Andrew Butcher, Executive Fellow at Heinz College

WHAT:

Targeting the intersection of social entrepreneurship, community development, and sustainability, The Applied Innovation Burrito Lab and Lecture (AIBL) Series will spark inspiration and serve as a platform of relevance for students to translate academic interests and passions into a viable next step in the social sector.

WHY:

Sometimes a little inspiration, creativity, guidance, focused time, peer support, encouragement, pragmatism and accountability is all that is needed to take an idea the next step. Not all ideas need to become fully planned new ventures. Not all ideas lead to a career path. The AIBL Series, curated and produced by Heinz College Executive Fellow Andrew Butcher - will support students to translate ideas, interests, and passions into further exploration and pursuit for relevant application.

GOALS:

• Apply innovation to academic focus
• Fuel social entrepreneurial aspirations
• Fuse talent and creativity to local needs

WHEN:

Kickoff Lecture September 8th 2017: 12pm - 1:20pm: The Great Sunflower Hunt - Social Entrepreneurship and Applied Innovation

Co-sponsored by the Center for Economic Development and The Institute For Social Innovation

*Future Labs will be produced through the course of the 2017 and 2018 close to the beginning of new minis.

BY WHO:

Andrew Butcher, (MSPPM ‘07) is a 2017 Executive Fellow For the Heinz College. Butcher co-founded GTECH Strategies from his systems project at Heinz in 2007 and grew it into an award winning social enterprise working at the intersection of community development and the green economy. Butcher is recipient of numerous awards including the Echoing Green Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship. He was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs in St. Louis, and now serves as a consultant to The Center For Community Progress.

Guest speakers will include experts in the fields of: Social Entrepreneurship, Community Development, Alternative Finance, Environmental Health, Environmental Justice, Urban Resilience, Public Policy, Socially Responsible Business, Urban Systems, Human Centered Design, Community Organizing, and non-Profit Management.

FOR WHO:

Lectures are for anyone interested in the substance and topics of each session. Local case studies will be provided to highlight relevant links and connect students to exciting - and untapped frontier within the Pittsburgh community.