In 2013, Sara Blakely became the first self-made, female billionaire to sign the Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, promising to give at least half her wealth to charity. In 2020, Sara and the Spanx by Sara Blakely Foundation launched the Red Backpack Fund in partnership with GlobalGiving. Back by Sara Blakely, the $5 million fund supports the recovery and revitalization of female-owned businesses in the U.S. impacted by the coronavirus crisis. While many of the world’s resources are being depleted, one is waiting to be unleashed: Women. The Spanx by Sara Blakely Foundation is on a mission to support women and help them SOAR through education, entrepreneurship and the arts. OneSeventeen Media is one of 1,000 women-owned businesses chosen from an application pool of over 70,000 businesses.

MovingWorlds launched the S-GRID program to provide “free ongoing and on-demand capacity-building support that helps social enterprises build, deliver, and sustain world-positive, revenue-producing partnerships with the corporate sector.” OneSeventeen Media is excited to be selected to participate in the first cohort.

In 2009, just after the Great Recession started, we were spending time in Texas and California looking for social impact investors. They were nowhere to be found. Jump ahead to 2016, and things have changed as evidenced by the 2015 launch of Austin’s Southwest Angel Network for Social Impact. Every investor we talked to from 2003 – 2009 thought we sounded like a non-profit when we were a for-profit social benefit company. Enter B Lab and their B Impact Assessment for verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. OneSeventeen Media became the first certified B Corp in Texas in 2009 and hasn’t looked back. In 2015 and 2016 we were named one of B Lab’s Best for the World Overall awardees and also The 2015 B Keeper awardee. Since taking our company public in 1999, I’ve mentored many diverse businesses in multiple industries at multiple stages. My passion, however, is helping startup impact companies and most specifically women-owned businesses. I’d love to help you grow your knowledge, grow your network and grow your impact business.

The Health Wildcatters Accelerator Program continues to be ranked among the greatest in the nation according the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project, a study conducted by MIT, University of Richmond and Rice University. The accelerator program is a fast and furious time period in which Health Wildcatters connects you to our vast network of mentors and investors and presents a diverse curriculum to accelerate the startups growth.

* MindOH! Foundation seeks ways to increase the reach and impact of character education to motivate youth to practice moral and ethical behavior. We do this through: using innovative technology-based tools in schools, youth-oriented extracurricular organizations, and homes * strategic community partnerships to extend the benefits to all youth, particularly those with obstacles to healthy life choices * mentoring to provide encouragement and guide positive choices * parent, teacher and volunteer education * encouraging research on the impact and use of character education and disseminating results * developing activities to enhance learning process * and carefully evaluating initiatives to insure the most effective use of resources.

Align was an Internet Professional Services firm started in 1996 and went public in 1999 becoming Luminant Worldwide. The Houston-based company grew 8,164% from 1996-1999 and was recognized as Houston's Fastest Growing Privately Held Company by the Houston Business Journal and University of Houston. Coordinated all branding of the Internet start-up company. Influenced media, employee and other stakeholder perceptions of company by assisting in brand message development and support in a rapidly changing marketplace. Responsible for all marketing and public relations activities. When the company went public, coordinated the merger of the marketing departments of 8 different companies while growing from a $28 million private company to a $158 million public company.

A Houston-based interactive multimedia company that merged in 1996 with a group of technology partners to start Align Solutions, an Internet consulting firm, and the nation's first full integration of creative and technology inside one company.

Serve as a volunteer Ambassador for the B Corp movement, helping others understand how they can use business as a force for good, and providing insight and guidance on the B Corp certification process.

Founded in 1976, University of Phoenix is the nation's largest private, accredited university with over 300,000 students. UOP provides a relevant, real-world education to working adults at campuses and learning centers in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Alberta and British Columbia, and via the Internet. Instructor for online public relations and marketing classes. Selected to facilitate for classes in the Honors Program and awarded Certified Advanced Facilitator certification in 2012.

MindOH! was a Houston-based, education software company created to research and develop innovative, measurable character education software systems that effectively increased high school graduation rates and decreased suspensions, alternative school transfers and dropout rates. The Company's programs incorporated scientifically-based research and flexible operating environments that quantified performance and adapted successfully in areas like education, juvenile justice and youth organizations.

Responsible for all marketing, PR, product development, community relations and research for Woodland Heights Medical Center in Lufkin, TX and West Houston Medical Center in Houston, TX

Luminant Worldwide was created from the merger of 8 creative and technology companies and launched as a $158 million public company. Beth managed the national marketing staff for technology-based professional services firm serving Fortune 1000 through company start-up, simultaneous acquisition of eight firms and initial public offering, rapid market expansion and abrupt market downturn. She was responsible for all marketing, public relations and investor relations activities. She coordinated the merger of the marketing departments of 8 different companies while growing from a $28 million private company to a $158 million public company. Also, coordinated all branding of the new company – coordinating the input of eight company presidents and marketing directors to create a unified image. Influenced media, shareholder and employee perceptions of company by assisting in brand message development and support in a rapidly changing marketplace. And oversaw activities of leading New York public relations agency and regional internal marketing teams.

The Advisory Board plays an important role in shaping the SXSW EDU Conference & Festival. The board is comprised of leaders from all backgrounds in education including professionals from K-12 and higher education. Board members include representatives of the community such as teachers, administrators, entrepreneurs, policy makers and students from all over the world, each offering unique and diverse perspectives. Members of the Programming advisory board committee share their time and expertise by evaluating proposed sessions submitted via PanelPicker. The board’s participation weighs heavily in the overall session programming of the event.

OneSeventeen Media is a purpose-driven startup. We provide relevant social media tools to help teens + tweens navigate their worlds in a respectful, responsible and confident way, enabling them to become successful, productive global citizens.PlumbBrain , by OneSeventeen Media, is a unique, next-generation social community distinguished from its mass of social network peers. It's mission is clear: provide teens + tweens a safe, fun, collaborative, personalized experience-based community; one where interactive activities and resources help them mature, learn and navigate the individual challenges of growing up.