11:55am-1:00 pm EST
Hosts: Al Etmanski & Sean Moore
Advocating with empathy proposes that we stop poisoning the political ecosystem, put aside tactics of blame and criticism and become solution-based advocates. These advocates have two mutually supportive objectives: they propose solutions and at the same time improve governments’ capacity to innovate. Regardless of their political stripe, today’s governments have shorter attention spans and are more risk-averse. It’s no wonder new policy ideas fight for a foothold. If we want government to have empathy for our issues, we must develop empathy for its issues as well.
In Al Etmanski's latest book: IMPACT: Six Patterns to Spread Your Social Innovation, he highlights the story of Marian Tompson, who, in the late 1950s, began challenging doctors, hospitals and baby food giants about their role in fostering negative attitudes about breastfeeding. Marian, along with six other young mothers, ended up launching a movement that introduced the "womanly art of breastfeeding" into the global lexicon. She co-founded and served as the President of La Leche League for twenty-four years, which is now the world's foremost authority on breastfeeding.
Join Al for an intimate conversation with Marian as they explore how thinking and acting like a movement can lead to unexpected and spectacular results.
Register for IMPACT: Advocating with Empathy
Please note that this session is 1 part of a 6 Part Learning Journey Webinar Series for Social Innovators & Community Change Agents with Al Etmanski. Space is limited in all the sessions, and you must register for each session you wish to attend.
About Al Etmanski
Al Etmanski is a community organizer, social entrepreneur and author. He is a founding partner of Social Innovation Generation (SiG) and BC Partners for Social Impact. Previously he co-founded Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) with his wife Vickie Cammack and Jack Collins. Al is an Ashoka fellow, and a faculty member of John McKnight’s Asset Based Community Development Institute (ABCD).
Al has received numerous awards for his work with people with disabilities, including the Order of Canada (2014), Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013), and Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal (2005). He lives with his wife Vickie Cammack – who also received the Order of Canada – just outside of Vancouver and delight in the creative pursuits of their five children.
In his highly praised new book, Impact: Six Patterns To Spread Your Social Innovation, Etmanski provides an inspirational and practical roadmap for others wishing to transform our society. He is a thought-leader, researcher, and storyteller with the rare ability to both inspire audiences and leave them with actionable change strategies.
About Sean Moore
Sean is the Founder and Principal of Advocacy School and one of Canada’s most experienced practitioners, writers and teachers on public-policy advocacy. He has more than 30 years experience in public-policy and advocacy related to local, provincial/state and federal government affairs in Canada and the United States. He is a former Partner and Public-Policy Advisor withe national law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, a former president of what was then then Canada's largest government relations consulting firm and a vice-president of a Washington, DC-based public-policy research and consulting company.
Today, he advises corporations, NGOs and associations on their compliance with federal and provincial "rules" of lobbying and advocacy. He also designs and conducts professional-development training in advocacy for industry and professional associations and NGOs. He has taught graduate courses on public-policy advocacy at Carleton University’s Graduate School of Public Policy and Administration and the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management Executive MBA program. He has been a faculty member of the Maytree Foundation’s Public-Policy Training Institute and is an advocacy mentor to grantees and fellows of a number of Canadian foundations including the Social Innovation Generation (SiG) initiative, a collaboration of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation of Montreal, the MaRS Discovery District of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and the PLAN Institute of Vancouver.
Sean is also the recipient of the 2013 Bissett Distinguished Alumni Award from Carleton University's School of Public Policy & Administration (SPPA).
