This year, Common Good Vermont had the distinct pleasure to work with the Vermont Foodbank as a Communications Partner for their 6th Annual Conference held at the Sheraton Conference Center in Burlington on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. The conference was presented by the National Life Group and titled, “Impact Through Innovation”.
The conference brought together a huge range of nonprofit organizations, private partners, and state and local government officials, all working to stop hunger here in Vermont. For us here at Common Good Vermont, it was a great opportunity to meet and interact directly with many of these crucial partners from around the state to learn more about an all-too-often unspoken, and far-too-common, problem affecting roughly one in six Vermonters.
The video below features an introduction from Vermont Foodbank Board Member, Margie Stern as well as full opening remarks from Governor Peter Shumlin, John Sayles, Vermont Foodbank CEO, Mehran Assadi, President & CEO, National Life Group, and the full General Session with Dr. Steven L. Robbins: Your Brain is Good at Inclusion…Except When It’s Not!
About keynote presenter, Dr. Steve L. Robbins, Ph.D.
A powerful storyteller with a powerful story to tell, Dr. Steve L. Robbins has an unmatched ability to inspire people even in the midst of disrupting and challenging the way they think about the world. Born in Vietnam, Dr. Robbins immigrated to the United States when he was five years old. He and his mother faced many challenges as Vietnamese immigrants in a new land, during a time when there was much anti-war and anti-Vietnamese sentiment.
Working through and rising out of the challenges of poverty and discrimination Dr. Steve Robbins brings insightful perspective on issues of leadership, inclusion and innovation, and the power of caring. Drawing on his compelling life journey, Robbins’ shares intriguing stores, laugh-out-loud humor and a keen understanding of human behavior.
With a dynamic use of story-telling, humor and extensive knowledge of pertinent issues and concepts, Dr. Robbins uniquely knows how to simultaneously challenge and motivate his audience. the inclusiveness and power of his message are why organizations like PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, McDonald’s, Disney, Nordstrom, Boeing, Caterpillar, Toyota, Honda, Wells Fargo, Mayo Clinic, NASA, the National Security Agency, US Navy, Microsoft, Chevron, and numerous others call on Dr. Robbins to inspire, educate and prepare their people for the exciting challenges of a 21st century world.
