Community Collaboration across Sectors

Our Community Partnership Council partners with Conference on World Affairs for a panel, including a networking Happy Hour at the Boulder Chamber. The topic will focus on organizations working together creatively to better their community. Come connect with other like-minded individuals and enjoy food and beverages over a great topic. Space is limited, so register early.  

Panelists will include:
Moderator: Brian Coppom, Executive Director, Boulder County Farmers Markets
​Vanessa Keeley, Executive Director, Growing Gardens
Jerry Michalski, founder, REX, the Relationship Economy and eXpedition
Dana Query, Marketing Director, Big Red F Restauraunt Group
April Rinne, expert on new economy models
Kate Williams, CEO, 1% for the Planet

Panelist Bios:
Brian Coppom - In the midst of a chaotic time, Brian Coppom experienced a moment of profound peace while volunteering on a local farm. Wanting more, he became the Executive Director of the Boulder County Farmers Markets and a staunch believer in the power of local agriculture to reconnect us to the earth and each other. In the last five years the markets have been voted #1 Market in the nation by USA Today, Boulder's Small Business of the Year, and is the first nonprofit in the history of Colorado Biz Magazine to earn the magazine's recognition as CEO of the Year. Brian is the Board Vice President of the Farmers Market Coalition, a member of The Shed Boulder County, and a Launch Committee member of Slow Money's SOIL initiative. He also serves a member of the City of Longmont Housing and Human Services Board and the Boulder Chamber Community Partnership Council. Most importantly, Brian, his wife Nancy, and their three children eat copious amounts of local fruits and vegetables, love playing in the dirt on local farms, and are immensely grateful for the farmers who make it possible

Vanessa Keeley - Executive Director: Vanessa has been with Growing Gardens for 16 years and has helped grow the programs and organization from the ground level up.  Vanessa attended Emory University and majored in Biology and Anthropology and then completed a Master's degree in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development. She has 20 years of experience with program development and non-profit management and extensive experience engaging all ages and backgrounds of community members to strengthen the local food system. She started working at Growing Gardens in 2002 as the Deputy Director with a staff of 4 and has been Executive Director since 2013.  Vanessa has learned the ins and outs of non profit development and management over the last 16 years and has most recently overseen a 1.1 Million construction project to build offices and classrooms at the garden. Vanessa has two active boys, ages 8 and 10.  She likes to read, cook, garden and especially enjoys camping and rafting adventures. 

Jerry Michalski (ma-call-ski) is the founder of REX, the Relationship Economy, and eXpedition, a collaborative inquiry into the next economy, which is based on trust. From 1987 to 1998, Jerry was a technology analyst, first at the market-research firm New Science Associates (where he created two of their seven research services), then as Managing Editor of Esther Dyson's monthly tech newsletter Release 1.0, as well as co-host of her annual conference, the PC Forum. He was fortunate to be on duty when the Internet showed up and helped shape the nascent industries that it changed.
Since 1998, Jerry has been independent, advising organizations large and small, including many startups that have since been bought, merged, sunk or taken public.  In 2010 he founded REX around his discomfort with consumer. Prior to starting REX and writing Release 1.0, Jerry spent five years at New Science Associates, a technology market-research firm similar to Gartner (later bought by Gartner). At New Science, Jerry launched and ran two of their retainer research services, Intelligent Document Management (which included hypertext and groupware) and Continuous Information Environments (which included wireless communications, voice/data integration and then-hot topic of pen computing). He framed the services around client dilemmas, not tech segments as was the analyst-industry default, which greatly appealed to client firms like GE, AmEx and FedEx and caused competitive market-research firms eventually to follow suit. 
Jerry earned an MBA from the Wharton School, where he stumbled into the mind-expanding ideas of Russ Ackoff, and a BA in Economics (mostly econometrics) from UC Irvine. He was raised in Peru and Argentina and speaks fluent Spanish and German, as well as pretty passable French. 

