Southside Connection Symposium “Uniting Ideas, Forging the Future” Convenes Business Community from Chicago’s Southeast Lakefront Neighborhoods
Chicago,Ill. Sept. 23, 2024 — The South East Chicago Commission (SECC) will host the 6th annual Southside Connection Symposium with support from Allstate on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at the David Rubenstein Forum in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood.
SECC’s regional economic development symposium represents a visionary collaboration keenly focused on empowering entrepreneurs and equipping businesses for scalable growth in the Southeast lakefront neighborhoods of Chicago. More than 300 small business owners, economic development professionals, and civic leaders will convene for the networking breakfast, keynote conversation and founders panel.
“SECC is committed to civic leadership and capacity building in our communities and the Symposium gives us a chance to uncover areas of need and highlight success that we can replicate,” said Diane Burnham, SECC Executive Director. “We need to leverage the opportunities and unprecedented growth in our region as it continues to evolve with major infrastructure projects, tourism and new investments.”
The keynote conversation, titled “Navigating the Intersection of Profitability and Social Impact,” will explore strategies and tactics for social impact engineering that enable businesses to scale while leading communities through commerce. Successful business models will be shared by Xavier Ramey, CEO and Founder of Justice Informed, and Caroline Grossman, Executive Director of the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
The founders panel, “Pivoting for the Future with New Ideas,” will be moderated by Phaedra Leslie, Vice President of Diversity, Workforce Development, and Community Engagement at ALL Construction Group. This panel provides valuable insights from entrepreneurs who have successfully capitalized on opportunities to launch and expand into new products, services, industries, or customer categories. Featured panelists include Chef Taylor Mason, Co-Founder of Taylor’s Tacos and Taylored, LaTanya Orr, Founder of The FoundHERS Suite, and Donnell Digby, Founder of The Woodlawn, Key Appraisal South, and Salon Ten35.
South East Chicago Commission presents the 2024 Southside Connection Symposium with sponsorship from Allstate, Comcast NBC Universal, Charity & Associates, CEI Media Group, Chicago Community Loan Fund and The Sophy Hotel.
Online registration is required. For more information, www.secc-chicago.org/symposium.
