More than 300 Arizona business leaders and entrepreneurs will gather in Mesa from April 3-4 for the Arizona Good Business Summit to learn about and generate their own ideas for building stronger companies as well as stronger communities.
Tickets are now on sale here.
Far from a typical business conference or networking event, the Arizona Good Business Summit is a meeting of the minds of the most dynamic, socially conscious, creative and forward-thinking leaders and businesspeople from Arizona and across the country. Attendees eager to form relationships and create lasting impact will be inspired to collaborate across industries and move conversations into action.
The summit features a wide variety of workshops, business trainings, panel discussions, networking opportunities and presentations from guests and keynote speakers, in addition to a walking tour of Mesa’s thriving business core.
Featured keynote speakers are:
- Ashley La Russa, founder of BlaxFriday.com, the largest accessible directory of Black-owned businesses in Arizona, and Roux Events, a Tucson event-management company that supports organizations that foster equity, diversity and inclusion. She serves on the Local First Arizona Business Advisory Council, BIPOC Community Managed Loan Committee and African American Legacy Fund Board.
- Michael H. Shuman, a leading visionary on community economics who directs local economy programs for Neighborhood Associates Corporation and teaches at Bard Business School in New York. He helped design the 2012 JOBS Act and dozens of state laws to promote grassroots startup crowdfunding. One of his recent books is “Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street.”
In addition to presentations by:
- Elaine Birks-Mitchell, founder of The Bra Recyclers, a Mesa social enterprise company dedicated to textile recycling that has provided over 4 million undergarments and breast-cancer supplies to nonprofits.
- Sarah McBroom, of San Francisco-based Project Equity, which enables business owners to pursue employee ownership as an exit strategy and an important approach to increase employee engagement and wellbeing.
- Stephanie Morales, state program director for Persevere Arizona, which trains incarcerated people to become full-stack web developers and places them in jobs upon release.
- Christopher Owens, spoken-word poet and creator of CultureHUB, Arizona’s first Black-owned co-working and event space scheduled to open for creative and corporate entrepreneurs this year in the historic Phoenix Eastlake neighborhood.
A sample of workshop topics include:
- “Scaling a Business with Community-Focused Principles”
- “Creative Solutions for Retaining Great Employees”
- “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Accessing Opportunities for Your Small Business”
The event will kick off April 3 with a walking tour led by Mesa-based community-development corporation Rail CDC to explore the city’s historic neighborhoods and downtown where independent businesses have flocked.
Mesa leaders are blazing trails for local economic growth by being among the first to prioritize resources for local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting cutting-edge co-working spaces and establishing the Mesa Business Builder program, which provides free education, training and one-on-one consulting to local businesses.
Mesa also made history in 2021 as the 10th Arizona city to establish a non-discrimination ordinance to make the city open for business to everyone.
The full-day summit will follow April 4 at the Mesa Convention Center, 63 N. Center Street.
Summit attendees will be energized to transform their own businesses in this city on the move.
“We are elated to host the Arizona Good Business Summit in Mesa this year to inspire and support entrepreneurs and business owners who care about their communities,” Mesa Assistant Economic Development Director Jaye O’Donnell said. “Mesa’s locally-owned businesses keep our city strong by generating solid jobs while contributing to the unique and welcoming character of our downtown and neighborhoods. We’re thrilled to be part of a movement to foster local startups and companies that both prosper and give back.”
Kimber Lanning, CEO of Local First Arizona, noted that no other business event in the state captures the spark of passion, partnership and heart found at the Arizona Good Business Summit.
“Local First Arizona deeply believes successful businesses are closely tied to their local communities. This electrifying event every year equips attendees with big ideas and renewed energy to help their enterprises grow and do good,” Lanning said.
Ticket costs:
Early bird tickets purchased through March 3 start at $69 for Local First Arizona Business Coalition members and $99 for General Admission.
Tickets after March 3 cost $89 for Business Coalition members and $119 for General Admission.
Visit Arizona Good Business Summit to purchase tickets and for more information.