Innovation is today's buzzword for a reason. The need to find new ideas and ways of working is key to success in our complicated,
fast-paced world. Innovation is vital for nonprofits to solve wicked problems. Organizations that use innovation to fuel their missions are leading the pack in the quest for funding and other resources. Some nonprofits claim to be innovative, but fail to do it well. Some have cultures that simply can't embrace the risk-taking that’s needed to lead to innovation. Still others are clueless about where to begin. Experts in innovation in the nonprofit sector will discuss why innovation is important, share some examples, and ways that more nonprofits can embrace innovation.

Panelists include:

Laura Andreessen

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen is the Founder, Chairman Emeritus and former Chairman (1998-2008) of SV2 (Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund), a venture philanthropy fund that leverages its partners’ financial, intellectual, and human capital to make a measurable impact in the Silicon Valley community. She is also the Founder and Board Chairman of Stanford PACS (Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society), a global research center committed to exploring ideas to create social change and publisher of the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR). Laura has created and teaches Stanford Graduate School of Business’ first course on Strategic Philanthropy and Stanford University’s first course on Philanthropy and Social Innovation. Since 2000, Laura’s faculty appointments include Lecturer in Business Strategy at Stanford GSB; Lecturer in Public Policy; and Lecturer at Stanford School of Education.

Her New York Times bestselling book on individual giving, Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World (published by Wiley’s Jossey-Bass 2011) as well as her blog and website (www.giving2.com) empower individuals of all backgrounds, ages, and passions to make their giving matter more. Laura is also a contributing writer to Worth Magazine, the Huffington Post, SSIR and the book, Local Mission, Global Vision, and she has been featured on Charlie Rose, CNN with Erin Burnett, MSNBC with Dylan Ratigan, and CNBC Power Lunch.

Meg Garlinghouse

Meg Garlinghouse is head of LinkedIn for Good. In this role, she is responsible for leveraging the LinkedIn platform to connect its 13 million members and growing professionals’ knowledge and experience with nonprofits’ needs, globally. Garlinghouse has nearly twenty years of experience working in the technology and philanthropy sector. Prior to joining LinkedIn, Garlinghouse spent almost 10 years building and leading Yahoo!’s global community relations function.

She also has a background in international development, working for the Asia Foundation as special assistant to the president and in the private sector development department of the World Bank. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, running projects designed to raise the social and economic status of rural villagers. Garlinghouse received her Bachelor’s degree in public policy studies from Duke University and a Master's in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She currently serves on the Boards of Network for Good and Volunteermatch.

Beth Kanter

Beth is the author of Beth’s Blog (http://www.bethkanter.org), one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits, and co-author of the highly acclaimed book, The Networked Nonprofit, published by J. Wiley in 2010. Beth is the CEO of Zoetica, a company that serves nonprofits and socially conscious companies with top-tier, online marketing services. In 2009, she was named by Fast Company Magazine as one of the most influential women in technology and one of Business Week’s “Voices of Innovation for Social Media.” She is currently the Visiting Scholar for Social Media and Nonprofits for the Packard Foundation. She was the 2010 Society of New Communications Research Fellow.

Brian Reich

Brian Reich is senior vice president - global editor for Edelman, where he provides editorial vision and strategy for the company. He is the author of Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society (Wiley, 2011) and co-author of Media Rules!: Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect with and Keep Your Audience (Wiley, 2007). Brian blogs and hosts a podcast discussion about the impact of media and technology on society and teaches consumer behavior and marketing strategy in the graduate school of communications at Columbia University.

Brian began his career in politics and spent two years as briefing director to Vice President Gore in the White House and during the 2000 presidential campaign. For the past decade, Brian has provided strategy, insights, and support to hundreds of brands, nonprofit organizations, media companies, start-ups, and political/advocacy groups.

Brian is chairman of the board of Investigate West, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the art and craft of investigative journalism. He attended the University of Michigan and graduated from Columbia University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Karen Dahl, their son, Henry, and daughter, Lucy.

George Weiner

As DoSomething.org’s CTO, George manages all online and mobile communication systems for DoSomething.org. Under his leadership, the organization has become an innovator in social media, mobile technologies and cause. During his 5+ years atDoSomething.org, he oversaw the complete overhaul of the site (cms, architecture, skin, etc) in 2008, landing a People’s Choice Webby Award in the Youth in 2009 and nomination in 2010.

He is a founder of Whole Whale, a social impact tech company, and CTOs for Good. He is also a frequent speaker on not-for-profit tech issues at forums, and is a featured contributor for the Huffington Post Impact section (HuffingtonPost.com/george-weiner).