November 12
Placemaker Lab: Community Seminars
Homegrown: Cultivating Local Entrepreneurship for Community Wealth
Time
5:30pm - 7:00pm
SPEAKER TBD
Location
UC Merced on Main: 1635 M St, Merced
This workshop explores how small businesses and homegrown ventures drive economic vitality, create jobs, and strengthen neighborhood identity. Participants will gain insight into the fundamentals of launching and growing a local enterprise, from identifying market opportunities to building sustainable business models. The session also highlights how communities can better support entrepreneurs through mentorship, access to capital, partnerships, and ecosystem-building strategies by focusing on practical tools and collaborative approaches that turn local ideas into lasting economic impact.
Placemaker Lab: Community Idea Exchange
Time
9:00am - 4:00pm
Location
UC Merced on Main: 1635 M St, Merced
The Economics of Mission
Daniel Hintz, Velocity Group
Financial resilience doesn’t happen by cutting costs — it happens by creating value. This session challenges nonprofit and civic leaders to rethink sustainability through the lens of strategy, positioning, and demand. Drawing on blue ocean thinking, participants will explore how to move beyond crowded funding models and incremental growth toward differentiated offerings that unlock new revenue, partnerships, and community relevance. Through case examples, leaders will leave with practical tools to evaluate their current model, uncover opportunity gaps, and design a more resilient future. Mission-driven work deserves durable economics. This workshop reframes financial resilience as a strategic design challenge — and an opportunity for bold leadership.
Designing Together: Community-Led Decision Making
Joe Nickol and Kevin Wright, Yard & Company
This session focuses on moving beyond outreach to true co-creation, equipping leaders with practical frameworks for inclusive community engagement and shared decision-making. Participants will explore methods for building trust, elevating diverse voices, and designing processes where community input meaningfully shapes outcomes. Through real-world examples and applied tools, the session demonstrates how community-led approaches lead to stronger decisions, greater buy-in, and more durable, equitable results.
From Resistance to Resilience: Change Management That Builds Trust
Stephenie Smith, Sophic Solutions
This session focuses on guiding organizations and communities through complex changes by centering trust, transparency, and inclusive listening. Participants will explore practical tools for managing transitions, engaging stakeholders in meaningful ways, and addressing resistance with empathy and clarity. The session demonstrates how translating community input into clear, actionable strategies can build shared ownership, strengthen relationships, and create the conditions for long-term resilience in place-based initiatives.
Leading with Clarity: Adaptive Strategy & Coaching for Place-Based Impact
Sandy Wright, Yuuma Coaching
This session focuses on strengthening leadership capacity and organizational effectiveness in complex, place-based work. Participants will explore strategies for clarifying purpose, aligning teams, and leading through change, with an emphasis on self-awareness, communication, and adaptive leadership. The session provides practical coaching tools that help leaders build resilient organizations capable of navigating uncertainty while staying grounded in mission and values.