Walden University played host to the fourth annual Social Change Conference on Oct. 2, 2008, online. The conference focused on improving communities, with Walden emphasizing its commitment to service.
The archived video of the conference is available online.
During the conference, alumni, students and faculty members shared ways they work to improve their communities and the results of those efforts in local, national and international service.
The keynote speaker, Kelly Hodge-Williams, the executive director of Business Volunteers Unlimited Maryland, talked about her eventual move from the for-profit world to the nonprofit arena. She developed an organization that facilitates partnerships between businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Speaking about her professional transition, she said, “The light bulb came on: We needed an organization that created a bridge” between the nonprofits and for-profit businesses. “We needed to access the time and talents and interests of for-profits,” she said, and “match them” strategically with nonprofit organizations.
Other speakers on the conference panel shared insights into social change leadership
- Sarah Jane Byar, a Walden Ed.D. candidate and a 35-year teacher who serves at Bookland-Cayce High School in Columbia, S.C., spoke about engaging teens in service. Byar worked with teen volunteers to assist Hurricane Katrina victims, including taking residents of a retirement home outside their facility for fresh-air respites.
- Dr. Souror Baetjer, a Walden Ph.D. graduate and 2008 Walden Outstanding Alumni Award recipient, addressed total health through better education. She observed the need in the United States to extend health-care education at all levels. “The majority of us do not prioritize health and health education. We do not educate; we do not offer comprehensive health education like we do other subjects.”
- Gray G. Davis, the chief operating officer of Oswald Trippe and Company and a board member of the Uncommon Friends Foundation, offered some practical advice for embarking on social change: “You must be able to extend yourself—it takes a lot of personal time … frequently after-hours and on the weekends.”
This year, 443 people attended the online conference.
The Office of Alumni Relations also conducted its third annual National Day of Service on Oct. 4, 2008. Continuing with the conference theme of “Serving Our Communities,” Walden alumni, students, faculty, administration and staff donated their time to lead community service projects in 17 cities across the country.
Additionally, the university announced that it would create a Walden Service Network to provide an online community resource to share service opportunities with others in the university.
View the archive of the online conference.
November Ponder front page
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