University at Buffalo School of Management

Autumn 2017 Buffalo Business 7 things Canopy could do right away to reach new people to be members and volunteers." Yerkovich says she was inspired to blend business and social in- novation to develop the "picture perfect" model for Canopy of Neighbors. "Seth Godin said that change starts with one person," says Yerkovich. "I was so incredibly encouraged by the questions I got and the need for people who come from the business side to engage their social pas- sion, but the real work is in the follow-up to form partnerships beyond corporate funding." Paying it forward Paul Errickson, head of the Nichols Middle School, and Sarah Jensen, who teaches an entrepreneurial studies course in the high school, attended the confer- ence together. Nichols is an independent, non-denominational, college-preparatory school in Buffalo. Errickson found out about the confer- ence through his enrollment in the CLOE Leadership Accelerator program and invit- ed Jensen to attend with him. And while she didn't know much about the event before she arrived, Jensen le with a notebook full of ideas to weave into her course. "I was absolutely blown away by the reciprocity ring," she says of the exercise that enables the principle of 'pay it forward' in a group. "I had no idea what it was, but I stayed and en- gaged in the process and now I see how I can use it to help students, faculty or any team empower one another." Errickson says the biggest standout moment was sharing inspiration with his colleague throughout the day. "Having Sarah there and being able to share this experience together was essen- tial," he says. "While we were in different groups and certainly heard and took away different things from the speakers and pre- senters, being able to talk about this experi- ence and how we can bring this back to our school was invaluable." To learn more about CLOE, visit mgt.buffalo.edu/cloe. Leading Innovation in the Social Sector was part of the ongoing collaboration be- tween the School of Management and School of Social Work on efforts related to social in- novation and entrepreneurship. To read more, see the cover story on page 10. x " I was so incredibly encouraged by the questions I got and the need for people who come from the business side to engage their social passion." sasha yerkovich Executive Director Canopy of Neighbors Above: Sasha yerkovich, executive director of Canopy of Neighbors, addresses conference attendees during her learning track breakout session. Photo: Tom Wolf At left: In the afternoon, attendees developed creative solutions to key challenges facing the organizations they heard from in the morning sessions and presented those solutions to organizational leadership. Photo: Tom Wolf

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