IGNITE Agenda
IGNITE isn't a room you sit in. It's a room you build in. Leaders shape a blueprint together, stress-test it, and leave with named commitments.
IGNITE: Summit
Wednesday, November 4
IGNITE: Corporate Action Forum
Thursday, November 5
IGNITE: Summit
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 | 8:15 am - 5:30 pm
IGNITE: Summit convenes cross-sector leaders to define the future of pro bono service and what’s needed to get there. Participants from the nonprofit, corporate, philanthropic, civic, and social impact sectors will work through Three Big Bets: The AI Leap, The Talent Engine, and New Models for Catalytic Change, to identify what's working, what's standing in the way, and where the field goes next.
This is a room for leaders ready to challenge norms and build a stronger future where pro bono service is a force multiplier for nonprofit impact.
MORNING BLOCK 1 | 8:15- 10:35 am
ARRIVAL
Breakfast & Networking
Grab your morning coffee, breakfast, and start the day with new connections.
WELCOME
Our emcee kicks off IGNITE with a welcome from host IBM. A quick icebreaker gets us talking before the day's work begins.
Emcee: Naria Santa Lucia, Founder and Principal, 35 North; Taproot Board Member
Host: Sarah Meron, Chief Communications & Brand Officer, IBM; Taproot Board Member
Kicking Off IGNITE
OPENING
Taproot CEO Cat Ward names the day's big idea: 10X the impact of pro bono. Twenty-five years have proven pro bono works. She introduces the three big bets that can take it to every nonprofit.
10X Ambition
FIRESIDE CHAT
The Burning Platform
What does it take to act boldly in a moment like this one? Leaders from the nonprofit, business and tech sectors name the pressure nonprofits are under, and the opportunity AI is opening up.
Moderator: Cat Ward, CEO, Taproot
Panelists: Bryan Hancock, Partner, McKinsey; Taproot Board Member | Akilah Watkins, CEO, Independent Sector | Amy Whittaker, Anthropic
KEYNOTE
Echoing Green CEO Cheryl Dorsey has built a movement before. In this keynote, she shares her formula for a 10X leap, so we can apply it to pro bono.
Proof It’s Possible
REFLECTION
Inspired by Cheryl's formula, we pause to reflect: what will it take to 10X pro bono, and what role will you play?
Naria Santa Lucia, Emcee
Taking the Leap
MORNING BLOCK 2 | 10:35 - 12:00 pm
BRIDGE
We dive into the three big bets that can multiply the impact of what pro bono service can do until every nonprofit can count on it.
Naria Santa Lucia, Emcee
Our Three Big Bets
CASE STUDY
Big Bet 1 — The AI Leap: Pro Bono Moves Up the Value Chain
What does AI-powered pro bono actually look like? We see it in action through a real case study, then join leaders at the leading edge of AI and nonprofit technology to explore what's possible today, what's in the way, and how we get it to every nonprofit.
Moderator: Shea Waldron, Interim Chief Program Officer, Taproot
Featuring: Brittany Greer, Founder & Executive Director, Rosie Riveters | Cynthia Ni, Program Management Officer, Amazon | Thalamus "T" Hill, SVP, Enterprise AI Strategy, Voya | Sara Link, Global Head of Employee Impact, IBM | Marnie Webb, CEO, TechSoup
REFLECTION
Together, we reflect on the morning's biggest ideas and get ready for the second half.
Naria Santa Lucia, Emcee
Halftime
LUNCH | 12:00 - 12:45 pm
PANEL
Big Bet 2 — The Talent Engine: Service Powers the Workforce
Pro bono service is one of the workforce's best-kept tools. It gives early-career professionals on-ramps, helps mid-career professionals navigate transitions, and gives seasoned professionals new ways to share what they know. Leaders across sectors make the case for service as a workforce engine, sharing where they've seen success and where there is still more opportunity. Then we explore how to put it to work at scale.
Moderator: Cammie Erickson, Senior Director, Social Impact, LinkedIn
Panelists: John Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Americas Service Commissions | Patrina Pettry, Early Careers Development & Experience Director, Wells Fargo | Mary Zhu, Founder & Executive Director, Develop for Good
AFTERNOON BLOCK 1 | 1:40 - 2:55 pm
PANEL
Big Bet 3 — Beyond Business as Usual: New Cross-Sector Models for Catalytic Change
What does it take to scale service to match the need? In rapid-fire lightning talks, leaders share how government, employers and grassroots movements are building catalytic cross-sector models, including what's working and what's still unsolved. Then a facilitated conversation explores what pro bono can learn, before we design our own biggest plays.
Moderator: Mel Ochoa, Chief Operating Officer & General Partner, Landmark Ventures
Panelists: Jonny Dorsey, Secretary of the Department of Service and Innovation, Maryland | Janet Foutty, President of Corporate Partnerships, RAISE US | Ryan Stowers, Senior Vice President, Stand Together
REFLECTION
We reflect on what we heard throughout the day: why 10X pro bono, and the tools that can get us there.
