/ By Christian Clansky / In the early days, before Upswell was Upswell, we knew that if we were going to be successful at reimagining the idea of a conference, we would need a name to match that ambition. It would have to be exciting and energetic. It would have to put changemakers in the…
So, what IS a changemaker? Well, it depends on who you ask. President Bill Clinton used the term “changemaker” to describe his wife Hillary Clinton’s public service achievements immediately following the 2016 Democratic National Convention – causing a media storm. Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs, was…
/ By Debra Rainey / Los Angeles is the setting for Upswell LA, scheduled November 14-16. LA is home to many things – sunny days, “star-filled” nights, movie-making, and many of the recording industry’s hottest and emerging artists. As planning for Upswell LA continues, we’d like to introduce our community of changemakers to some of…
When you put something new into the world, there are bound to be (more than) a few questions! So, welcome to our What the heck? series, where we’ll give you short overviews of new concepts, terms, program elements, etc. To kick things off, we’ll start with a question that’s not so easy to answer. What…
/ By Robert Jones / If the presidential election of 2016 did nothing else, it put rural America’s “brain drain” on the public radar. Seemingly overnight, reporters and political pundits started connecting dots they had long ignored: In small towns and unincorporated places, middle-class young people were moving away for college and never coming home,…
/ By Christian Clansky / Think about the word conference for a few seconds. How does it make you feel? Does it open your imagination? Does it pique your curiosity? Does it give you energy? Does it stir your soul? Does it make you feel like you can truly change the world? Our hunch is…
Melissa Mendes Campos knows an innovative new approach when she sees one! She was the first person to register for Upswell LA! Melissa is a partner at La Piana Consulting, a nonprofit consulting firm that works to improve leadership and management practices throughout the sector for greater social impact. Her job requires creative thinking and…