AGENTS FOR CHANGE
A VIRTUAL CONVENING
Join us at the intersection of business and compassion.
Come intrigued. Leave inspired.
Impact Fort Worth is an initiative to help our cities build back better through social innovation.
Our Initiatives Include:
- Impact Fort Worth Convening. Inaugural launch on Friday, November 20th, 2020 as a wrap up of GEW Fort Worth. We convened consumers, compassionate citizens, and community change agents to help grow positive impact in Fort Worth and its neighboring cities in North Texas. This virtual convening includes:
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- Lightning Talks
- Storytelling
- Panels and Networking
- WeCycle Pilot Program. We are partnering with Texas Wesleyan University to pilot recycling PPE (personal protective equipment) to help find solutions for reducing PPE waste. Please help us by attending an on campus event or Take the Pledge to commit to learning more about PPE recycling and joining the movement to keep our city clean and green.
"Every person has the potential to make a difference. From where we shop or eat, to where we invest our dollars... let's make it count."
Did you know that small businesses have tremendous potential to be Agents For Change? How we source our goods, what we do with our profits, how we treat our people and our customers, and how we engage with our community... all of it matters.
Topics range from sustainable business practices to every day improvements we can all achieve. There are heartfelt stories on ending human slavery, suffering, and abuse. Panels on recognizing biases and accepting differences as strengths. Stories about using technology as a force for good and examples of building community and serving dignity to everyone.
There are many small businesses working to make our cities better. Let's learn from each other. Let's advocate for each other. And as consumers, let's ensure that purpose-driven businesses do not disappear in the wake of COVID-19. Let's put our dollars towards building back better. Every business and every person has an opportunity to be an Agent For Change.
FOUNDING SPONSOR
2020 Agents for Change
Allies for Change
William Sampson
Catholic Charities Fort Worth
2021 SPEAKERS
EJ Carrion
Co-Founder & CEO
Student Success Agency
EJ went from average high school student to successful entrepreneur. His company Student Success Agency works with high schools to transform how to students get advised for life after high school.
Dr. Vanessa Bouché
Co-Founder
Savhera
Vanessa is an Associate Professor of Political Science at TCU. Her work is at the intersection of public policy and political psychology, with a focus on policy diffusion, identity politics, and human trafficking. Through this, she uncovered a need beyond her classroom and co-founded Savhera, an essential oil wellness company led by survivors.
Sanger Smith
Financial Advisor
Clearfork Wealth Management
Sanger's podcast: Decidedly!
Changing the trajectory of life and business by DEFEATING bad decision-making.
2020 SPEAKERS
Taylor Willis & Vanessa Barker
Co-Founders
The Welman Project
Childhood best friends Vanessa and Taylor are co-founders of the almost five-year-old nonprofit, The Welman Project. On a mission to reimagine business waste and rethink resource scarcity in education, they now spend their days saving materials from the landfill and repurposing those items for creative reuse in North Texas classrooms.
Dr. Vanessa Bouché
Co-Founder
Savhera
Vanessa is an Associate Professor of Political Science at TCU. Her work is at the intersection of public policy and political psychology, with a focus on policy diffusion, identity politics, and human trafficking. Through this, she uncovered a need beyond her classroom and co-founded Savhera, an essential oil wellness company led by survivors.
Jasmin Brand
Founder
Her Texas
Passionate about providing opportunities for other female founders like herself, Jasmin launched Her Texas, the first ever digital ecosystem for women who live, work, and play in Texas. Across her many roles, Jasmin brings close to a decade of executive experience in tech-driven, marketing strategy and digital publishing to the Texas media landscape.
Marco Johnson
Sparkyard Network Builder
UNTHSC
Marco has been empowering entrepreneurs for 20+ years. Before moving to Fort Worth, Marco worked mainly in areas of recent conflict or disaster, from Afghanistan to former Yugoslavia to post-tsunami Indonesia. He currently runs Sparkyard, an online platform that connects local entrepreneurs to the resources they need to launch or grow companies.
Sheryle Gillihan
CEO & Co-Owner
CauseLabs, PBC
Sheryle's mission is growing positive impact. As the CEO of CauseLabs, a web services agency and Fort Worth's first Public Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp, Sheryle was recently honored with the 2020 Global Social Impact Business Award. From business, to technology, to investing or shopping, Sheryle believes in aligning with her values.
Darlisa Diltz
Entrepreneur Educator
NTEETC
As a fervent ecosystem builder, Darlisa dedicates herself to providing resources to the under-serviced, underserved, and underutilized entrepreneur. The North Texas Entrepreneur Education and Training Center, is the first and only, Women-owned, Black-owned, Minority-owned business service center in DFW focused on Entrepreneur Education.
Marissa Heyl
Founder
Symbology
Symbology is an ethical fashion label that merges fabrics handcrafted by women artisans in India with trend-forward style–or as Marissa puts it, fair trade made sexy. She infuses her background in anthropology into her designs, celebrating the cultural symbolism imbued into each motif as a means to connect people around the world.
Ben Novak Hudgins
Founder
Novak Hair Studios
Ben is a firm believer that it is important for companies to make the only options, sustainable options. He founded Novak Hair Studios with a deep purpose of respecting nature. As a Certified Green Circle Salon, it is part of a comprehensive recycling and sustainability program that sets out to reduce the industry's environmental impact on the planet.
Melissa Ice
Co-Founder
The Worthy Co.
