2013 Program

The LOHAS Business Conference integrates the experience of Boulder into the agenda by holding it at historical and significant locations that conveniently located within walking distance of each other and are landmarks of Boulder city. Not only will you experience an inspiring and powerful event but you will also get to experience Boulder like never before!

Monday, June 17th

7:00-9:00pm - Meet & Greet Event   

Tuesday, June 18th

10:00am - 5:00pm - Registration Open       

8:30am - 12:30pm - Insight Tour  Click here for more info.

9:00am - 4:30pm - Pre LOHAS Workshop Intensives: (seperate registration from LOHAS)

   A.  Impact Investing Collaboratory  Click here for more info.  

   B.  What Marketers Need to Know About LOHAS Consumers  Click here for more info.

   C.  Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself   Click here for more info.

   D.  Digital Marketing for Challenger Brands  Click here for more info.

4:30pm - 5:00pm - LOHAS Welcome Remarks: How Did We Get to Here?

5:00pm - 7:30pm - Opening Keynote Sessions

5:00pm - 5:20 - Giving Great Grit; The Power of Naming
I know you feel it too; the place in we’re leaving “where are we going?” to “I know just the place” We’ve got great work to do, my tribe mates. Great work takes grit. Grit is that center of knowing who you are at your soul’s core and giving it to us without apology or the need for permission. Self-validating isn’t arrogance is soul love knowing. Give great grit. Be named. Be you. Change the world.
Melanie DewBerry-Jones - Founder, Verbal Swagger

5:20 - 5:50 - Thinking Outside The Bottle
In the fall of 2012, green cleaning company Ecover purchased Method to become the largest green cleaning company in the world. For the first time since the acquisition Adam and Tom will share details on why this occurred and what they see in the future for the cleaning industry.
Adam Lowry - Co-founder, Method
Tom Domen - Innovation Manager, Ecover

5:50 - 6:00 Words of Wisdom
Dominique Ashaheed - Poet, Spoken Word

6:00 - 6:20 Selling Good Through Play 
How can we make the act of ""doing good"" easier for the masses? By making it fun. During this talk, I'll be explaining the tangible and intangible power of play as a tool for social good and as means of leveling the ""playing field"" of global impact for the masses.
Jessica Matthews - Co-founder, Uncharted Play

6:20 - 6:40 How to Attract Fierce Loyalty
Building communities of Fiercely Loyal brand ambassadors is one of the hottest marketing topics today. Businesses large and small know that this is the secret to success, especially during turbulent economic times. From her market research as well as her direct experience in building communities for various organizations, Sarah Robinson has created a specific, easy-to-understand model that de-mystifies this seemingly complex process and gives companies a roadmap for building Fiercely Loyal communities. Her audience-centric presentation promises to give attendees concrete steps for building or strengthening their own brand communities.
Sarah Robinson - Founder, Sarah Robinson Co.

6:40 - 7:00 Creativity and Self-Sustainability
Hank Shocklee - Public Enemy Beatmaker and Grammy-Nominated Producer

7:00 - 7:20 - Settle Down/Pay Attention
Are you living a mindful life? Brain scientist Kristen Race is an expert on how stress affects the brain, and has used her knowledge to help teach people to live more mindful and less stressful lives. In this engaging and humorous talk, Dr. Race shares three simple ways to keep the brain happy.
Kristen Race PhD - Founder, Mindful Life

7:30 - 9:30 - Opening Reception, Boulderado Hotel

Wednesday, June 19th

7:15 - 8:30 Continental Breakfast

7:45am - 5pm Registration Open

8:45 -8:55 Opening Remarks
Ted Ning - Executive Director, LOHAS

8:55-9:00 Wisdom of Words
Start the day right by hearing the passionate of spoken word poems by national female slam poet champion Dominique Ashaheed
Dominique Ashaheed - Slam Poet National Champion

9:00-9:25 - Human Innovation
In this talk, he taps into P&G’s fundamentals of innovation: The root of all innovation begins and ends with the human experience—something that many companies, in a blind rush to embrace “the new,” often forget about. The challenge is seeing past the noise and focusing on the key drivers of market disruption. What are they?
Dustin Garis - "Chief Troublemaker," Former Lead of P&G FutureWorks Global Innovation

9:25-10:00 LOHAS consumer trends
The LOHAS market is dynamic. As it mainstreams, new consumers are embracing the concepts of natural, sustainable, and socially-conscious, among others. As the market shifts it impacts the overall character of consumer values and behavior patterns. The LOHAS marketplace today is not the same as it was a few years ago. In its LOHAS Consumer Trends Database®, NMI monitors such changes, and has trended them annually since 2002. Join LOHAS gurus Steve French and Gwynne (Rogers) Villota as they explore the major trends such as consumers’ willingness to pay for green products, the rise of Gen Y, GMOs, and much more. This session will be vital to understanding the who, what, and where of your future market opportunities.
Steve French - Managing Partner, Natural Marketing Institute
Gwynne Rogers - LOHAS Business Director, Natural Marketing Institute

