Agenda

• Kristen Dailey, Executive Director, Global Washington

• Marty Kooistra, Board Member, Global Washington

• Justin Spelhaug, General Manager, Tech for Social Impact, Microsoft Philanthropies

Sustainable Development Goal 6 seeks to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. For decades, funders and non-profit organizations have sought sustainable approaches to increasing access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) globally. Yet, UNICEF has noted that 30-50 percent of WASH projects fail after two to five years. Some of the common sustainability challenges include a lack of government and community adoption, the lack of robust local supply chains for operations and maintenance, and a project-by-project approach rather than a systems-strengthening approach. Increasingly, funders and non-profits are implementing new systems-based strategies to address the sustainability challenge. But what does taking a systems-strengthening approach mean in this context? What does this work require from each partner and what does collaboration look like when those involved share the risks and rewards? Finally, what role does data play to inform these approaches and partnerships? This session will explore these questions and others, using Splash as a case study for its work with the Hilton Foundation in Ethiopia, where they engaged in a cross-sector partnership with the government, foundations, and the private sector to create a layered, sustainable WASH model.

Panelists:

• Rachel Cardone, Deputy Director, Water, Health & Development Program, Woods Institute, Stanford University
• Andrea Jones, Program Associate, International Programs, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
• Leslie Llado, Program Sustainability Manager, Splash
• Moderator: Patty Russell, Managing Director, Russell Advisory Services, LLC

Meeting Sustainable Development Goal 4 and achieving quality universal education will require an ability to think creatively about the educational needs of individuals throughout their lifetimes. This session will explore gender-based disparities in education and discuss strategies to address them. Women and girls in developing countries often receive insufficient formal education and may have limited opportunities for technical and vocational training, as well. Their lack of education and access to training negatively impacts the health and economic outcomes of entire communities. Socio-cultural factors play a big role, including early marriage and extensive household duties, among others. While global development professionals have focused mainly on increasing girls’ primary and secondary education, it may be equally as important to increase women’s access to technical, vocational, and tertiary education, as well as workforce retraining to meet changing market needs. Whether or not you work in the education field, this session will provide insights on how you and your organization can contribute to achieving SDG 4 by bolstering opportunities for women and girls’ education globally.

Panelists:

• Shogofa Amini, Fellow, Sahar Education for Afghan Girls
• Cathy Cavanaugh, Principal Program Manager, Learning Research and Analytics, Microsoft
• Yawa Hansen-Quao, Executive Director, Emerging Public Leaders
• Moderator: James Bernard, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Resonance

For the 1.7 billion unbanked people globally, universal access to financial services will be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty (SDG 1) and promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth (SDG 8). Nascent financial inclusion programs and new digital financial services promise to empower low-income populations worldwide with the access they need to break the cycle of poverty and prosper with dignity. Over one billion of the unbanked own a mobile phone and almost 500 million have internet access. With mobile ubiquity and demand for a wide range of financial services, the market opportunity has never been greater. In this session, panelists from the non-profit, philanthropic, and private sector will discuss how their organizations are working to address the range of financial needs of the underbanked. Panelists will explore financial inclusion through the lens of empowerment: investing in user-centered solutions delivers long term, sustainable results. They will also examine how different stakeholders are working to provide access to financial services and products that cater to different needs and the variety of ways that people access capital to increase their economic mobility.

Panelists:

• Kathleen Colson, Co-Founder, The BOMA Project
• Liz Kellison, Gender Lead, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Andres Manzano Gomez, Senior Product Manager, Destination International Expansion, Remitly
• KJ Zunigha, Research & Impact Officer, Global Partnerships
• Moderator: Tifany Boyles, Director of Global Philanthropy, Street Business School

One of the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 10, which aims to reduce inequality within and among countries, is to “facilitate orderly, safe and responsible migration.” Beginning in April of this year, a policy of family separation at the U.S. border launched a firestorm of debate in the United States. Many groups that had been working with refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers for years suddenly found themselves thrown into the spotlight. This session will discuss how the U.S. border crisis unfolded, and key insights that can inform our work for the future. How did these groups manage the sudden flood of publicity, both positive and negative? How did they manage the massive influx of donations (much of it from so-called “rage giving”), which they knew would be unlikely to continue over the long run? And how did they scale their work quickly to address a rapidly changing situation? International organizations that are focused on human rights and development in high-risk settings can learn a lot from this experience.

Panelists:

• Arturo Aguilar, Executive Director, Seattle International Foundation
• Jorge Baron, Executive Director, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
• Chitra Hanstad, Executive Director, World Relief Seattle
• Michele Storms, Deputy Director, ACLU
• Moderator: Elizabeth Dale, Assistant Professor, Master of Nonprofit Leadership, Seattle University

The exponential growth of humanity’s footprint is putting stress on Earth’s life support and ecological systems. Three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 13 – climate action; SDG 14 – life below water; and SDG 15 – life on land) seek to address this challenge. As we work towards a more sustainable path, technology has an important role to play in shaping, accelerating and scaling innovations and solutions. This session will address how technology is assisting efforts to combat climate change’s harmful effects on fragile ecosystems, and support conservation and research initiatives that may be able to slow, or even in some cases reverse, the loss of biodiversity.

