Date: Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015
Location: Alabama
Impact Local explored social projects affecting local NYC communities. We discussed and voted on which where most important for New Yorkers at large. They will be highlighted in upcoming event
Event Category: Impact New York
Immigration Policy
Date: Monday, August 1st, 2016
Location: Alabama
What makes a sensible immigration policy? How should borders be defined? These were some of the questions discussed by immigration experts. Read the Issue Brief and see more on the Immigration Issues page.
Criminal Justice Reform
Date: Thursday, March 16th, 2017
Location: Alabama
The culmination of a 6-month effort to highlight issues surrounding prison reform. Read the Issue Brief and see more on the Prison Reform Issues page.
Workplace Automation
Date: Tuesday, April 24th, 2018
Location: WeWork Bryant Park 54 West 40th Street New York, Alabama 10018
IMPACT Jobs
The Future of Work
6:30 pm
Arrive, Snacks, Mingle, and Seat
Guests must be ticketed to enter.
7:00 pm
A High Speed Primer on the Future
Receive your briefing on the issue prior to our Main Panel from David Yang Democrat for President 2020 & Jim Bessen Professor and Author.
7:35 pm
The Future of Work
Lead Panelists: David Ferrucci, Liz Shuler, and Heidi Shierholz.
8:35 pm
Event Wrap-up
Panelists filmed. Audience meet and greet. Music by The Rockaways.
9:15 pm
Private Gathering for Speakers & Ticketed Patrons
Join us for drinks and culinary samplings @ STK. Location sent to Patron Ticket Holders and Speakers. Rockaways invited.
Impact NYC hosted the Impact Jobs events. We’ve discussed all sides of workplace automation. Our panel of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation experts engaged a lively discussion at We Work Bryant Park, 54 W. 40th St. at 7:00pm. Read the Issue Brief and see more on the Jobs Issues page.
David Ferrucci
Inventor IBM Watson
With decades of experience in AI, Dr. Ferrucci built and led the IBM Watson team from its inception through its landmark Jeopardy success in 2011 when Watson defeated the greatest Jeopardy! players of all time. He has worked with Bridgewater’s Founder Ray Dalio to develop cutting edge data models and runs Elemental Cognition.
Liz Shuler
Secretary-Treasurer AFL-CIO
Elizabeth H. Shuler is an American labor activist and, since September 16, 2009, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO. She is the first woman and (as of 2009) the youngest person to hold the position of Secretary-Treasurer. She is the highest-ranking woman in the labor federation’s history.
James Bessen
Professor Boston University Law
James Bessen is an economist and Lecturer at Boston University School of Law since 2004. Previously he was a CEO of a software company. Bessen was also a Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Bessen researches the economics of innovation, including patents and economic history and is a graduate of Harvard College.
Heidi Shierholz
Fmr. Chief Economist Dept. of Labor
Heidi Shierholz was Chief Economist to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, serving under Secretary Thomas Perez in the Obama Administration. Shierholz leads the Economic Policy Institute’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda.
Andrew Yang
Entrepreneur & Democratic Candidate for President 2020
Andrew is an American entrepreneur, the Founder of Venture for America, and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. He has worked in startups and early stage growth companies as a founder or executive for nearly two decades. He is the author of Smart People Should Build Things, published by HarperCollins, and The War on Normal People, about automation of labor.
Music by The Rockaways
Max Landry & Steve Powers
Steve Powers & Max Landry are emerging musical superstars who have amassed millions of streams, headlined shows across the world, and support from some of the biggest names in music like Tiesto, Hardwell, Nicky Romero, as well as performing with the likes of Afrojack, Avicii, and Armin Van Buuren.
“Activities most susceptible to automation include physical ones in predictable environments, such as operating machinery and preparing fast food. Collecting and processing data are two other categories of activities that increasingly can be done better and faster with machines. This could displace large amounts of labor—for instance, in mortgage origination, paralegal work, accounting, and back-office transaction processing.”
Max Landry & Steve Powers
Thank You To Our Sponsors
Bold Business’ mission is simple – To encourage, communicate and enable Bold Business Ideas and Actions that Build a Better World. We believe that Bold Ideas lead to Bold Actions that deliver amazing Societal Impact.
Flip The Switch
Date: Tuesday, April 30th, 2019
Time: 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Location:IPIC New York City 11 Fulton St, New York, Alabama 10038
IMPACT Development
Join us for a discussion on how best to enable development in emerging economies while maintaining their culture and values.