Dana Query is a partner and marketing director at Big Red F Restaurant Group. Founded in 1994 by Dave Query, Big Red F owns and operates twelve restaurants along Colorado's Front Range and one in Kansas City: ZOLO Grill, Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar (5), Centro Mexican Kitchen, West End Tavern, LOLA Coastal Mexican, and The Post Brewing Company (4). Dana is also the president and founder of Mable & Chung, a restaurant and marketing consulting firm. Mable & Chung was created to meet two growing needs: full scope restaurant business development & strategic planning and fresh yet sophisticated marketing in the hyper-connected, online world.
A leader in the extraordinarily competitive Colorado restaurant scene, Dana has been in the restaurant and hospitality industry since she was a young girl: her family opened their first restaurant in 1987, and Dana started as a dishwasher at the ripe old age of 8. Previously Dana held positions of leadership at Sage Restaurant Group, Bradford Heap Restaurant Group, and Sullivan Restaurant Group, earning the honors of "Rookie of the Year" and "Circle of Achievement" while with Sage Restaurant Group.
Complementing Dana's expertise in the food & beverage industry is her experience in marketing and business development. She previously served as the director of sponsorships and marketing for the non‐profit eTown, as marketing specialist with Environmental Communications Associates, and in business organization and development with Big Green Company, a multimedia children's start-up company, all based in Boulder.
Dana currently serves on the board of EatDenver and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce and on the advisory board of Denver's Union Station Farmers Market. She is a former board member for Growing Gardens and for National Association of Asian American Professionals, and has dedicated time to the advisory board of Moxie Denver‐Boulder and ProfitStreams, a restaurant marketing start‐up.
When she's not in one of the Big Red F restaurants, Dana can usually be found visiting one of her three step-kids or hanging with her siblings and her mom who all live in Boulder and Denver.

​April Rinne is a global authority on the new economy models: sharing economy, collaborative economy, on-demand economy, freelance economy and new tech-enabled business models. Her areas of expertise include policy reform; the future of work; the future of travel and tourism; sustainable development; cities; and emerging markets. She is a trusted adviser to numerous startups, companies and governments worldwide. She?s a public speaker and advocate: Acclaimed keynote speaker to private, public and social sector organizations around the world on how to rethink business, value, well-being and the future. Not just a thought leader, but a doer. As a globetrotter, she has traveled to 95 countries (to date) and has work experience in over 50 countries on six continents. 
The fine print: Head, Sharing Economy Working Group - Member, Global Futures Council on the Future of Mobility - Member, Urbanization Advisory Board - Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum. Member, China National Sharing Economy Committee. Member of the Sharing Economy Advisory Boards of Seoul (South Korea), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), SEDK (Denmark), and the National League of Cities (USA). Formerly: Chief Strategy Officer, Collaborative Lab. Private lawyer focusing on international finance and impact investing. Global Director of WaterCredit (microfinance + water and sanitation), Water.org. BA summa cum laude in International Relations, Emory University; MA in International Finance, The Fletcher School; JD, Harvard Law School.

Kate Williams is CEO of 1% for the Planet, a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental nonprofit solutions, through annual membership and everyday actions. Kate stepped into her role at 1% for the Planet in May 2015 bringing a strong track record as a leader, including roles as Board Chair of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), as Executive Director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, as founder and owner of a farm business enterprise, and as an elected political leader in her community.
Kate also brings a deep passion for and commitment to the power of collective action, which is at the core of 1% for the Planet?s model and approach. ?When people come together across traditional boundaries to solve complex problems, they create stronger, more ethical, and more lasting solutions,? she says. ?It is my best hope that I can lead by creating and supporting these kinds of powerful connections.?
Kate earned a BA at Princeton University where she majored in history, and an MS at the MIT Sloan School of Management where she focused on organizational systems. Kate is a master?s distance runner, kitchen gardener, and always wants more time to read and write. Kate lives in Vermont with her husband and two children.