For a number of reasons, Ryan Ginard is the type we’re excited to have turning out for Upswell. How many folks do you know in the philanthropic space who work on a live podcast that marries Southern California politics and craft beer? To boot, we can almost hear his Australian accent through his writing when…
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/ By Debra Rainey / Imagine a 20,000 square-foot processing kitchen where donated fruits and vegetables are chopped, diced, pureed, and juiced before being composted. That’s L.A. Kitchen. Now imagine that huge operation in an even larger 60,000 square foot incubator space with more than 50 other production kitchens, many of which are women- and…
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Conjure an image of a decaying railroad depot surrounded in all directions by rusty industrial warehouses. Doesn’t sound too inviting, does it? Now picture a thriving arts district where creatives, social entrepreneurs, nonprofit changemakers, and service providers collide to create a vibrant community full of fresh starts for residents, energized by a hyper-local green economy.…
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Aleda Gagarin is based in New York but looking forward to taking a deep dive into the issues facing Los Angeles and beyond. Aleda is the Director of Development at Foundation Center, a nonprofit whose mission is to strengthen the social sector by advancing knowledge about philanthropy in the U.S. and around the world. Aleda…
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/ By Jackie Brennan / Upswell blog veterans will by now recognize our “What the heck is…?” series—a collection of 101-level posts designed to prime changemakers on the core elements of the Upswell experience. Those same loyal readers, noting the Ancient Agora of Athens on prominent display atop this piece, would be forgiven for thinking…
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Selecting six finalists for the 2018 American Express NGen Leadership Award is no small feat. In the spring, 70 outstanding changemakers applied for consideration – each with a very strong track record of collaborating with others to make a significant impact in the communities they serve. Fortunately, we had our Selection Advisory Group to help…
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Susan Schmidt, president of the Kansas City-based Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, has worked in public service since her teen years and has never looked back. Her organization’s mission is to strengthen the social sector with a talented, prepared workforce. Susan will be joining us at Upswell in November! Q: In a few sentences, tell us who…
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/ By Tamieka Briscoe / The image of a cardboard box has been inextricably associated with urban homelessness for decades. Enter Tina Hovsepian, a Los Angeles native and architect with a desire to combat one of the city’s most devastating challenges—and who responded in 2007 with a simple, cost-effective defense: Cardborigami. Cardborigami, a nonprofit startup,…
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Robert Fersh is the President of Convergence, an organization based in Washington, DC that he founded in 2009. We’re inspired by Fersh’s passion for bringing people together who, despite having drastically different points of view, manage to come up with solutions that go the distance to incite meaningful change in the world. Robert is going…
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/ By Debra Rainey / Changemakers from across the country will gather at Upswell in Los Angeles, November 14-16, to move boldly toward our common goal to make positive change, improve lives, and create a better world. We’ll also honor one exceptional leader whose life’s work has exemplified the lofty ideals that we’re striving to…
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