Melissa graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a degree in social work and has been working with different NGOs locally & globally, serving people in poverty since 2002. She is the Founder & Executive Director of The Net. The Net recently launched a social enterprise called Worthy Co., which employs survivors of trafficking.
Nathan Knuth
President & CEO
Cristo Rey Fort Worth
Generational cycles of poverty, inequality of opportunities and the skills gap in our future workforce are challenges that have bothered Nathan for years. As the President & CEO at Cristo Rey Fort Worth his passion is offering kids life-changing opportunities for success at college and life through community partnerships with local businesses.
Anna Crelia
Co-Founder
Loot Rentals
Anna has combined a keen eye for detail, event planning, and love for interiors to create award winning styles for Texas and beyond. Her values are showcased in Loot Rentals' sustainability model to reduce consumption, promote a circular economy, all while curating inspirational spaces that cultivate deeper connections to self, community, and home.
Andrew W. Seibert
Chairman of Board of Directors
Tarrant County Furniture Bank
The Tarrant County Furniture Bank believes furniture is more than comfort, it is hope, pride and dignity. By providing gently used furniture they help those transitioning from crisis to independent living. Andrew is a local attorney with over 25 years of experience helping individuals and businesses and supports several philanthropic organizations.
Benjamin Vann
Founder & CEO
Impact Ventures
Benjamin is an award winning social entrepreneur, venture strategist, speaker, and economic justice advocate. He founded Impact Ventures, a startup accelerator and integrated capital fund with a mission to eliminate the social and economic barriers for under-estimated BIPOC and Women entrepreneurs through mentorship and capital.
Aideé Granados
Founder
Rosa Es Rojo
Aideé Granados was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. She decided to share the wealth of knowledge from her experience with those in the community she serves. Founding Rosa Es Rojo in 2016 became a passion for her. She recognized the need for more health and wellness resources for Latinas as a high-risk cancer population.
Jakayla Dixon
Founder & CEO
Feel The Color
Jakayla, a current student at TCU, is a passionate about creating a world where individuals with disabilities know no limits. She founded Feel the Color to merge fashion, technology, and accessibility. Jakayla’s heart is to showcase the importance of connecting both innovation and disability while creating a more inclusive world.
Melody Kresser
Director of Marketing
United Way of Tarrant County
Melody brings her passion for creating positive social change to all she does including over a decade long career in nonprofit marketing. As the Director of Marketing at the United Way of Tarrant County, Melody helped create the KERNEL pitch competition in 2016, seed funding social innovation ideas to grow sustainable, lasting change.
Tyler Emler
VP of Corporate Relations
United Way of Tarrant County
Tyler Emler has worked in the nonprofit sector 12 years and currently serves as the VP of Corporate Relations with United Way of Tarrant County. He has been the United Way liaison to the KERNEL Program since its inception in 2016, which is United Way’s primary vehicle for promoting socially innovative efforts in North Texas.
Nichole Masters Henry
President and Founder
Shared Worth of Tarrant County
For 20 years Ms. Henry has worked in the non-profit sector with the last 12 dedicated to families and individuals experiencing homelessness and domestic violence. Nichole saw a need for more affordable housing options for families living at or below poverty and seniors in the community and formed Shared Worth in August of 2020.
Stacy Landreth Grau, Ph.D
Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Practice
Texas Christian University
Stacy teaches courses in creativity and innovation, human centered design, values centered entrepreneurship and design for social impact. She is interested creating entrepreneurial ecosystems in Tarrant County. She is the author of two books on nonprofit marketing and is designing an entrepreneurship bootcamp for social impact organizations.
Chef Jeff Williams
Founder and Executive Director
Taste Project
Jeff understands first-hand the stress his parents encountered to put food on the table in tough times. And it's a familiar story of many of our neighbors in need. Jeff founded Taste Project, a sustainable solution to ensure none of our neighbors go hungry. But Jeff also wanted a place that eliminated the stress and fear his parents faced. A friendly place that feels like you've just come home. A place where you can get more than just a meal, but also hope.
Chef Jeff Williams
Founder and Executive Director
Taste Project
Jeff understands first-hand the stress his parents encountered to put food on the table in tough times. And it's a familiar story of many of our neighbors in need. Jeff founded Taste Project, a sustainable solution to ensure none of our neighbors go hungry. But Jeff also wanted a place that eliminated the stress and fear his parents faced. A friendly place that feels like you've just come home. A place where you can get more than just a meal, but also hope.
Join the Community
The best part about virtual events is joining from anywhere, from the convenience and comfort of your own space. The worst part about virtual events is everyone is joining from everywhere. As Agents For Change, we want to build a community of people with shared values and to convene attendees in a meaningful and lasting way.
There are a few opportunities to connect and network as we approach Impact Fort Worth.
- You can comment on social media as we post about our speakers and the impact their businesses make in our community.
- You can ask questions in the Q&A chats during the event to connect with speakers.
- You can submit questions to be answered by speakers in the week following the event.
- You can add your name and profile to our networking spreadsheet.
- You can join one of the networking breakout groups during the event.
- You can visit one of the sponsor locations for your "swag". Please be mindful of any social distancing or mask restrictions for onsite visits.
- You can volunteer virtually with one of our Agents For Change businesses.
- You can add these businesses to your list of approved vendors.
Have other ideas of how to make this a more connected and meaningful convening? We'd love to hear your ideas. We hope you can join us for all or some of the events on November 20th.