10:00-10:25 The Wellness Warrior
Deborah Szekely, the spa pioneer who started Rancho La Puerta, and Golden Door turned 90 in May of 2012. And she's figured out what she wants to do with the next ten years of her life -- build a new organization called Wellness Warrior. She wants a million people who care about health and wellness to give $10 to build a grassroots wellness advocacy group that will hire lobbyists to tell politicians the other side of the story.
Deborah Szekely - Founder, Wellness Warrior, Co-founder Rancho La Puerta and Founder, Golden Door

10:30-10:45 Break

10:30-11:00 Biz Competition
Presentations from the top 3 finalists of the first LOHAS business plan competition. The audience votes to determine the winner who win $1000 cash and $10k in marketing services.
Ian Fisk - Executive Director, William James Foundation

11:00-11:15 Calling for Colorado Climate Recovery 

11:15-11:40 - Water for 100 Million
Paul Polak has already helped bring 20 million people out of poverty through a nonprofit that delivered irrigation technology. A master at designing technology that's affordable to the poorest people in the world, his new for-profit social venture hopes to reach five times as many people in India with clean, filtered water.
Paul Polak - Founder and CEO of Windhorse International

11:40-12:15 Think Greater: How Quantum Mind States Create Better Decision Makers
Based on his Bestselling book, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One, Dr. Dispenza leads you through his breakthrough, neuroscience-based techniques and how they are transforming business leaders and individuals from all walks of life, from the inside out. His research findings demonstrate incredible new levels of personal empowerment and better business decision making. This is the breakthrough that every LOHAS business and organization has been searching for!
Joe Dispenza D.C. - Neuroscientist, Chiropractor, Lecturer and Author

12:15-2:00 Lunch
12:15-2:00 VIP Lunch

2:00-3:00 BREAKOUT SESSIONS I

I.   The Future of Wellness: How Consumers Define “Healthy” at Retail
The rapidly expanding availability of natural products, evolving retail focus and increased transparency in consumer messaging is driving the large mainstream consumer base towards natural alternatives. SPINS retail expert Kathryn Peters will provide insight into the connection between consumers thinking naturally and acting naturally and reveals how all types of store formats can be vibrant through healthy competition for the LOHAS and LOHAS migrating consumer. MYReciepts President Birame Sock will then demonstrate how to leverage emerging retail technology to reach consumers at various stages of LOHAS engagement for the benefit of all… good for the consumer, good for the brand, good for the retailer, good for the environment! This session will provide insight into leveraging rapidly emerging digital receipt technology coupled with understanding the connection between Natural attitudes and shopping behavior.
Kathryn Peters - Executive Vice President of Business Development, SPINS

II.   How Findable Are You? Best Practices for Online Business - presented by Dex Digital
Small Business Coach Barry Moltz teaches you how to increase your sales by helping customers find you, how to grow your business, how to increase the visibility of your business and how to find the right customers. This is a must attend session for any small or mid-size business.
Barry Moltz - Entrepreneur & Small Business Specialist

III.   Spirituality in Workplace - presented by Spirituality & Health Magazine
Does the soul have a place at work? Should you make decisions based on intuition? Is LOHAS a spiritual movement? Are all green businesses ethical? Learn about various levels of management and decision-making ranging from fear to compassion, and from finance to spirit. Explore the frontiers of leadership to help you to expand your work and life in a new and soulful way. Join this session to untangle these questions and much more.
Joe Dispenza D. C. - Neuroscientist, Chiropractor, Lecturer and Author
Dan Riley - Vice President, Ralph's Grocery
Ann Reed - Publisher - Spirituality & Health


3:30-4:30 BREAKOUT SESSIONS ll

I.   Women Led Business - Dealing With the Tough Stuff
In the predominantly masculine business world how is the approach to business different for women entrepreneurs and leaders? Are there benefits to approaching business differently? Hear from these women who have been tried and tested on various aspects of business and learn how they have become successful.
Kim Riether Coupounas - Co-Founder + Chief Sustainability Officer
Sarah Endline - CEO, sweetriot
Ashley Munday - Leader, Collaborative Strategies at Barrett Values Centre

II.   Raising Capital Fishbowl Pitch
An investor pitch fishbowl session dedicated to sharing experiences and lessons learned from LOHAS startups presenting to investors.
Ian Fisk - Executive Director, William James Foundation
Anthony Zollezzi - Pegasus Capital
Liz Myslik - CEO, Fresca Foods
Dirk Sampselle - CEO, B Revolution Capital

