Continue Your Journey
Systems Change & the Impact Economy
September 28 – October 2, 2026
Registration: $600
Limited Scholarships Available – apply here
The problems we’re trying to solve, including inequality, climate breakdown, extractive economic models, don’t persist by accident. They’re held in place by beliefs, incentives, and power structures that make the status quo feel normal, even inevitable.
Systems Change & the Impact Economy offers a high-level introduction of this complicated topic to help participants see those systems clearly, understand what drives change within them, and build the tools to intervene.
Over the course of the week, the conversation will move from theory to practice. Participants will begin by exploring the mental models and feedback loops that sustain complex problems, including the dominance of shareholder primacy as an organizing principle for much of the modern economy. We’ll discuss how meaningful change unfolds over time, not all at once, and rarely by accident.
We will tackle some of the difficult questions related to systems change: How do you measure impact that doesn’t show up in simple output counts? How do power and equity shape who gets to drive change, and who benefits from things staying the same? And how do mission-driven organizations resist the pressure to drift from their purpose over time?
By the end of the week, participants may be ready to turn insights into action. We’ll explore the governance structures, business models, and funding vehicles built specifically for the impact economy, from Public Benefit Corporations and steward ownership to blended finance and alternative exit strategies. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to approach a problem, gap, or opportunity they’ve identified, and a concrete sense of what building an enterprise for systems change could look like.
While this course will build on the Foundations of Impactful Entrepreneurship course, and participants are strongly encouraged to register for both, the Foundations course is not a prerequisite to attend Systems Change & the Impact Economy.
Key Topics:
Seeing the System
Every complex social and environmental problem is sustained by the beliefs, narratives, and assumptions that make existing conditions feel normal, inevitable, or deserved. Shareholder primacy is one of these narratives, perceived by many as the guiding principle for many corporations at the detriment to many communities, workers, and the planet.
During this session, participants will hear from Professor Cassie Bingham, Director at the Utah Valley University Center for Social Impact. She will explore the mental models that help hold systems in place, and the architecture of systems thinking with a high-level overview of feedback loops that reinforce existing conditions, the cultural narratives that legitimize them, the ways systems actively resist change, and the positionality of anyone seeking to intervene.
Diagnosing Root Causes
During this session, participants will discuss how the Problem Tree framework can be used to map the causes and effects sustaining a complex problem, distinguishing surface symptoms from the deeper conditions that keep them in place. Participants will be challenged to think about the many different areas within a system where meaningful innovation could become possible, who and how problems, causes, effects, and solutions are mapped, and preconceptions of the role(s) each of us might play.
Helping to bring this discussion to life will be Dr. Nancy M. Dammann, a political ecologist and conservation biologist who serves as the international facilitator for VASI in the Peruvian Amazon, and organization founded, led, and designed by rural and Indigenous Communities. Nancy will lean on her experience to guide a discussion about the importance of decentering ourselves in the analysis and assess systems in collaboration with those within the system.
Conditions, Horizons, and the Arc of Change
Systems change rarely happens all at once, and it rarely happens by accident. During this session, we will welcome back Professor Cassie Bingham to examine examples of systems-level change in the impact economy, working with a framework she and her team developed at the Utah Valley University Center for Social Impact. Participants will then discuss how the concept of shareholder primacy is facing headwinds as a growing number of impact-focused innovators lean into stakeholder primacy, ultimately laying the groundwork for a long-term, regenerative economy.
Measuring What Actually Matters
Systems-level impact rarely shows up in simple output counts. In this session participants will be introduced to measurement frameworks suited to complex change, including outcome mapping, contribution tracing, and indicators of narrative and policy shift.
BTI is pleased to welcome Brooke Hill, founder and Head of Data and Change Strategy at Dandelion Works, a mission-driven consultancy that uses a unique blend of data analysis, change management, and human-centered design to turn data and strategy into systems that work.
Power, Equity, and Who Gets to Change What
The power dynamics of a system, which often reflect an uneven distribution that is deliberately or structurally maintained, is an important factor when considering strategies for systems change. In this session, participants will examine how power dynamics operate within social and economic systems, who benefits from the status quo, and why equity must be a design principle rather than an afterthought.
Samantha Karlin, founder of Empower Global and the Women’s Leadership Challenge, will guide a discussion about how power shifts and resists shifting, and will explore what that means for anyone seeking to intervene.
Enterprises Built for Systems Change
What does it actually take to build an organization that stays true to its mission through funding rounds, leadership transitions, acquisition offers, and the relentless pressure of a market organized around shareholder returns? This session addresses that question with one of the most compelling case studies in the history of responsible business.
BTI is thrilled to welcome Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder and former CEO of Seventh Generation, for a fireside chat. Jeffrey built Seventh Generation into a $700 million brand known for its radical transparency, progressive governance, and uncompromising mission. He was fired by his own board. Then Unilever bought the company. And the lessons embedded in that full arc are exactly what the next generation of impact entrepreneurs needs to hear.
