The Marion Institute is proud to announce that registration for the 11th Annual Connecting for Change Conference is now open. Held in beautiful downtown New Bedford, MA, Connecting for Change is an eclectic gathering of leaders, students, business professionals, educators, and community members, coming together to find solutions to the issues that all of our communities face – from education and climate change to healthcare – and more!
Over the two-day conference, attendees will experience presentations from world-renowned keynote speakers and have the opportunity to engage in over 40 different workshops on the topics of food & farming, health & healing, spirituality, indigenous knowledge, green business, women and youth leadership, sustainability, environmental and social justice. Also featured at the gathering is a bustling farmers market, free live children’s shows in our family programming area, local artwork, an informative exhibitor hall, an interactive youth tent, live music, and so much more!
This year’s speakers include:
– Doug Rauch, president of The Daily Table on affordable nutrition and food access
– Aviva Romm on natural medicine and women’s health
– Rev. Dr. William Barber II on faith, community empowerment, and racial justice
– Greg Watson on food security and restorative food systems
– Matt Stinchcomb, Etsy founder on mission-driven business and sustainable growth
– Nikki Silvestri on carbon sequestration and feminine leadership
– Max Kenner on redefining the relationship between educational opportunity and criminal justice
– Leah Penniman on food justice, racial justice, and #BlackLivesMatter
– Jackson Koeppel, a Brower Youth Award winner exploring alternatives to the extractive economy
– Tradd Cotter, microbiologist business founder speaking on the medicinal use of mushrooms
In order to achieve a diverse mix of community voices, we are featuring a scale model so that income barriers will not prevent people from attending. We also offer a limited number of need-based scholarships online for those who qualify.
For more information, please visit connectingforchange.org or register online at www.marioninstitute.org/connecting-for-change or call 508-748-0816.
Connecting for Change is a program of the Marion Institute. The Marion Institute is a non-profit that acts as an incubator for a diverse array of Programs and Serendipity Projects that seek to find a solution to the root cause of an issue in the realms of sustainability and social justice. The three tenets that thread our work together are accessibility, diversity and root cause solutions.