IGNITE Agenda
IGNITE is more than a conference—it’s a moment of movement. Participants will co-create the roadmap for what comes next: identifying gaps, surfacing shared opportunities, and setting a new agenda for cross-sector collaboration to ignite a new era of pro bono service.
Day One: Cross-Sector Leaders’ Summit
Day Two: Corporate Leaders’ Summit
Day One: Cross-Sector Leaders Summit
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
IGNITE opens with a full-day, cross-sector gathering designed to spark bold collaboration across nonprofits, corporations, funders, policymakers, tech experts, and field-builders. Together, we’ll map today’s realities, imagine tomorrow’s possibilities, and build the next generation of pro bono service.
MORNING BLOCK 1 | 8:30 - 10:30 am
WELCOME
Arrival, Breakfast, & Networking
Fuel up for an engaging day of impact and connection.
OPENING
Sparking the Marketplace
Launch IGNITE with bold framing that calls this moment what it is: a once-in-a-generation chance to redesign how talent, technology, and purpose fuel social change. This isn’t just a welcome—it’s your invitation to co-create the next era of pro bono service.
Lyndsay Harris Kyei, ServiceNow | Cat Ward, Taproot
PANEL
Nonprofit Reality Check: What it Will Take to Meet the Moment
Expose the scale of nonprofit pressures—mounting demand, shrinking funding, and a changing world of work—and challenge participants to rethink how pro bono can evolve to meet these needs.
Nazanin Ash, Welcome.US | Ann Mei Chang, Candid | Matt Klein, Robin Hood Foundation
TABLE BREAKOUTS
Shaping What's Next: Nonprofit Breakouts
Reflect on nonprofit sector insights and surface bold ideas for how pro bono can evolve to close capacity gaps and strengthen the ecosystem.
MORNING BLOCK 2 | 10:40 am - 12:05 pm
PANEL
The Future of Skilled Service
Explore how shifts in work, purpose, and technology are reshaping why and how professionals engage in pro bono, and what’s needed to unlock their full potential for impact.
Bei Ling, Wells Fargo | Frederick J. Riley, Aspen Institute’s Weave | Yolanda Seals-Coffield, PwC | Elaine Mason, Taproot
TABLE BREAKOUTS
Shaping What's Next: Supply Side Breakouts
Reflect on insights from the panel and explore bold ideas for how pro bono can evolve to meet the motivations of today’s workforce and deliver greater impact for communities.
ACTIVITY
Marketplace Mapping: What’s Working, What’s Missing
Explore the current pro bono marketplace, surfacing strengths, gaps, and tensions across demand, supply, and infrastructure. Build a shared understanding of where the system works—and where it needs to evolve.
LUNCH | 12:25 - 12:55 pm
KEYNOTE
Reimagining Systems Through Design
Pause to reflect on how bold design principles can help us build a pro bono marketplace that centers equity, purpose, and innovation. This keynote invites participants to step back and imagine what it takes to create systems for a more connected, resilient future.
Ellen McGirt, Design Observer | Cat Ward, Taproot
AFTERNOON BLOCK 1 | 1:05 - 2:35 pm
SPOTLIGHT
Bright Spots: Innovation Sparks for the Next Gen Marketplace
Spotlight bold innovations reshaping pro bono—from tech tools to delivery models—and spark fresh thinking about what’s possible in building the next generation of skilled service.
Mary Dohrmann, Twilio | Cammie Erickson, LinkedIn | Alethea Hannemann, Board.dev | Jacqueline Yannacci, California Volunteers | Jackson Thomas, Taproot
PANEL
Next Gen Service: Powered by AI
Unpack how artificial intelligence is transforming nonprofit demand, corporate supply, and the infrastructure connecting them, and imagine how AI can power a smarter, faster, more inclusive pro bono marketplace.
Joe Fuller, Harvard Business School | Ian Goldsmith, Benevity | Naria Santa Lucia, Microsoft | Kim Swartz, Taproot
TABLE BREAKOUTS
Shaping What's Next: Next Gen Service, Powered by AI
Reflect on the infrastructure challenges and opportunities surfaced in the panel and co-create bold ideas for building a thriving, inclusive marketplace that bridges supply and demand for skilled service.