During this session, we’ll explore how the principles of stakeholder capitalism and regenerative capitalism offer two distinct frameworks for resisting those pressures. This session will include a high-level overview of governance and entity structures, business models, and funding vehicles designed specifically for the impact economy, including Public Benefit Corporations, perpetual purpose trusts, steward ownership, cooperative structures, blended finance, and alternative exit strategies.
What You See Now and What Comes Next
In this closing session, participants will debrief about what they’ve learned over the week. Through a guided conversation, participants will be invited to share what they now see about a problem, a gap, or their own potential contribution to a systems-level change effort that could help drive that change.
As part of this session, we will also discuss some of the important resources within the impact entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the networks, tools, and communities designed to help founders bring their vision to life.
This may be the last session, but it is just the beginning of the next step of your journey!
Event Details
Date and Time
Live virtual sessions will be held on the following days in September 2026:
Monday, September 28: 10am – 3:30pm ET
(lunch from 12:30-1:30pm ET)
Wednesday, September 30: 10am – 3:30pm ET
(lunch from 12:30-1:30pm ET)
Friday, October 2: 10am – 3:30pm ET
(lunch from 12:30-1:30pm ET)
Location: Virtual
Participants will be sent links to virtual meetings and invited to an online platform which will include supplemental reading, reflection prompts, and resources.
Price
$600 includes all workshops and materials, with ongoing access to the curriculum platform after the program.
Register for both courses and save $100.
Thanks to the generosity of the BTI community, a limited number of scholarships are available – apply here.
Expected Time Commitment
Systems Change & the Impact Economy will include 14 hours of live workshops during the week.
Participants will also be encouraged to watch short videos and complete self assessments and reflection exercises before and after the sessions. The course includes access to an online platform through which BTI will share additional resources and readings participants can explore as their schedules permit.
Discounts available to participants who register for both courses:
The Foundations of Impactful Entrepreneurship and Systems Change & the Impact Economy.
Individuals are encouraged to only request a scholarship if they can commit to participating in the program if selected to receive the scholarship.
Program Guest Speakers and Advisors
Cassie Bingham
Professor Cassie Bingham is a systems and design educator and impact strategist who holds degrees in Sociocultural Anthropology and Sociology. Her experience includes roles in domestic and international nonprofit development and disaster relief operations for immigrant and refugee communities, as well as social entrepreneurship with East African artisans and small business owners.
As Director of the UVU Center for Social Impact, she has developed integrated strategies grounded in relationality, systems thinking, and social change design. She mentors the Center’s annual cohort of student Impact Fellows and UVU’s Oxford Map the System research teams. She also serves as Board Chair of the Systems.Change.Educators.Unite systems and complexity educator network and a regular Alumni-in-Residence for Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Teaching and Learning Studio.
Cassie created the UVU Design for Impact pitch competition, helping students apply user-centered problem solving to social intervention design. She also serves as adjunct faculty, designing and teaching courses on Social Impact Strategy, Systems and Design Thinking for Macro Social Work, and Philosophies of Justice. Beyond academia, she is a relational systems impact consultant for both public and private sector clients. Outside of work, Cassie enjoys farmers markets, film, music concerts, road trips, and hosting dinner parties. (LinkedIn)
Dr. Nancy Dammann
Dr. Nancy M. Dammann is dedicated to the work of rural and Indigenous Communities and the collaborative creation of sustainable futures. Trained as a political ecologist and conservation biologist she currently serves as Co-Executive Director and International Facilitator for VASI, a community founded, led, and designed organization in the Peruvian Amazon. In this role, she works as a bridge, helping to connect rural communities with the resources, individuals, and organizations to co-create solutions to pressing local and global needs.
Nancy completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University. She also earned an advanced certificate in policy studies and a Ph.D. in Ecology from Columbia University looking at community-based governance of the landscape. Her academic work analyzes the diverse factors (political, economic, socio-cultural, environmental) driving decision making and effecting landscapes (from protected ‘natural’ areas to human systems), the potential for science to serve as a peace-building tool, and the development and teaching of collaborative and decolonizing methods.
Brooke Hill
Brooke Hill is the founder and Head of Data and Change Strategy at Dandelion Works, a strategy and insight firm helping mission-driven teams navigate complexity and build for a more resilient future. The firm partners with nonprofits, foundations, local governments, and social enterprises to turn messy data into clear strategy and action.
Brooke brings 15+ years of experience in systems change, communications, and economic development. Before founding Dandelion Works, Brooke spent nearly six years at Social Impact, most recently as Senior Program Manager, where they directed a $10M+ USAID subcontract and led change management for major organizational shifts. They also led research and evaluation work for USAID, including a foreign service evaluation and localization strategy tools, and served on a federally certified Institutional Review Board.
