You're Invited: SMBMSP#73 - Inspiring Online Advocates

We're spreading the word about the upcoming Social Media Breakfast MSP event! You're invited to come out and pick up tips and tricks for "word of mouth" (WOM) marketing in order help do the same for other great causes and brands you care about. See below for more details and to register for SMBMSP#73: Inspiring Online Advocates!

Register now for : SMBMSP #73 - Inspire your Employees & Customers to Become Online Advocates Wednesday, December 19, 2014 from 8-10 AM With the pervasiveness of social media comes the opportunity for brands to operationalize word of mouth (WOM) at scale. The now commonly used term for this is brand advocacy and the processes for identifying, inviting and activating consumers and employees to advocate for your brand are at last taking shape. David Witt, Leader of WCG's Consumer Practice and Media Engagement is past Chairman of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and has worked in WOM for several years. He will describe early efforts in creating advocacy networks and outline how the practice has matured today, as well as how you can start your own advocacy program. Featured Speaker David Witt, Leader, Mid-West Region; Group Director, Brand Strategy and Engagement David Witt (@wittatwork) is the Midwest Leader for WCG, an interactive communications agency specializing in social analytics. David is leading WCG's new midwest office in Minneapolis. He returned to Minnesota from his most recent role at Hershey where he served as Director, Global Digital Marketing and Brand PR. He led brand PR and all dig­i­tal, includ­ing paid, owned, earned and shared. Prior to this role, David was Senior Manager, Consumer Engagement at General Mills, where he led social media and the company's Word of Mouth efforts. He also cre­ated the company's three con­sumer engage­ment net­works – MyBlogSpark, Pssst… and MyGetTogether, being awarded twice with General Mills' cov­eted Champions Award.  Annual & In-Kind Sponsors                                                                             514 Studios 514 N 3rd St #101 Minneapolis, MN 55401 Attend Event

Copyright © 2014 Social Media Breakfast - Minneapolis/St. Paul, All rights reserved.

Accepting Applications: Cultural Agility Collaboration

Over the next two years, with support from the Bush Foundation, Minnesota Campus Compact will engage diverse cross-racial groups of college/university students, community members, and campus staff and faculty in a Learning and Leadership Cohort dedicated to developing more inclusive, collaborative leaders and community-campus partnerships in Minnesota. Separate online applications are available for each cohort, as indicated below, including initial retreat dates and selection criteria. Learn more about the Cultural Agility Collaboration below and apply today!

Are you interested in developing more inclusive, collaborative leaders and community-campus partnerships in Minnesota? Then consider joining a racially diverse cohort of students, community members, and campus staff and faculty for a unique learning and leadership experience. Between January 2015 and August 2016, participants will envision and move towards new models for campus and community engagement, experiential learning, and institutional change, benefiting from:

• mentorship and training with experts in the field of campus and community engagement, racial justice education, and cross-cultural work;
• access to a network of peers who are passionate about civic engagement, social change, and creating environments of co-learning;
• the opportunity to engage in critical conversations with cohort members from other affinity groups in a democratic process where all voices are heard and valued; and
• support for strategic action steps that members identify as important to advancing related work and learning across the state (e.g., developing training materials or curriculum, convening events or conversations with others).

Initial retreats will take place at the Audubon Center of the North Woods in Sandstone, MN: students on March 6-8, 2015, community members on April 10-12, 2015, and faculty/staff on May 29-31, 2015.

With questions, you’re welcome to contact Julie Plaut, Executive Director of Minnesota Campus Compact, at julie@mncampuscompact.org or 612-436-2081—or to consult with a member of the Project Leadership Team during the following times (which will be updated periodically):

• November 19, 4:00-8:00 p.m., Nickyia Cogshell, 612-600-5756
• December 1, 4:00-8:00 p.m., Nickyia Cogshell, 612-600-5756
• December 5, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Autumn Brown, 914-960-2904 or in person at the Initiative Foundation, 405 1st St. SE, Little Falls, MN 56345
• December 12, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Autumn Brown, 914-960-2904 or in person at the Initiative Foundation, 405 1st St. SE, Little Falls, MN 56345

Click here to complete the student application, the community member application, or the campus staff and faculty application. While we ask for them to be completed online,PDFs of the applications are available here, so that people can read all the application questions and more background information (including our definition of cultural agility, the CAC goals, and criteria for selecting cohort members); anyone truly uncomfortable with the online form can also use the PDF to submit an application by email or mail. The deadline for applications is December 19, 2014, and all applicants will hear back about selections no later than January 21, 2015. Meanwhile, if you apply, we encourage you to save the appropriate retreat dates on your calendar—and thank you for your interest in this collaborative, change-oriented initiative!

FAQs

Is there a cost to participate? There is no fee to participate in the cohort or its retreats.