6:30 pm
Arrive, Intro & Thank to our Sponsors Bold Business, Barefoot College, and Hylas
6:45 pm
Flip the Switch - Documentary Pre-Release & Performance by Piera Van de Wiel
7:00 pm
Development Approaches & Impact
8:00 pm
Event Ends
8:30 pm
After Event Gathering
10:00 pm
Fin
Panelists
Michelle Paige Patterson
Michelle R. Paige Paterson was the first lady of New York State. The wife of New York Governor David Paterson, she became first lady on March 17, 2008, when her husband was sworn in as governor following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer.
Lord Jack McConnell
Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, PC, is a Scottish politician and a Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was the First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011.
Mariane Pearl
Mariane van Neyenhoff Pearl is a French freelance journalist and former reporter and columnist for Glamour magazine. She is the widow of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist who was the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal. He was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan in early 2002, during the early months of the United States’ war on terror.
Ian Vasquez
Ian Vásquez is the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. His articles have appeared in newspapers throughout the United States and Latin America, and he is a columnist at El Comercio (Peru). He is the co-author of the Human Freedom Index and has testified numerous times in the U.S. Congress on economic development issues.
Chidinma Achebe
Moderator
Chi was the first program manager of the Anzisha Prize, a pan-African entrepreneurship award created by the African Leadership Academy and the Mastercard Foundation. She led strategy development and executed marketing initiatives in 12 African countries. Chi founded ResSpot, a global 911 “Uber for emergency response” app. Prior to her work in South Africa, Chi was an account strategist at Google. She is an MBA candidate at Columbia Business School and holds a BA with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania.
Eda Henries
Eda is a principal at Persistent. Eda has over 10 years of entrepreneurship and investment banking advisory experience in the U.S. and Africa. She was previously a vice president in the Global Power and Utilities Group of Citigroup’s Investment Banking Division. She also co-founded businesses in the food service and agribusiness sectors in West Africa. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
Performance by Piera Van de Wiel
Piera van de Wiel is an actor, singer and entrepreneur. As a singer, she has released an original single called “It’s Complicated” with Canadian music producer Steve Barakatt, with press in Broadway World, Yahoo, and Europa Press. She is also the founder of the collective Stronger With Music.
Cheryl Dorsey, CEO of Echoing Green
Approaches to Development
Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organization and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.
Bill Gates
Thank You To Our Sponsors
Civil Discourse In The Age Of Digital Media And Its Impact On Young Civic Leaders
Date: Thursday, December 5th, 2019
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Civic Hall, 118 West 22nd Street New York, New York 10011
6:00 pm
Doors Open
Guests are welcomed into Civic Hall to mingle with other event attendees and Rising Leader Board members.
2:30 pm
Conversation Begins
Our panel of experts take the stage to discuss the topic of the night from their own personal experience.
7:15 pm
Group Dialogue
Small group discussions following the panel. Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss their personal experiences, challenges, and triumphs with panelists and other civic leaders.
8:00 pm
Event Ends
Leave Civic Hall space
The prevalence of digital media in today’s social discourse has polarized our society and made communication between ideological opponents exceedingly difficult. This trend has a great effect on young people who will soon vote in their first or second election and who will be conditioned in a culture that values confirmation bias over civil discourse. This event hosted by Impact NYC’s Rising Leader Board will explore how media and a polarized political climate impact the outlook of young people in their chosen sources of information, their willingness to engage in debate with those who have different views than their own, and their approach to communicating with people in power.
Meet Our Experts
Meenakshi Krishnan
Legal Fellow, Knight Institute at Columbia University
Meenakshi Krishnan is a legal fellow at the Knight First Amendment Institute. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she helped litigate First Amendment and freedom of information cases as a Student Director of the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic. She was also an Executive Editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Co-President of the Yale Law & Technology Society. During law school, Meenakshi worked for the Wikimedia Foundation, National Public Radio’s Office of the General Counsel, and Jenner & Block. After graduating, she clerked for the Hon. James A. Wynn, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. A Fulbright scholar, Meenakshi received her B.A. in History and Political Science from Wake Forest University and her M.Phil. in International Relations and Politics from the University of Cambridge.
Marissa Muñoz
Northeast Director at Young Invincibles
Marissa Muñoz is the Northeast Director of the Young Invincibles where she is leading the organization’s policy advocacy efforts to increase opportunities for young adults. Prior to this role, Marissa served as the Senior Director of Education Policy at the Hispanic Federation, advancing New York City and State policies that support the achievement of Latinos in both P-12 and higher education.