Earlier in her career, Brooke worked at the World Bank Group as a Research Analyst, managing impact evaluations and randomized control trials across Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Kuwait. She began their field research career in Cairo, coordinating large-scale evaluations of cash-for-work programs and later conducting humanitarian research in South Sudan and Sudan with Forcier Consulting. At the United Nations Office of the SRSG on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Brooke researched patterns of recruitment by the Islamic State of Iraq for the Secretary-General’s report on conflict-related sexual violence.
Brooke earned her Master of International Affairs, Human Rights, International Conflict Resolution and Gender Policy from Columbia University after receiving her undergraduate degree from Boston College in Political Science and Islamic Civilizations and Societies. (LinkedIn)
Jeffrey Hollender
Jeffrey Hollender is co-founder and former CEO of Seventh Generation, which he built into a leading natural product brand known for its authenticity, transparency, and progressive business practices. Seventh Generation was sold to Unilever in 2016, Hollender remains on the Board of Directors. Hollender is also the founder and former CEO of Sustain Natural, that developed and marketed sustainable feminine care products for women. In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor of sustainability and social entrepreneurship at the Stern Business School, New York University and a mentor as the Executive in Residence at Stern. Hollender also serves as a mentor to numerous small business and business school students through SKU and Unreasonable.
Hollender is also a former Board Chair of Greenpeace US; and the co-founder and former CEO of the American Sustainable Business Network, a coalition of business leaders committed to progressive public policy. In addition, he serves on the Boards of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Aquavitea, Vermont Cheese Products and the Sustainability Advisory Board at Morgan Stanley. He is the author of his seven books, including The Responsibility Revolution: How the Next Generation of Businesses Will Win and Planet Home.
On March 26, 2026 Fast Company Books published Hollender’s newest book, Built for a Better World; How Seventh Generation Pioneered a Movement That Changed the Purpose of Business.
Visit him at JeffreyHollender.net.
Samantha Karlin
Samantha Karlin is a visionary leadership development expert, speaker, and changemaker on a mission to transform how leadership is practiced and to create environments where people and organizations can truly flourish. Samantha is the founder and CEO of Empower Global, which specializes in designing customized leadership accelerators, cross-cultural training, and workshops that prepare leaders to thrive in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.
With a global track record of training over 10,000 leaders from 48 countries, Samantha is passionate about activating purpose-driven changemakers and teaching strategies for sustainable leadership. She has worked across sectors, from corporate boardrooms to international NGOs, helping leaders navigate the challenges of today’s turbulent global landscape. Samantha hosts the global affairs podcast, Samanthropolitics, where she takes a feminist spin on foreign policy and elevates women’s voices, and appears on the news regularly as a political commentator, including ABC, Fox5, NBC, KLTV, SABC.
Samantha earned her master’s degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and has also studied at the Harvard Kennedy School, Yale, and the Harvard School of Education. She received the prestigious Bellagio fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation; an honor she shares with Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Maya Angelou. (LinkedIn)
Temi Okubadejo (Advisor)
Temi Okubadejo is an organization development & change independent consultant and researcher specializing in social innovation. For over nine years, she has helped organizations identify obstacles to performance, assess readiness and resistance, and design solution-focused interventions. Her work focuses on increasing adoption of change initiatives and optimizing middle management and team effectiveness through targeted, evidence-based strategies.
Alongside this consulting practice, Temi has spent 15 years as an independent researcher and writer, conducting action and participatory research on social impact, systems change, youth economic empowerment, and business ecosystems. Her work spans qualitative and quantitative research, reports, presentations, and workshops that translate evidence into practical strategies for organizational and systems-level change.
Temi holds a dual MBA/MS in Management and Organizational Behavior with a focus on Organizational Development and Change from Benedictine University, and a BA with a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Chicago, where she was an Odyssey Scholarship recipient. (LinkedIn)
Facilitator
Patty Simonton
Patty Simonton is the founder of the Big Table Institute. As an impact entrepreneur and ecosystem builder, Patty has spent much of her career working to facilitate entrepreneurship and innovation to help build and strengthen resilient communities, fight climate change, and open up opportunities for individuals to change the world.
Certified by IEDC as an Entrepreneurship Development Professional, Patty brings extensive experience working with startups, social entrepreneurs and impact investors. Patty previously served as a strategic initiatives manager for the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, where she worked to streamline the entrepreneurial journey. She also previously served as the director of the Be Green Business program at Bethesda Green, where she guided the Innovation Lab to become a federally recognized entrepreneurship support program, and the director of changemaker support for StartSomeGood, a global crowdfunding platform designed by and for social entrepreneurs.
Patty is proud to support Maryland’s innovation ecosystem by serving on the board of the Maryland Business Innovation Association. She earned her undergraduate degree in International Business from Georgetown University and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She has also earned certificates in Entrepreneurship Center Management from the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA) and Impact Measurement and Management for Sustainable Development Goals from Duke University. (LinkedIn)