StartingBloc brings together entrepreneurs, activists, educators, and innovators from all around the world working to create change through the organization’s leadership institute, a five-day program held in four cities throughout the year. Organizers have confirmed that they will be coming back to New Orleans for the second year in a row from Thursday, May 19 to Monday, May 23.
“One of the key reasons NOLA’15 was so successful was that we had a lot of strong local partners and changemakers in the room, and we’re committed to building that again for 2016,” shares Kristine Sloan, director of operations at StartingBloc.
For the 2015 New Orleans Institute, StartingBloc had three lead partners including Tulane University, Propeller: A Force For Social Innovation, and 4.0 Schools. They also brought in five supporting partner organizations for additional support.
Photo via startingbloc.org
StartingBloc is aiming to host 85 fellows in 2016, up from 72 during their first New Orleans event.
“We connect them to their tribe and give them access to the resources, co-conspirators, projects and support they need to create the impact they want,” explains Virgil Looney, former fellowship director at StartingBloc.
The Fellowship community of is now over 2,500 individuals working in the social impact space. StartingBloc Fellows are proven changemakers who are making significant impact both within existing organizations and through the companies they found.
“StartingBloc changed my life,” explains Adam Smiley Poswolsky, a StartingBloc fellow in Los Angeles in 2012. “The Institute introduced me to a group of people that think in a different way, that dream bigger, that have pushed me to accomplish more in these last two years than I had in the previous eight… To be blunt: it was the best investment I’ve ever made.”
For more information or to apply to the next New Orleans Institute, visit startingbloc.org/nola-16/.