*In-person events have been canceled until further notice.
Dec. 2 Virtual Lunch & Networking:
The Reconstruct Challenge - Making Equitable Housing More Affordable
Join Venture Connectors on Wednesday, Dec. 2, to hear from Bryce Butler and Mallory Sanborn with Access Ventures, who will share how the organization's Reconstruct Challenge is helping to solve the problem of housing inequity.
A Louisville-based private operating foundation, Access Ventures launched the Reconstruct Challenge over a year ago. Through this prize competition, it awarded $300,000 each to six innovations that are working to increase access to affordable housing in Louisville and Southern Indiana. This unique approach took the risk of funding ideas that had yet to be tested in our region. With an unexpected pandemic, that risk grew even more. At the December lunch, Butler and Sanborn will share what they've learned, the impact the innovations have had so far, and what's to come. Click here to register.
The program is from noon to 1PM as usual, but please plan to join us early at 11:45 AM or stay after for networking! We'll be using the Zoom meeting format so that all attendees can be on video and interact with each other if they wish.
Before starting Access Ventures, Butler was the Executive Director of the BlueSky Network, a venture philanthropy family office in Southern Indiana with activities around the world in microfinance, clean energy, sustainable agriculture, mobile payments, and entrepreneurship/innovation. Butler was also the Executive Producer of a documentary about poverty, gang violence, and those trying to chart a new path through dance set in Guatemala City that premiered at the United Nations in April 2014 called BBOY for Life. Previously, Butler worked in Organizational Design & Development at a global manufacturing company and served as an Executive Pastor at one of the 50 fastest growing churches in the United States. Following graduation from Iowa State University, he served on active duty for four years as a Captain with the U.S. Army. He has a master’s degree in theology and a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Sanborn is a Senior Associate at Access Ventures, leading initiatives around affordable housing and equitable employment. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in economics and global studies and a minor in entrepreneurship. Sanborn previously worked with Social Entrepreneur Corps in Guatemala, where she served on a team of eight people focused on developing logistical models, expanding market segments, and creating sales strategies to target consumers within a six-hour radius of Antigua. After that, she worked at Village Capital, an impact fund focused on finding, training, and investing in entrepreneurs working in markets typically overlooked by investment capital, which led her to her current role at Access Ventures.
The event is free to Venture Connectors members and $10 for guests. All who have an interest in the startup community are welcome to join us! We hope to see you Dec. 2!
Click here to register. For questions, email us at contact@ventureconnectors.org.