III.   Staying Ahead of the Curve
What makes an idea or an observation stand out from the rest and how does one know when it is a trend or just a passing fad? Hear from a diverse group of experts who have created amazing businesses following intuition and built success off of insight. Learn how you too can take your insight to stay ahead of the curve.
Miranda Pleasant - Founder, Origin Magazine
Craig Shiesley - Senior VP Plant Based Beverages, Silk
Dustin Garis - "Chief Troublemaker," Former Lead of P&G FutureWorks Global Innovation
Paul Polak - Founder and CEO of Windhorse International

5:00-6:00 BREAKOUT SESSIONS lll

I.   Beauty Redefined
Our ideas of beauty are skewed by media and the toxins we are told that promise everlasting youth. Personal care products are still considered a murky category when it comes to transparency and clear understandings of product ingredients. This panel discusses the resources that are available to become better educated, challenges in the entertainment and media world, business strategy and current congressional efforts to clarify standards for the beauty industry to be more than skin deep.
Daphnie Zuniga - Actress, Activist
Richard Eidlin - Director of Public Policy, American Sustainable Business Council
Ken Cook - President, Environmental Working Group

II.   To Create long-term shareholder value, Start with Employees
Every day, employees across an organization make decisions with far-reaching environmental and social consequences. Informed decisions about such routine matters as: procuring a corporate vehicle fleet; programming heating and cooling systems; adjusting energy settings on computers; commuting to work; and even purchasing paper, can reduce a company’s environmental footprint and improve the bottom line. The insights and creativity of employees are also vital to efforts to improve the bottom line by shifting toward more sustainable business models. Three Squares Inc.'s Corporate Sustainability Program is a cloud-based platform which harnesses the power of employees to drive efficiency through employee education and engagement.
Jaime Nack - Founder and President, Three Squares Inc.
Natalie Baumgartner - Chief Psychologist, Round Pegg

III.   The Growth of Conscious Media

IV.   Rethinking Health and Wellness
We soon will have new health insurance laws in the future and more openness to change in corporations. This panel will discuss the innovations and new emerging ideas related to health in the workplace and health for our society.
Linda Price - Head of Marketing, Spirituality & Health Magazine
Sallie Fraenkel - Executive Vice President & Corporate Development and Industry Relations, SpaFinder Wellness
Deborah Szekely - Founder, Wellness Warrior, Co-founder Rancho La Puerta and Founder, Golden Door

6:30-8:30 Networking Reception / Exhibit Fair    

                                                                                                                    
Thursday, June 20th

7:00am-8:00am Meditation
Morning walk/jog

7:45am - 5pm Registration Open

8:45am - 8:55am Opening Remarks
Ted Ning - Executive Director, LOHAS

9:00am - 9:15am Democratic Workplaces
Traci discusses the broken "command and control" model of business and explains the 10 principles of organizational democracy at work in companies such as Zappos, Groupon, DaVita and more. When businesses are centered on these ideals, a more productive and innovative corporate environment that values employee voice, transparency and full engagement, is created.
Traci Fenton - Founder + CEO of WorldBlu

9:15am - 9:30am The Power of Story telling
What constitutes a ‘great story’? And how can storytelling help us? Green Living Project has been doing award-winning storytelling work around the globe across various sustainability-related themes – tourism, food, education, community development, wildlife conservation, and more. These unique stories also help create change, solidify best practices, and positively impact consumers, communities, and businesses.
Rob Holmes - CEO, Green Living Project

9:30am - 10:00am John Paul Selects Award of Sustainable Excellence
Jonathan Kendrick - Co Founder, JP Selects

10:00am - 10:30am Break

10:30am - 10:55am “Scaling an Authentic Brand”
Seth Goldman is co-founder and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company that he started in his kitchen 15 years ago. The company was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2011, expanding the reach and impact of its mission. The company’s entrepreneurial leadership and unique marketing initiatives have helped build a “challenger brand” with a focus on innovation, transparency and health. Seth will share lessons and insights on the continuing challenges of scaling an authentic, mission-driven brand.
Seth Goldman - CEO, Honest Tea

11:00am - 11:15am "Think Beyond Plastic - Addressing Plastic Pollution with Innovation, Market and Technology Disruptions
Plastic pollution is not a problem. It is a necessary analog to an economy encouraging exuberant consumerism, facilitated by distorted social values and enabled by permissive policies. To address, it we must challenge conventional uses of plastic by creating market and technology disruptions which will support viral behavior change in consumers, businesses and policy makers. And will encourage venture capital with new opportunities for growth investments in the market for alternatives.
Daniella Dimitrova Russo - Co-founder and Executive Director, Plastic Pollution Coalition

