From September 15th to 17th, the B.PHL Innovation Fest will take place.The event was supposed to be held last March with thousands of people attending at least 200 events, but the pandemic changed everything. Over the past five months, organizers, including B.PHL Executive Director Michelle Histand and festival co-founder Dan Whitzer, have led a major effort to reshape the event so that it can be held safely in the midst of COVID-19.
This year, all events will be virtual and registration free. There will be more than 100 sessions that will address different topics, from diversity and inclusion to technology. Highlights include presentations from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia President Madeline Bell and Comcast Spectacor Games Division President Tucker Roberts.
There will be celebrities also. Including actress, writer and producer Issa Rae, who will participate in a one-on-one discussion about his career and Grammy-winning artist and motivational speaker Pitbull, whose announcement about his participation was made very recently. He will join the festival from his autonomous Sports, Leadership, Arts and Management Academy (SLAM) school in Miami’s Pequeña Habana neighborhood to discuss the importance of quality education and how to close the poverty gap.
There will also be Nick Offerman, who is remembered and loved by many for his performance of Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks & Recreation. Currently, Offerman is taking a break from his on-camera time to pursue his passion for carpentry. He will share information about his creative process. And the audience will have the opportunity to talk with Nick himself through a live question and answer session moderated by YOWIE, founder and creative director Shannon Maldonado.
Participants can donate to the PHL COVID-19 Fund, which provides grants to area nonprofit organizations serving at-risk populations. By visiting the B. PHL website or https://phlcovid19fund.org/covid-19/
“At B. PHL, we believe innovation is best when aligned to a purpose,” the organization states on its website. This year they will focus on key areas of need, including healthcare, small business support, workforce, education, real estate, technology, transportation, arts, culture and more.
Translated by: José Espinoza
Noticias Newswire