She is passionate about increasing college and career readiness opportunities for young people and has worked to increase programs and policies that support postsecondary success through her work at the College Board and the New York City Department of Education. Marissa holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Laura Fisher
Senior Technical Program Manager at Twitter
Laura is a Sr. TPM for Global Civic Integrity at Twitter. Self-described as a scrappy, resourceful and passionate leader in product, strategy and operations, she currently runs programs that have global impact working on Civic Integrity, Health and Regulatory programs. In addition to her day job, Laura also has a ‘gay job’ as the Global Co-Chair of @TwitterOpen, the LGBTQIA+ employee group at Twitter
Josh Lafazan
Legislator, 18th District of the Nassau County Legislature
Legislator Josh Lafazan, at 23 years of age, became Nassau County’s youngest-ever legislator upon his election to the Nassau County Legislature in November of 2017. He is currently serving his first term, where he represents Nassau’s 18th Legislative District as an Independent. Josh graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Master’s Degree in Education Policy and Management in May 2017, and from the Cornell University ILR School with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations in May 2016.
Our Sponsor
Impact Public Service Fund Rising Leaders Board
Impact NYC is a non-profit organization that brings together a community of civically engaged citizens to participate in objective dialogue about our society’s most pressing issues. The newly formed, Rising Leaders Board is focused on elevating the voices and concerns of the next generation of civic leaders and finding new pathways for these leaders to bring about positive social change.
Location
Poker For Charity
Date: Thursday, September 10th, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Location: Virtual
We are coming together as a community to help rebuild both big and small. During a fractured time, people are paramount.
7:00 pm
Kickoff
You’ll get a url for your seat. No downloads; no zoom. Thx to our sponsors.
Join us via google meet if you want to chit chat, hear sound of chips shuffling, and experience a professional comedian, Al, perform his debut poker commentating performance.
8:15 pm
Thinning of the herd
The final table url will be sent to those who have made it.
Observers welcome while the final 10 compete for 5 prizes and permanent fame. Al will have warmed up and be at his finest.
9:30 pm
We say our goodbyes
Winners choose their trophies, crap bets on whether we’re in person next year or not. Thx to our sponsors.
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
What to Expect
We are coming together as a community to help rebuild both big and small. During a fractured time, people are paramount. This community is special not only because of the individuals and the companies standing behind us but the causes we all care about. Chip in and show up for your friends, the mission, the poker, and the prospect of us all coming back together in person again. There’s a lot to rebuild. Let’s make a dent together.
Charity Co-Hosts
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Fast Facts
50 Players competing for a good cause and 5 great prizes.
2 Rounds about 1 hour each. Winners from Round 1 go to the Final Table.
Texas Hold ’em no Limit. All proceeds go to charity. Prizes donated by sponsors.
Non-profits are the host. All proceeds go to 501(c) 3s to support their programming.
A special thank you to our sponsor Nifty Gateway for donating original crypto art Venus by Steven Baltay.
Estimated value +$600
Interview with the co-Founder of Nifty Gateway and the Artist:
Because you've asked...
If you’d like to sit with a player or group of players you can. Just email us at mike@impactny.org with the names of the players in your group.
The Impact Public Service Fund and Girls to Grandmasters are the non-profit hosts of this event. Proceeds support their organizations. Consult your accountant on deductibility of your support. We’re happy to provide a letter!
Poker & Charity Pros Playing Include:
Dakota Diggs
Alydaar Rangwala
Andrew Salamon
Gabriel Drapos
Sandesh Kataria
Duncan Cock Foster
Danny Rohde
Nicole Maffeo
Sid Sathe
Ethan Wolf
Nic Poulos
Craig Reeson
Gary Bornstein
Liam Roecklein
Rob Puff
Tiffany Wong
Michael Puff
Jake Esse
Karsten McVay
Michael Kopko
Last Year's Chess for Charity Event Highlights
The Future of Water
Date: Thursday, September 23rd, 2021
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EST
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
About the Event
Climate change is projected to increase the number of water-stressed regions and exacerbate shortages in already water-stressed regions. In 2050, 3.2 billion people or 32% of the global population will live in severely water scarce areas according to a 2020 United Nations report. How can we build water resiliency and measure, predict and communicate the risks we face about water access and availability? What is our probable water future?
Watch The Future of Water Here
Watch Last Years's Event Highlight
Meet Our Speakers
Spencer Glendon
Founder, Probable Futures
Marla Smith-Nilson
Founder and Executive Director Water1st
Doll Avant
Founder & CEO Aquagenuity
Co-Hosts
Rekia Foudel
Impact Board Member
Natalie Baer
Impact Board Member
Kimberly Kyle Hall
Impact Board Member
Partner and Supporters
April 19: Food-Scrap Drop-Off Partnerships with Local Gov’t
Date: Wednesday, April 19th, 2023
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Government Support for Community Composting Part 5: Food-Scrap Drop-Off Partnerships with Local Government
Are you a local government interested in reducing and recycling wasted food and curious to learn how you can help spur community-scale composting? Or perhaps you are a community-oriented composter, farmer, or micro hauler searching for public-private partnerships.
