Joanna Buczkowska-McCumber

I am a youth entrepreneur advocate driven to explore and build new ways to enhance business to create social change. Executive Director at League of Innovators mobilizing the next generation of leaders from discovery to acceleration. Through my work I have been at the forefront of youth and social entrepreneurship, and believe we can create enterprises that are not only profitable but create social and environmental value in the in our communities through their activities and their brands.I am a public speaker, facilitator, and lecturer focusing on the intersection of entrepreneurship, impact, youth, and future of work. I was the founding Managing Director of the Centre for Social Innovation & Impact Investing, co-creator of the award-winning Coast Capital Savings Innovation Hub, previously steered the ship at The Next Big Thing, Canada’s only full inclusive youth entrepreneurial program. You can find me lecturing about entrepreneurship and innovation at Simon Fraser Beedie School of Business and at Emily Carr University; mentor youth led startups such as SmartSweets, Blume, WizeMonkey, GrantMe; and driving conversation around policy change as a Better Canada Fellow. You can sense a theme here - it's about building changemaking ideas from concept to reality, to big impact. I have curated the annual Propelling Social Ventures conference and Ideas for Impact, led a multimedia design startup, developed the Innovation Jam, a hands on experiential learning event to grasp the possibilities of innovation and entrepreneurship in themselves. I speak and teach on topics related to entrepreneurship, innovation, entrepreneurial and growth mindset, and utilizing business models and tools for impact.