Better Together, Together Better - Talking People with Michael Keating

Laurence Marshbaum OAM is the Co-Founder of Community Capital. Community Capital is a social impact asset management firm that aligns investments in Private Markets with community based impact outcomes.  Community Capital recently raised the $650M Community Capital Credit Fund which will distribute in excess of $15-20M of grants to early-stage Australian Social Purpose Organisations.   Prior to co-founding Community Capital with Australian financial services firm Barrenjoey, Laurence was a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Australian Retirement Trust ( Sunsuper) overseeing the funds $4bn allocation to Alternative Investments and prior to that held senior roles in Investment firms in London and New York.   In 2013 Laurence founded 10×10 Philanthropy following a life-long affiliation with communal involvement and philanthropy, having served on the boards of several not-for-profits in Australia and the UK.  10x10 has grown from Sydney around the world supporting early stage social purposes organisations to connect with donors and networks to help them grow.  10x10 now operates in 6 countries, 13 cities, has supported over 380 Social Purpose Organisations and distributed over $6M over its life.   In June 2022 Laurence received the Order of Australia Medal for Service to Community. Laurence has been a key-note speaker at the Nexus Global Youth Summit at the United Nations in New York, and the Social Good Summit in Australia, and has been featured on several “social impact” podcasts and books. He is an advocate for new models of social impact, venture philanthropy, investing with impact and effective giving. Connect with 10x10 Philanthropy at https://10x10philanthropy.com/

Willem Overbosch is CEO (Chief Executive Officer) & Co-founder of SDG Align on a mission to make sustainable practices a business habit. Their 2021 Good Design Award Winning Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Insights as a service platform delivers unique perspectives across internal and external supply chain stakeholder perspectives. Over the past 20 years Willem founded and led multiple businesses in Online publishing and Community SaaS (Software as a Service). In 2018 his book ‘Top trends for business leaders’ (in Dutch 'Top trends voor Ondernemers') was a number 1 bestselling management book in The Netherlands, discussing topics on Digital transformation, Business innovation, Sustainable Development, Society 3.0, Futures Thinking and how to design and drive these concepts into a business strategy. Willem encourages people to think and go beyond “Business as Usual” and explore the world from a sustainability perspective and with an entrepreneurial mindset. He believes that by aligning our actions with the UN (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we can make a positive impact on people, planet and prosperity and create a positive future for everyone. As a subject matter expert, Willem has been featured on Dutch National television. He delivered keynotes in conferences like the 2018 UNSSC (United Nations System Staff College) Conference in Geneva, the BDAA (Building Designers Association of Australia) National Conferences in 2022, the SCA (Strata Community Association) National Conference 2022 in Melbourne and many more. Willem immigrated from The Netherlands to Australia in February 2022 and lives in New Italy, NSW with his wife Milou and their four teenaged kids. To connect with Willem on LinkedIn HERE Take the SDG Align Toolkit survey on the SEVENTEENx dashboard HERE

Kristen has been involved with The Funding Network Australia since its inception, first working with co-founder Lisa Cotton on the initial pilot events in 2013 and later serving on the Sydney Leadership Council before becoming CEO in July 2022. Previously Kristen was TFN's General Manager and has been responsible for driving day-to-day operations, developing TFN’s technology roadmap, enhancing TFN’s event delivery model and building strong relationships with clients, partners and supporters. Kristen has extensive experience across marketing, stakeholder engagement and communications in the US and Australia and held leadership positions in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. Kristen is a former Senior Vice President & Partner with Fleishman Hillard in San Francisco, where her clients included Visa, Netflix and Dell, and has held senior marketing and communications roles at Compass Group Australia and Good Guys Inc. She is also a certified leadership coach TFN Website - https://www.thefundingnetwork.com.au/ Find Kristen on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenmlark/

A senior leader with a career spanning more than 25 years, Carol has built a credible reputation, known for her strong inclusive leadership, operational excellence, track record, innovative problem solving, strong relationships, communication, team building, personal integrity and business ethics. Carol has significant experience in global complex multi-tiered environments. Skilled in Sales and Business Leadership, Sales Coaching and Enablement, Digital Transformation, Customer and Employee Experience, Business and Process Envisioning, Partner Management and Executive Engagement. Carol brings this experience to Akkodis as our VP of Sales and Growth operating across our business. Carol is a Change Champion, leading and challenging teams to transform traditional models to think bigger with a laser focus on impact, experiences, continuous improvement, and value creation. A supporter of Women in IT, STEM and a passionate advocate for Responsible Business, Corporate Citizenship, Sustainability and Diversity, Equity, Justice and Inclusion to make a genuine Human and Social Impact.   Carol is a non-executive director for Fortem Australia.  Fortem Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that supports the mental health and wellbeing of first responder families – the people who protect and care for Australian communities.   Connect with Carol via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-gobby/ Head to Akkodis website HERE

Manisha is the chief strategist and visionary at Centre for Inclusive Design. With a background in strategic marketing, communication, transforming cultures and creativity she is a thought leader in the power of thinking from the edge. Manisha has a unique talent for seeing beyond the horizon to emerging trends, defining them and building powerful communities to bring them in to being. She is the host of the With, Not For podcast and is a fiction author in her spare time. Manisha was a speaker at SEVENTEENx Sydney 2023 , presenting an inspired story and overview of her work at the Centre for Inclusive Design. You can watch her talk from this event HERE Connect with Manisha via LinkedIn HERE Visit website HERE