Naria Santa Lucia, Emcee
Ready to Build
AFTERNOON BLOCK 2 | 2:40 - 4:30 pm
BUILD
Design the Blueprint
Together, we draft the blueprint. Cross-sector teams design the big plays the field could make to 10X pro bono, and name who it will take to build them.
FIRESIDE CHAT
Our emcee sits down with two leaders for an unscripted, podcast-style conversation on what they heard today, and what it means for the work ahead.
Naria Santa Lucia, Emcee | Laura Rog, Chief Service Officer, City of New York | Cheryl Dorsey, Echoing Green
The Recap
CLOSING
Cat Ward reveals the Blueprint we built today, the field's shared agenda to 10X pro bono, and each of us leaves with a next step. The next chapter of pro bono starts here.
Cat Ward, CEO, Taproot
The Next Chapter
SUMMIT CELEBRATION | 4:30 - 5:30 pm
CELEBRATION
Summit Celebration
Join us for drinks and conversation as we celebrate the impact of the day, the connections made and the partners who made it possible.
Junna Ro, Board Chair, Taproot Board
IGNITE: Corporate Action Forum
Thursday, November 5, 2026 | 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
IGNITE: Corporate Action Forum convenes corporate social impact and L&D leaders to build what comes next. Participants will activate their talent, platforms, and expertise to lead the next era of pro bono service.
The day is designed for action. Leaders leave with concrete actions they can take in the next 12 months — ones that level up the field, and their own organizations.
MORNING BLOCK 1 | 8:35 - 10:35 am
ARRIVAL
Grab your morning coffee, breakfast, and start the day with new connections.
Breakfast, & Networking
OPENING
The Moment: Choose to Lead
Corporate social impact and L&D leaders are being asked to prove impact, grow talent and keep pace with AI, often all at once. Cat Ward names that pressure honestly, connects yesterday's Summit to today's work, and makes the case for the role the corporate sector must play to scale pro bono.
Cat Ward, CEO, Taproot
FIRESIDE CHAT
You Are the Field
Everyone in this room shapes the field every day. This session asks us to lead it. We open with a connection activity that pairs each of us with someone new. Then a moderated fireside chat with two corporate leaders takes on one question: what does it actually mean to lead in this moment? A closing prompt carries the conversation into small group reflection.
Moderator: Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director WEAVE, Aspen Institute
Featuring: Whitney Kimmel, VP & Global Head of State Street Volunteers, State Street |
Potoula Stavropoulos, Senior Director of Social impact, Regeneron
MORNING BLOCK 2 | 10: 35 am - 12:05 pm
PANEL
Two talks, one question: AI is already changing what your employees can do and what nonprofits need. Is your approach keeping up? Two corporate leaders share what they're seeing from where they sit. We close with one provocation: what would have to change at your company to keep pace?
Nessa French, Senior Manager Inclusion & Sustainability, PwC | Dhanashri Pitale, Executive Director, Tech for Social Good, JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Are You Keeping Up?
PANEL
Where Will You Lead?
Four frontiers where corporate pro bono can go further, and the leaders already working on them. A moderated dialogue explores where early talent pipelines and L&D integration connect and diverge. A hands-on framework for measurement and storytelling gives us a tool to use right away, and a flash talk makes the case for nonprofit-centered partnership design. Then we each choose where to go deep.
Moderator: Shea Waldron, Interim Chief Program Officer, Taproot
Early Talent Pipelines: Sarah Richter, Executive Director, Senior Lead Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist, Wells Fargo | Nzingha Williams, Lead Talent and Performance Management Consultant, Wells Fargo
Pro Bono & L&D Integration: Esayas Wureta, Head of Inclusion & Belonging and Community Impact, CSAA | Bradley McGowan, Senior Manager, Leadership & Executive Development, CSAA
Measurement & Storytelling: Diana Fischer, Senior Director, Workday Foundation and Social Impact, Workday
Nonprofit-Centered Partnership Design: Rene Deida, Director, Corporate & Community Engagemnet, Prudential
LUNCH | 12:05 - 1:00 pm
ACTIVITY
From Programs to Systems: What Do We Build Next?
We zoom out from programs to the whole field. Frontier cohorts work through a design thinking activity that primes us to start building something new.
Kyle Pennisi, Managing Consultant, Taproot
AFTERNOON BLOCK 1 | 1:55 - 3:50 pm
ACTIVITY
Build Labs (Deep Work)
This is where thinking turns into making. A research dialogue opens the session, grounding our work in fresh field data. Then each frontier team builds a 12-month move prototype, with the morning's frontier leaders circulating to strengthen every team's work. We close with a gallery walk across frontiers and a full-room shareout.
Season Eckardt, Director, Taproot | Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer, Benevity
AFTERNOON BLOCK 2 | 3:50 - 4:30 pm
COMMIT
Take a Stand. Lead It Together.
Cat Ward names what we built and the commitment we're making together. Each of us takes a stand on how we'll move the work forward over the next 12 months.
Cat Ward, CEO, Taproot
Thank you to our IGNITE 2026 Sponsors
Sponsoring IGNITE means stepping up when nonprofits need you most. Explore our sponsorship options and reach out to Marian Hillebrand for more information.