Is there support for expenses related to participation? Could I receive an honorarium for participating? We are committed to making the Cultural Agility Collaboration as accessible as possible to ensure that cohort members are able to engage fully and intentionally in our collective work. All participants’ meals and lodging at the retreats will be covered, and the application asks for you to share what accommodations (mobility, language, family, financial, etc.) would be necessary to facilitate your participation. We ask that you aim to be as open and complete in identifying your needs in the application, and the project leadership team will aim to be as open and responsive to meeting them as the program budget allows.

How much time will be involved? Participants are expected to participate in two retreats (spring 2015 and fall 2015), which will each last from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch. Other activities will be determined by the cohort and project leadership team, so we cannot provide a specific number of hours or schedule. This is meant to be a collaborative learning and leadership experience, so it may well include talking with others (in the cohort and beyond it) outside retreats, exchanging and developing educational resources, and planning other events or actions. Scheduling will be flexible to fit into participants’ lives; activities will also be related to the priorities they identify and dependent on the commitments they choose to make along the way.

I could apply in multiple categories (student, community member, campus faculty/staff). Which one should I apply in? That decision is really yours to make based on your sense of identity and “home” from which you feel you could help to create change. While the spring 2015 retreats will happen in those groups, later activities will mix groups up based on shared interests, locations, identities, or other factors shaping their collaborative action.

You're Invited: 'The Lawyer as Leader' Book Discussion

Looking for your next great read? Dr. Artika Tyner invites you to preview The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice, at her book signing at the end of this week. Details below, and even more insights to come this Friday at SubText!

Artika Tyner discusses her book The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice 7pm Friday December 12 at SubText.

SubText: a Bookstore 165 Western Avenue North, Saint Paul 5102

www.subtextbooks.com  www.facebook.com/SubTextaBookstore
651-493-2791

A new book shows how attorneys can use their legal skills to lead social change movements, contribute to communities that foster social justice and empower and develop new leaders.

Overview: Artika Tyner '06 J.D. shares her vision for reimagining education: It begins with placing an explicit focus on leadership development and social justice advocacy. In her talk, the educator and civil rights attorney shares her experience of transforming the classroom into a learning laboratory where students experiment by applying their technical training to address the social justice challenges of our time.

"The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice" is an inspiring roadmap designed to help lawyers, educators and community activists become transformational leaders and effective agents for social change. Written by experienced educator and community advocate Artika R.Tyner, the book shows how individuals can make a difference. The book is based on her leadership development and community engagement work that fosters individual growth through an organic process from the ground up.

"The Lawyer as Leader" will be useful for young lawyers, educators, and community activists as well as more seasoned ones who wish to harness their skills and training to become leaders in the struggle for social, racial and economic justice. The book explores social justice origins and theories, provides a guide on how to build personal leadership platforms and profiles renowned attorneys, including Bonnie Allen, who trains public interest lawyers; Edgar Cahn, who created the blueprint for the Legal Services Corp. and founded Timebanks USA; and john a. powell, founder of the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota.

A public policy and leadership professor at the University of St. Thomas College of Education, Leadership & Counseling, Tyner trains graduate students to serve as social engineers who create new inroads to justice and freedom. She has led policy campaigns focusing on dismantling the cradle-to-prison pipeline, promoting economic development in marginalized communities and advocating for the rights of children with an incarcerated parent. She has a doctorate in leadership and also teaches courses on ethics, constitutional law and policy development. Her research focuses on community development and civil rights, and she has spoken internationally on these subjects.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, wrote the book's foreword.

Accepting Applications: 2015 Facing Race Ambassador Award Nominations

I was proud to serve on the selection committee for last year's 2014 Facing Race Ambassador Award. The 2015 nominations process is now underway, so if you know someone working tirelessly to end racism, consider throwing their hat in the ring to recognize and honor their work. See below for more details and remember to nominate before the December 12 deadline!

Ambassador Awards

The Facing Race Ambassador Awards were established in 2007 by The Saint Paul Foundation to celebrate and honor the leadership of individuals working toward racial equity. The annual award highlights the valuable work of award recipients and honorees to inspire discussion, dialogue and action around critical issues of race and racism.

2015 Ambassador Awards

The Saint Paul Foundation is currently accepting nominations for the 2015 Ambassador Awards through December 12.

Download and read the Request for Nominations here (pdf).

Visit our 2015 Ambassador Awards page to nominate someone for consideration, including accessing nomination templates and our online submission form.

Find out more

Access November 18 informational webinar playback here.

View all of the Ambassador Awards recipients

• 2014 Recipients

• 2013 Recipients

• 2012 Recipients

• More

Building the new

Copyright: rmorijn / 123RF Stock Photo

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

-Socrates