Matthew Wright-Simon For all of this millennium – and a bit of the last one – Matthew Wright-Simon has been active in sustainability and regeneration, creative industries, social enterprise, microphilanthropy and leadership development. It’s all part of being a changemaker champion – someone who celebrates the best in people and the great potential we all have to make a positive difference where we work, live and play. Something that truly celebrates this is Newday Leadership, a unique social enterprise that is devoted to ‘inspired leadership for the greater good’ in the delivery of unique summits and programs. Matthew is co-director, alongside Katrina Webb, Newday’s founder. The annual Newday Summits are truly something special: part wellbeing retreat, part festival and part world-class leadership conference. Their forthcoming Summit on 2 November 2023 in Adelaide is all about Wisdom + Wonder. It’s on track to be another sold-out event (places are capped at 350 people), so get your tickets now! In his work, Matthew supports people to deeply explore problems, articulate engaging stories and to take pragmatic and creative action in their own organisations, communities and networks. This work through Ecocreative and soon with Engage Change includes strategy and mentoring, leadership development, emceeing and facilitation and hundreds of projects, with recent work in ‘community juries’ helping bring new depth to deliberative decision-making and research in Australia’s health sector. Matthew is the Adelaide Dean of microphilanthropy group, the Awesome Foundation (that has given away over $80,000 in microgrants) and he has recently joined the state’s Impact 100 network. Matthew also volunteers as a board member of SASEC, South Australia’s peak body for social entrepreneurs. In 2019, Matthew was the South Australian winner of the Impact 25 Award from Pro Bono Australia for his role as a ‘changemaker champion’, something he continues to embrace in his work and volunteering today. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn or Instagram Book your tickets to the Newday Leadership Summit: Wisdom + Wonder Join us at a SEVENTEENx event - see dates at www.seventeensdg.com/tour

Simone Allan is Director and Founder Women’s Resilience Centre and Director Mondo Search & Mondo Mentor. Simone’s upbringing was isolating and often filled with tragedy. At an early age, Simone was always finding part-time jobs and seeking her own independence and life mentors to support her. (Her family of choice). Her studies BA (Psychology major) and postgraduate studies in Human Resources led to a career in sales then founding of an Executive Search Consultancy, Mondo Search which has placed over 2800 key Senior leaders in business. One great insight gleaned from interviewing so many leaders was that those who succeeded often had great mentors. Her background and experience came together with the founding of the Women’s Resilience Centre in 2020. It is her “ True North” bringing together so many initiatives that Simone has championed: Women’s Health, practical job readiness skills, sustainable recovery programs and mentoring. https://womensresiliencecentre.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/simoneallan/

Dr Stephen Morse is the Founder and CEO of Unchained Solutions Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based consultancy that equips Australian organisations to comply with the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). Stephen has over 25 years’ experience in entrepreneurial leadership in the not-for-profit and private sectors, both in Australia and overseas. He’s a seasoned public speaker, thought leader and strategist who brings an engaging and refreshing perspective to the fight against modern slavery and related human rights violations, and its impact on supply chains. Stephen obtained his Doctorate in Human Trafficking Intervention through Fuller Theological Seminary, CA in 2016, and MBA in Entrepreneurship through University of Technology Sydney in 2020. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Freedom Business Alliance, the Ethics Committee of the Australasian Supply Chain Institute, and the Communications Working Group of the Commonwealth 8.7 Network. Connect with Stephen via LinkedIn HERE Website HERE connect at [email protected] Info about the Modern Slavery Act HERE Find out more about SEVENTEENx or find tickets to an event near you at www.seventeensdg.com

Former journalist, founder of national PR firm Profile Media and the Good News Movement, Sue Papadoulis is on a mission to elevate stories that inspire, engage, and create a positive impact. She believes in the value of good news – for people, the planet and most importantly for business success. Sue spent 10 years as a journalist and News Editor in busy radio and television newsrooms in Australia and London. She left the profession having become disillusioned with the negativity of the news and thinking more carefully about the impact she was having. She moved into corporate communications for state government but felt a call to do and be more. And so, she began her own business in 2007, employing journalists who are results driven and have a can-do attitude. Profile Media specialises in creating engaging public profiles for organisations and CEOs who seek to make an impact. Sue is part of a growing movement of the purpose economy - business as a force for good, brands driving profit through purpose. https://www.thegoodnewsmovement.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/suepapadoulis/ https://profilemedia.com.au/

Chris is a career social worker ; with a life of experience across the sector in various roles helping people who need it most. Through his travels, Chris noticed a "way to do it better" across the Domestic Family Violence spectrum in communities around Australia; and through technology, an opportunity to prevent and protect victims experiencing violence and isolation. The StandbyU Foundation was established with a clear mission: to embrace the power of human connections to build a better, safer world for everyone. Every day we bring friends and family closer together by supporting people in need to reach out for help and giving them safety devices to connect them at critical moments. To support SyandbyU via the ACF program to "reduce the wait" helping to clear the nearly 100 people waiting for a shield. To connect with Chris for more information about becoming a Connected Community Partner - at [email protected] or via LinkedIn HERE