"Social Innovation in the Public Sector"

Public awareness of the significant value of social innovation is growing rapidly in the United States. Governments at the local, state and federal level have promoted policies to encourage social innovation, public/private partnerships and entrepreneurship in a wide variety of ways.

What is happening in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to cultivate and strengthen social innovation?  Come network and interact with our panel of government-oriented social enterprise champions who represent the fields of finance, community development and technology.

Panelists include:

Steve Goldberg, General Counsel, SocialFinance, Inc.

Following 30 years in government, law, and business, Steve Goldberg began consulting on growth, management, and scalability for numerous nonprofits.  Steve is the author of Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets: Why Philanthropy Doesn’t Advance Social Progress (Wiley, 2009), a former lead consultant for “Charity Navigator 2.0,” and one of 50 expert reviewers selected nationally for the first Social Innovation Fund.   Steve currently leads Social Finance’s government relations and partnership efforts.

Nigel Jacob, City of Boston, Co-Founder, Urban Mechanics

With an extensive background in collaborative, citizen-facing technology projects, Nigel Jacob co-founded the Office of New Urban Mechanics -  a civic innovation incubator within Boston’s City Hall.  Nigel also serves as Mayor Menino's advisor on emerging technologies. In both of these roles, Nigel works to develop new models of innovation for cities in the 21st century.  Prior to joining the City of Boston in 2006, Nigel worked for and launched a series of technology start-ups in the Boston area.  Nigel is also a fellow at the Center for the Advancement Public Action at Bennington College.

Chris Osgood, City of Boston, Co-Founder, Urban Mechanics

Chris Osgood co-founded the Office of New Urban Mechanics, bringing to the office nearly ten years of experience in city government. Much of his work during that time has focused on designing operations and policy that help cities engage and respond to constituents.  Before joining the City, Chris earned his MBA from Harvard after serving for 5 years in the NYC Parks & Recreation Department as its Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor.

Chris and Nigel have received a number of awards for their ground breaking work in Boston, including being named Public Officials of the year in 2011 by Governing Magazine and the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation award for 2012.

Todd Fry, Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, Deshpande Foundation

Todd Fry joined the Deshpande Foundation as Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox. Todd comes to the Foundation after a distinguished career at the Boston Center for Community Justice, as a teacher at Milton Academy, and social entrepreneur for 20 years in Greater Boston.  His career spans work with youth and adults in prep school and in prison, in business and in Boston City Hall. Todd chairs the USA Advisory Board for the Rwanda Youth Healing Center, a grassroots NGO in Rwanda that helps young people with emotional healing from the genocide and leadership development. Todd grew up in Ohio, holds a bachelors degree in Communication Education from Northwestern University, and lives in Roxbury today.

Appetizers provided.

Register here