11:15am - 11:25am Scholarship announcements Rancho La Puerta

11:30am - 12:00pm Conscious Money
Conscious Money brings together the spiritual and practical in a guide to achieving prosperity through values-based choices. Aburdene's practical strategies will help you penetrate fear in the face of stalled real estate sales, a volatile stock market, and the threat of job loss—and gives concrete advice on how to navigate a radically different economy as the recovery gains traction and new opportunities blossom. Shift your financial thinking from dread to empowerment with a grass roots movement that promotes a holistic and values based approach to money centered on honoring personal values, the environment, and more.
Patrica Aburdene - Social Forecaster, Author

12:00pm - 12:30pm Wings of Life
Award-winning cinematographer, director and producer Louis Schwartzberg shares the making of his new film Wings of Life and how our life on Earth depends on the little things that we take for granted—bees, bats, butterflies and hummingbirds. But you can’t tell the story of pollinators without telling the story of the greatest biological event that occurred on our planet 135 million years ago – the invention of the flower. Delicate and graceful, their bright colors and their exotic flavors are intoxicating wonders that attract pollinators, literally making them drunk with desire. You will witness, as never before, fantastic journeys that are full of wonder, drama and beauty. Theirs is a fragile ecosystem, essential for sustaining life on the planet. Now threatened by mankind, this is a chance to see their world as never before.
Louis Schwartzberg - Founder, Moving Art

12:30pm - 2:00pm Lunch

2:00pm - 3:00pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS I
I. Innovative Water Sustainability Tools:  Industry leader, WhiteWave Foods and two NGOs highlight water conservation and restoration solutions.
WhiteWave Foods illustrates how a consumer-facing brand implements water conservation measures internally, and how it engages its customers around freshwater issues.  NGO’s BEF and Save the Colorado frame the freshwater crisis, and illustrate some of the on-the-ground environmental solutions being implemented to conserve water and restore flows to critically dewatered ecosystems, and the role corporations like WhiteWave Foods have taken in pioneering this effort.
Todd Reeve - Executive Director, Bonneville Environment Foundation
Gary Wockner - Director, Save the Colorado River Campaign
Deanna Bratter - Sr. Manager, Corporate Sustainability, WhiteWave Foods

II. The Big Green Opportunity for Small Businesses and Eco-prenuers
The Big Green Opportunity, is first groundbreaking report from Green America on how small businesses are embracing green markets, greening their operations and profiting from sustainable practices. For example learn the top 10 best bets under $500 to cut energy costs and which industries are reporting the most success in sustainability. Also featuring growth patterns in fair trade, organics, social investing, and green building sectors. All attendees will receive free copy of the report.
Denise Hamler - Director, Green Business Network at Green America

III. Building a long lasting LOHAS brand
Some brands make the mistake of going to sleep over their success and don’t give adequate consideration to their consumers’ desires and needs, while those that are ready for long journey constantly reinvent the product through research to meet the consumer needs. Hear leaders of successful LOHAS brands share their successes and failures in maintaining relations with consumer’s changing needs and motivations.
Alissa Sears - Senior Strategist, Christie Communications
Mike Ferry - CEO, Horizon
Maggie Carey - Brand Manager, Mrs Meyers
Jason Jacobsen - Co Founder, MyYogaOnline

3:15pm - 4:15pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS II
I. Crowdfunding for LOHAS Companies
Tired of spending 12-18 months raising capital as a smaller consumer brand? Crowdfunding may be your solution. Hear from experts who have studied the laws and progression of platforms, been successful with crowdfunding campaigns, and are experts in emerging equity crowdfunding. On this panel, learn when crowdfunding makes sense and how to best position your brand to raise capital.
James Clark - Co-Founder, Room 214
Nikhil Arora - Co-founder, Back to the Roots
Ryan Caldbeck - CEO, Circle Up
Matt Stamski - Associate, Faegre, Baker Daniels

II. GMO Labeling: Where Are We Now?
GMO labeling advocates are rallying to support I-522, the People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, in Washington State. I-522, one of a handful of state initiatives currently calling for GMO labeling, is considered one of the best chances for labeling genetically engineered foods in 2013. Learn how you can support this effort, along with lessons learned from California’s Prop 37 and what’s happening on national and state levels to require labeling of genetically engineered foods.
Steve Hoffman - Managing Director, Compass Natural; I-522 Staff Member
Ken Cook - President, Environmental Working Group
T.J. McIntyre - EVP - Natural Brands at Boulder Brands
Robyn O'Brien - Founder, Allergy Kids

4:30pm - 5:00pm Closing Keynote
Louis Schwartzberg, an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer, captures breathtaking images that celebrate life - revealing connections, universal rhythms, patterns and beauty. He will inspire the spirit through his presentation on gratitude.
Louis Schwartzberg - Founder, Moving Art