BLD Southeast 2026: Full Schedule

9:25am EDT

From Readiness to Responsibility: An AI Readiness Workshop for Purpose-Driven Companies

Thursday September 17, 2026 9:25am - 10:25am EDT

Every leadership team is having the same quiet conversation. "We know AI matters. We're using it in pockets. But is it actually moving us forward, or are we just busy?" For B Corps there's a second layer. Doing it in a way that protects stakeholders, upholds transparency, and stays true to the mission.

This working session turns that question into a plan. Building on the Ethical AI conversations from BLD Mountain West, PNW, and Bay Area, Jonathan Will walks the room through a live, six-area AI readiness assessment tool. You leave with an Organizational AI Readiness Score, a clear view of your biggest gap, and a practical step you can put into action right now, for free, to start closing it. All of it framed through a responsible, stakeholder-first lens.

Speakers

Jonathan Will

Director of Strategic Partnerships, GadellNet

Jonathan Will works for GadellNet, a certified B Corp IT, cybersecurity, and strategic consulting company, leading the growth of the Colorado market and new markets. He is passionate about business, community involvement, and service. He served on the board of B Local Colorado and... Read More →

Tiffany Lentz

Managing Vice President, Pariveda

I lead our Purposeful Profit Office, enterprise Social Impact, NPO strategy, JEDI, and B Corp Certification. I’m a storyteller and love sharing stories of business operating for good!

Jahari Soward-Weaver

CEO, NPursuit Career Partners

Jahari Soward Weaver is a responsible AI adoption and workforce transformation strategist, speaker and coach. As Founder and CEO of NPursuit Career Partners, a talent solutions company with a social impact model, she helps organizations prepare their people, operations and governance... Read More →

Thursday September 17, 2026 9:25am - 10:25am EDT
Room 302

Session, Breakout

Track Emerging Challenges

10:35am EDT

Using Your Purchasing Power: Supply Chain Engagement as Collective Action

Thursday September 17, 2026 10:35am - 11:35am EDT

Room 302

B Corp V2.1 raises the bar on collective action, including how companies engage their supply chains. Grove Collaborative and Ecolytics explore how connecting service providers with your supply chain creates measurable impact, and how companies of any size can use their purchasing relationships to drive sustainability outcomes beyond their own operations.

Speakers

Hazel Horvath

Founder & CEO, Ecolytics

Hazel Horvath is the founder and CEO of Ecolytics, a software platform that helps companies build data-driven sustainability programs, specializing in working with B Corps to streamline the rigorous certification process. With a background in global sustainability analysis and a degree... Read More →

Kaley Cross

Sustainability Manager, Grove Collaborative

Kaley Cross serves as Sustainability Manager at Grove Collaborative, where she leads a variety of sustainability initiatives focused on advancing both human and environmental health. With a career dedicated to circular economy solutions, plastic reduction, and corporate sustainability... Read More →

Thursday September 17, 2026 10:35am - 11:35am EDT
Room 302

Session, Breakout

Track Planet

1:10pm EDT

One Team. Every Generation. Creating workplaces where people feel valued, connected, and inspired

Thursday September 17, 2026 1:10pm - 2:10pm EDT

Room 302

Multi-generational friction starts when expectations go unspoken. This workshop gives leaders and employees the tools to communicate, set, and understand what they need from each other — so every generation can thrive.
It's an interactive, energetic, and fun workshop designed to spark real conversation, challenge assumptions, and create genuine connection across every generation in the room. Everyone leaves with tangible tools they can use with their own teams, starting Monday morning.

Speakers

Karina Muller

Founder, Maripossa Wellness

Founder of Maripossa Wellness, with extensive expertise in health, wellness, stress management, and leadership development. Respected corporate educator and facilitator.

Barb Agoglia

Founder, FreshEyesOn Consulting

Founder of FreshEyesOn Consulting with 18+ years in product, brand, and marketing leadership at American Express. Certified public speaker and facilitator.

Thursday September 17, 2026 1:10pm - 2:10pm EDT
Room 302

Session, Panel

Track People

3:30pm EDT

Conscious AI Adoption: People, Planet, Governance

Thursday September 17, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT

Room 302

Most organizations are adopting AI faster than they are thinking about it. Tools arrive, teams experiment, workflows quietly reshape themselves—and the questions that matter get asked after the fact, if at all. This panel is an invitation to pause and ask them now, while the choices are still open.

We'll examine the impact AI is having on two fronts: on people and on the planet. On the people side, we'll explore how AI adoption affects employees mentally and emotionally, how AI is driving organizations toward a mission of productivity and
efficiency above all else regardless of the cost, and how it is changing the culture of the workplace — including what it means for a younger workforce entering an environment where entry-level tasks are increasingly being automated. We'll look honestly at the potential impact of that, and at how we can move forward intentionally to do the least harm possible.

We will examine what leadership is avoiding by this big AI adoption push, and what important issues are not being addressed properly as we rush forward. Also, we will explore the opportunities that AI is creating for doing good work, like
investing in our colleagues, mentoring up and coming professionals, and investing in our well-being.

On the planet side, we'll explore how the energy costs of running AI systems align with our values and our goals regarding environmental protection and sustainability. We will explore potential contradictions, where real costs are hidden, and how we can better account for our AI use as it pertains to energy costs. What are the real costs? How can
businesses do a better job of calculating them, given that much of the burden lives in integrated systems and is not necessarily obvious to those doing the calculations? And how should we respond once those costs reveal themselves?

This is an opportunity to pause long enough to think about how we use these tools intentionally and consciously, so that we do the least harm possible to the people using them and the planet supporting them. You'll hear from people managers, founders, advisors, and leaders with real-world experience who can offer practical guidance and concrete examples of intentional adoption in practice, potential issues at play, and the real costs. Through live polling, audience questions, and cross-panel discussion, we'll work toward a shared picture of conscious adoption — the road that makes us all feel clearer on the path forward, and a bit more optimistic about the future.

Speakers

Hazel Horvath

Founder & CEO, Ecolytics

Kaley Cross

Sustainability Manager, Grove Collaborative

David Shove-Brown

Partner, //3877

David Shove-Brown is the co-founder and partner of Washington D.C.-based, multidisciplinary architecture and design firm //3877. As co-founder of //3877—named in the Washington Business Journal's ‘Best Places to Work’ for three consecutive years, and the only D.C.-based architecture... Read More →

Jed Fiato

Principal Consultant, E4 Consulting

Jed Fiato is a Principal Consultant at E4 Consulting with expertise in organizational and
community resilience, focusing on preparedness, substance misuse prevention, mental
health, and employee well-being. Over his 15-year career spanning federal government,
consulting, and the non... Read More →

Whitney Hayes

Senior Market Research Strategist, Human8

Whitney Hayes is a trained sociologist with research experience in academia, nonprofit, and industry sectors. Her specialty is on identity and culture.

Thursday September 17, 2026 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT
Room 302

Session, Panel