33rd Annual VBSR Conference Set for May 11th at Hula

Participants to Explore Humane Workplaces, Focusing Our Impact, and Economic Equity

Burlington, Vt. (April 20, 2022) – Registration is open and the keynote speaker is set for the 33rd Annual Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) Conference, “Here and Now,” which will be held on May 11th at Hula, the award-winning lakeside coworking and innovation campus in Burlington.

VBSR business and nonprofit leaders, policymakers, students, and inspired individuals will gather for a full-day event that will include a keynote address by Christal Brown, six timely sessions, three innovation labs focused on the leading edge of social and environmental impact, and ample opportunities for networking and meeting exhibitors.

The conference will feature three themes: Humane Workplaces, Focusing Our Impact, and Economic Equity. Workshops will explore the unique issues and opportunities that each of the themes present, as well as the points where they intersect. Attendees will emerge inspired, connected with forward-thinking leaders, and replenished with new awareness, resources, and action steps to drive change.

Christal Brown, this year’s keynote speaker, is a mother, artist, educator, disciple, coach, author, and sought-after orator who inspires sold-out audiences around the country. Underwritten by Mascoma Bank, Brown’s keynote address will explore “Seizing This Moment” with a blend of her creativity, background in education, and spiritual insight. Brown’s multi-disciplinary work helps individuals, institutions, and families establish, structure, and implement their visions – her address will apply this unique experiential blend to our current moment and promises to inspire, challenge and transform.

As the Chief Visioning Officer of Steps and Stages Coaching Facilitation and Consulting, “Coach Christal” leads transformational in-depth coaching programs that help clients achieve new heights of success, meaning, and spiritual aliveness. Brown has been featured on NPR’s The Moth, Ted X Middlebury, as well as various podcasts and conference stages across the U.S. and Zambia.

A professional artist for over 20 years, Brown is also Founder of INSPIRIT, Project: BECOMING, and the creator of the Liquid Strength training module for dance. She knows first-hand what it means to catalyze imagination into reality. Her unique candor and ability to stand in discomfort with both vulnerability and strength allows Brown to usher in change and transformation for creatives, entrepreneurs, educators and executives.

“Businesses who embrace change gain an immense opportunity. By seizing this moment – ‘Here and Now’ – we can collectively build a just, thriving, and transformative economy,” said Roxanne Vought, Executive Director of VBSR. “In its 33rd year, the Annual VBSR Conference remains a unique opportunity to strengthen bonds between Vermont changemakers and push the boundaries of what businesses can be – with dignity, empowerment, and imagination.”

Session and Innovation Lab topics:
Sessions include Putting Humanity First in the Workplace; Developing Public Policy for The Here and Now; Distributing the Labor of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI); Welcoming Workers & Removing Barriers; Made in Vermont: Values-Led Business Innovations; and Focusing the Lens of Social Responsibility for Greatest Impact. Innovation Labs will be facilitated by the UVM Sustainable Innovation MBA program, Vermont B Corp Collective, and Vermont Professionals of Color.

Registration, sponsor information, and a complete conference agenda are available at www.vbsrconference.org. 

The 33rd Annual VBSR Conference is generously supported by:

Keynote Underwriter: Mascoma Bank

Reef Room/Networking Reception Underwriter: Gordon’s Window Decor 

Isthmus Room Underwriter: Gallagher, Flynn & Company LLP 

Sunset Room Underwriter: Vermont Gas Systems

Champion Underwriters: The Alchemist, Ben & Jerry’s, Casella, Ceres Collaborative, Champlain Investment Partners, Chroma, Dinse, Green Mountain Power, Hula, King Arthur Baking Company, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Mamava, National Life Group, Northfield Savings Bank, Paul Frank + Collins, Seventh Generation, SunCommon, TruexCullins, Union Mutual, VEIC, Vermont Creamery, Vermont Family Farms, Villanti Printers, and VSECU. 

Underwriters: Brattleboro Food Co-op, Cabot Creamery, Hickok & Boardman, Let’s Grow Kids, New England Federal Credit Union, NOFA-VT, Seven Days, SRH Law, The Richards Group, United Way of Northwest Vermont, the University of Vermont Health Network, VermontBiz, Vermont Federal Credit Union, Vermont Public, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, VTDigger, and Working Fields. 

About VBSR

VBSR is a statewide, non-profit business association with a mission to leverage the power of business for positive social and environmental impact. VBSR’s 700 member businesses and organizations strive toward a just, thriving, and transformative economy that works for all people and the planet through shared learning, building connections, and collective action. Learn more or join the cause at www.vbsr.org.

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