Panelists:

• Carol Bogezi, Wildlife Science Researcher, University of Washington
• Michael Despines, Executive Director, Snow Leopard Trust
• Ted Schmitt, Principal Business Development Manager, Vulcan
• Robert Long, Senior Conservation Scientist, Woodland Park Zoo
• Moderator: Isabel Carrera Zamanillo, Operations Specialist, College of the Environment, University of Washington

• Keynote: Patrick Awuah, Founder & President, Ashesi University
• Presentation of the 2018 Global Hero Award
• 10 Year Anniversary Recognitions

The final Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 17) focuses on the investments needed to achieve each of the other 16 goals. This includes financial investments, technological transfer, and the enabling policy environment. How can we foster effective partnerships to mobilize needed resources and build the capacity within developing countries? What can we learn from successful partnership and failures? Do we have the data and metrics we need to evaluate? Are partnerships on the decline due to the rise of nationalism? Come join a conversation of your peers in this closed session for CEOs and Executive Directors.

Discussion leads:

• Jane Meseck, Senior Director of Global Programs, Microsoft Philanthropies
• Dave Neiswander, CEO, World Bicycle Relief
• Steve Schmida, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Resonance

Sustainable Development Goal 10, which seeks to reduce inequality within and among countries, urges countries to “facilitate orderly, safe and responsible migration.” Refugees around the world, and within Washington state, face enormous challenges when it comes to integrating into their new communities. Many do not have proof of their identity and accomplishments. This session will discuss the typical hurdles refugees face after being resettled in a new place, and how technology can support them. In addition, many forward-thinking companies have reached out to the refugee community to provide the tools and resources needed to develop an identity, learn, and integrate with a community.

Panelists:

• • Susan Din, Private Sector Partnerships & Operations Manager, Tent Partnership for Refugees
  • Eric Rasmussen, CEO & Chairman of the Board, iRespond
  • Nicky Smith, Executive Director, IRC Seattle
  • Haris Svraka, Fueling Operations Manager, Swissport Fueling
  • Moderator: Cameron Birge, Humanitarian Response Manager, Microsoft Philanthropies

Sustainable Development Goal 5 focuses on gender equality, and in particular ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. We often champion gender equality, equity, and inclusion in our programs to address historic inequities in the countries where we work. However, some of our organizations may be falling short. We still see internal cultures that reinforce white supremacy and male-dominated leadership. We see sidelining of women and inequitable access to leadership paths. How do we make sure that our own organizations are practicing what they preach? How do we address systemic challenges in our workplaces both here and abroad? This session will examine how organizations can champion change internally and pinpoint some of the common challenges organizations face when trying to change their internal norms and policies.

Panelists:

• Susi Collins, Senior Program Manager, Diversity & Inclusion, Nordstrom
• Niketa Kulkarni, Senior Research & Evaluation Specialist, Landesa
• Min Pease, Director, Impact Funding, Echoing Green
• Moderator: Ada Williams Prince, Lead, Program Strategy, Pivotal Ventures

Sustainable Development Goal 2 calls for the international community to build sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms, with the ultimate objective of achieving food security by 2030. Although meaningful progress has been made to combat hunger and food insecurity globally, more progress is urgently needed as 790 million people worldwide still suffer from hunger, and agricultural expenditures in developing countries continues to be inadequate. Because the causes of hunger and food insecurity are complex, and cut across multiple global goals, progress will require solutions by various actors working in partnership to address a spectrum of factors. This session brings together food security experts from different fields – transnational agencies, corporations, and international NGOs – to discuss how partnerships can drive food security and achieve positive impacts across sectors over the next 10 years.

Panelists:

• David Austin, Director of Strategic Partnerships, World Food Programme
• Margaret Henry, Director, Sustainable Agriculture, PepsiCo
• Diana Fletschner, Senior Director of Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Landesa
• Moderator: Suzanne Frindt, President & CEO, The Hunger Project

Sustainable Development Goal 5 seeks to achieve good health and well-being for all. The first two targets under this goal include reducing maternal mortality and ending all preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age. This session will focus on how Washington-state based organizations are supporting new approaches to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies. Panelists will discuss the progress that has been made over the last decade and the challenges that remain. Particular attention will be paid to how the provision of respectful care and collaborating with local communities to design solutions makes a lasting difference.

Panelists:

• Heidi Breeze-Harris, Executive Director, PRONTO International
• Sadaf Khan, Senior Program Officer, PATH
• Heidi Nakamura, Global Health Director, Adara Development
• Moderator: Dena Morris, President & CEO, Washington Global Health Alliance

• Michelle Bradley, Co-Founder and Executive Director, EKARI
• Tifany Boyles, Director, Global Philanthropy, Street Business School
• Ndudi Chuku, Executive Director, Mission Africa
• Sola Soyombo, Vice President, Spring Development Initiative
• Yogita Verma, Head Resource Mobilization & Comms, Breakthrough
• Frances Walker, Executive Director, Path From Poverty

• Sarah Hendriks, Director, Gender Equality, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• Steve Davis, President & CEO, PATH
• Moderator: Gabrielle Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO, Panorama

• Kristen Dailey, Executive Director, Global Washington