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Jenn Graham

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Jenn Graham

CEO & Founder, Civic Dinners

 

About the interview

  • Why is it so important to bring diverse people and different perspectives together? And why around the dinner table?
  • How can individuals, companies, and communities get involved with Civic Dinners and how can they benefit from intentional conversations
  • The technology behind Civic Dinners and how to scale a community initiative
  • Learn about the different aspects how Civic Dinners contribute to creating a more sustainable society
  • The power and magic of Civil Dinners: Connecting people, giving them a voice, learning from different perspectives and initiating scalable change at local level
  • Learn all about Civic Dinners and how you can host your own

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About Jenn

CEO & Founder, Civic Dinners

  • Founder and CEO of Civic Dinners, a civic engagement platform bringing diverse people together over food for conversations that matter
  • Founder and CEO of Aha! Strategy, a social innovation design company, devising issue-based campaigns and interventions to drive positive change
  • Received several honors and awards for her work, including a recognition of former US President Obama and The White House
  • On the Advisory and Board level of several organisations and projects
If you could invite 1 person to a dinner party – who would it be and why?
I’d love to invite Brene Brown to a Civic Dinner because I believe she is the master of understanding courage and empathy and that’s what the world needs more than anything.
What motivates you? Makes you happy?
My purpose is to help design a more inclusive world. So I am really happy when I see a group of people having fun, being productive who don’t all look the same. That’s where the magic happens and where silos are broken.
What advice would you give your 10-year-old self?
Study peace. Get outside of your bubble more. Be bold and talk to strangers. Talk about politics and religion at the dinner table, and learn from the greats — the Dr. Kings and the Gandhi’s of the world. They understand true peace.
If you could make 1 global change – what would it be?
I want to give every person the tools to lead a conversation that matters with people who don’t look like them or think like them, in hopes of breaking barriers to inaction, building empathy and sparking real change.
What are your Top 3 achievements?
Giving a TEDx talk, giving birth to my first son William, and getting a shout out from President Obama
What does sustainability mean for you?
Sustainability to me means “no waste” where everything has a purpose beyond its initial use, just as it is in nature.
What was the most important event/influence that changed your perspective?
I saw Ray Anderson, former CEO of Interface Inc. speak in Atlanta (twice) and talk about his “spear through the chest” epiphany that forced him to rethink his business of carpet into one of the world’s most sustainable and innovative companies. He showed me that business has a clear role to play in leading change, and co-creating a better future.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
My purpose is to help design a more inclusive world. I believe Civic Dinners is a tool to help leaders create a more inclusive world where everyone feels invited and engaged in co-creating a better future.

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