2016 National Conference

Aaron Hurst is a globally recognized entrepreneur who works to create communities that are empowered to realize their potential. He is the CEO of Imperative, a B Corp advocating for Purpose-Oriented Workers and supporting the organizations that embrace them. Widely known for his thought leadership, he is the author of The Purpose Economy (2014) and a regular advisor and thought partner for many global brands. He has written for or been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg TV, Fast Company and was named a LinkedIn Influencer. Aaron is the founder and an active advisor to the Taproot Foundation where he was the catalyst and lead architect of the $15 billion pro bono service market.

He was the creative force behind the conception of the White House's Billion + Change campaign. Aaron is a member of the Nonprofit Times’ Power & Influence Top 50, and has been recognized as a top social entrepreneur by Fast Company, Ashoka, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Manhattan Institute and the CommonWealth Club. In 2009, he received the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus of the University of Michigan. An entrepreneur since 16, Aaron began his career as a social innovator at the University of Michigan, where he designed and led an educational program for local correctional facilities, subsequently becoming the first student to receive the Michigan Campus Compact Award. Born in Aspen, Aaron has lived in Bisbee, Boulder, Brooklyn, Halifax, Ann Arbor, Prague, Chicago, and San Francisco. He currently resides in Seattle with his wife Kara Hurst (Worldwide Director of Sustainability for Amazon.com), their two children and dog.

Lindsay Austin Louie is a Program Officer for the Philanthropy Grantmaking Program, which sits within the Foundation’s Effective Philanthropy Group. In this role, Lindsay supports two grantmaking strategies that seek to increase and improve the effectiveness of all foundations: (1) Knowledge for Better Philanthropy, and (2) the Fund for Shared Insight.

Prior to joining the Foundation, she served as Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2). At SV2, she worked closely with donors and grantees to help identify strong nonprofit organizations and then to strengthen those organizations with long-term funding and additional assistance in management, governance, and internal operations. Before leading SV2, Lindsay ran business development for Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties. Lindsay holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business with a certificate in Public Management, as well as an M.A. in Education, M.A. in Sociology, and B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University. She is the Board President of Counseling and Support Services for Youth (CASSY), a Bay Area nonprofit that provides school-based mental health services in over 30 local public schools.