In Part 5 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series, Sashti Balasundaram, Founder of WeRadiate, will share case studies from Western New York – the City of Buffalo, Town of Amherst, and Erie County – in which local community composters and volunteers advocate and work alongside elected officials to bring forth change. He will be joined by representatives from three local governments.
Date: Wednesday April 19th
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm ET
Fee: $20
Free for Community Composter Coalition members! (use code CCC)
Free for local government! (use code LOCGOV)
Free for farmers! (use code FARMER)
A recording of this webinar will be made available to those who register.
This webinar is one in a series the Institute for Local Self-Reliance offers to support a distributed and diverse composting infrastructure that includes community-sized and on-farm composting. To view and listen to our library of past composting-related webinar recordings, click HERE.
Meet Our Experts
Sashti Balasundaram
Founder
WeRadiate (New York) Sashti Balasundaram is a social entrepreneur, innovator, and educator. He founded WeRadiate LLC, an AgTech company that develops smart sensors that digitally track data variables such as compost temperature and humidity. This technology makes it easier for operators to ensure healthy, high-quality standards. Sashti has vast knowledge in community composting; he was a teacher of the NYC Master Composter program, co-founded a community garden in Brooklyn, worked at the Lower East Side Ecology Center in NYC, and the Mayor’s Office in the City of Buffalo as the recycling representative.
John Szalasny
Chair
Recycling and Waste Citizens Advisory Committee (Town of Amherst, New York) John Szalasny is the current chair of the Recycling and Waste citizens advisory committee in the Town of Amherst, NY. He originally joined the committee interested in how they could reduce plastic waste (a very challenging issue) but quickly got involved in a new volunteer initiative to collect organic kitchen scraps for composting. Starting with community education and monitored collections 3 hours a week, they now also have a permanent, unmonitored drop-off site and a composting site for collections that is operated by the Town.
Gary Carrel
Solid Waste Recycling Specialist
Environment & Planning (Erie County, New York) Gary Carrel is a Solid Waste Recycling Specialist in the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning with responsibilities related to hazardous waste collection, waste reduction, recycling and composting. He works with residents, municipalities and departments within Erie County on ways to promote reuse, reduction and recycling. Additionally, Gary has been actively involved with numerous environmentally-based groups and organizations in the Buffalo area and is currently the Co-Chair of the WNY Earth Day Steering Committee. He is the president of the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3). His dedication was acknowledged in 2018 as a recipient of the Recycling Leadership Award in the public sector category from NYSAR3.
Danielle Rovillo
Project Coordinator
Office of Health Equity, Erie County Department of Health (Buffalo, New York) Danielle is a food systems planner, a member of the local Food Policy Council, and professionally trained as a Farmers Market Manager by the Farmers Market Federation of NY. Danielle’s career is uniquely focused on food equity and cultural responsiveness. While running a nonprofit mobile produce market program for nearly a decade, Danielle developed a full-service community development model for the program that built trust within diverse communities, welcomed generational wisdom, and met consumers where they are at in terms of both socio-economic status and food system knowledge. Culturally-responsive food procurement, waste management and reduction tips, and cooking confidence-building, combined with community partnerships for nutrition education, made this program a beloved resource in many communities across the City of Buffalo. Today, Danielle manages the development, design, and distribution of culturally-responsive public health resources that address the social determinants of health.
Moderator
Brenda Platt
Director, Composting for Community Initiative, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Washington, DC
Brenda and her team at ILSR are supporting community-scale composters via forums, webinars, podcasts, guides, policies, training, and more. In 2017, the US Composting Council awarded her its H. Clark Gregory Award for outstanding service to the composting industry through grassroots efforts. In 2019, BioCycle magazine featured Brenda as one of its organics recycling trailblazers. She has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The George Washington University.
Inaugural Impact Forum
Date: Thursday, September 18th, 2014
Time: 12:00 am – 12:00 am
Location: Alabama
NYC is filled with motivated, brilliant individuals with great ideas to give back to their communities or change them for the better.
NYC is filled with motivated, brilliant individuals with great ideas to give back to their communities or change them for the better. We gathered a group of them with local social issue experts to discuss possible topics for future Impact community events.