is the Chair of the Social Impact track for North America Case Research Association (NACRA) and the co-editor of the new SAGE Publishing Social Impact Case Collection. Maria is also a strong advocate for the use of service-learning, international experiences, and humanizing technology in higher education.

Thank you to Elite Member Ohana Pet Hospital

This panel discussion is sponsored by Ohana Pet Hospital, a full-service veterinary hospital that specializes in compassionate care and the highest-quality medical, surgical, dental and wellness health care for dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents and select reptiles. Ohana Pet Hospital is also leading the way and sharing environmental stewardship practices within its industry.

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