AFTERNOON BLOCK 2 | 2:50 - 4:00 pm
ACTIVITY
Marketplace Mapping: Designing What’s Next
Build on insights from Part 1 to design bold, next-generation infrastructure for pro bono service. This session invites participants to move from diagnosing gaps to envisioning solutions—co-creating a future where supply, demand, and infrastructure connect seamlessly for equity and scale.
ACTIVITY
Bringing the Marketplace to Life
To synthesize insights from the full IGNITE experience and activate individual commitment to action. This session helps participants connect the day’s discoveries to their own role in shaping the future of skilled service — moving from ideas to ownership.
CLOSING
Closing Remarks
Reflect, celebrate, and close out an exciting day of learning and connecting.
Cat Ward, Taproot Foundation
RECEPTION | 4:00 - 5:00 pm
RECEPTION
Reception
Cap off the day with connection, celebration, and inspiration. This reception invites participants to deepen relationships, reflect on the day’s bold ideas, and toast to the next generation of pro bono service.
Day Two: Corporate Leaders’ Summit
Thursday, October 23, 2025 | 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Day 2 is a convening of corporate leaders advancing purpose and skilled volunteering. Together, we’ll confront the urgent challenges, harness the opportunities of AI, and reimagine how companies can lead the way in building the next generation of skilled service.
MORNING BLOCK 1 | 8:30 - 11:00 am
WELCOME
Arrival, Breakfast, & Networking
Fuel up for an engaging day of impact and connection.
Holly Trotter, PwC | Archana Menon, Taproot
OPENING
Igniting the Builders: The Power Companies Have to Shape the Future of Pro Bono
Frame the urgency of this moment: why business-as-usual pro bono won’t meet tomorrow’s nonprofit needs or corporate priorities.
Cat Ward, Taproot
PANEL
Nonprofit Spotlight: Today’s Urgent Needs
Ground corporate leaders in the real capacity challenges nonprofits are facing today and spark ideas for how companies can step up.
Diego Mariscal, 2Gether-International | Stacy Palmer, Chronicle of Philanthropy | Michael D. Smith, Eckerd Connects | Talia Young, Newark Symphony Hal
PANEL
AI Changes Everything: Designing Corporate Pro Bono for a Fast Future
Explore how AI is transforming nonprofits, pro bono consulting, and the infrastructure that connects them, and what companies must do to avoid leaving nonprofits behind.
Kevin Delaney, San Francisco Standard | Alex Gallafent, IDEO | Pamela Jacob, IBM | Shaista Keating, TechSoup
MORNING BLOCK 2 | 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
SPOTLIGHT
Innovation Spark
Showcase a bold corporate innovation in pro bono.
Whitney Kimmell, State Street
TABLE BREAKOUTS
Creating the Pro Bono Ethic: What’s Working, What’s Stuck, and What’s Next
Surface successes, tensions, and bold ideas for embedding pro bono deeper into corporate culture and strategy.
Bryanna Jew, Taproot
LUNCH BLOCK | 12:15 - 1:00 pm
FIRESIDE CHAT
Trust & Connection: Today’s Critical Currencies
Examine trust and connection as essential building blocks of business and social impact, and pro bono’s role in rebuilding them.
Anne Erhard, Edelman | Leslie Hardy, Pinterest | Susan McPherson, McPherson Strategies
AFTERNOON BLOCK 1 | 1:10 - 2:10 pm
ACTIVITY
Level Up: How Pro Bono Builds the Skills (and Leaders) of Tomorrow
Discover how pro bono can accelerate skill-building and leadership development in an AI-transformed workplace.
Katie Merkel, Pfizer | Julie Zhong, Prudential | Elaine Mason, Taproot
AFTERNOON BLOCK 2 | 2:25 - 4:00 pm
ACTIVITY
Equip leaders to evolve their business case for pro bono, tying it to company strategy, talent development, and community impact.
Alex Gallafent, IDEO | Kara Gustafson, Royal Bank of Canada | Michael D. Smith, Eckerd Connects Bryanna Jew, Taproot Foundation
Rethink the Business Case for Pro Bono
ACTIVITY
Bold Commitments: Where Do We Go From Here?
Translate inspiration into one or more clear, actionable commitments that move pro bono forward.
Season Eckardt & Jackson Thomas, Taproot Foundation
CLOSING
Raising the Torch: Closing Sparks + Celebration
Celebrate progress and energize participants to lead the next generation of pro bono.
Paul Acevedo, Taproot Foundation | Sarah Richter, Wells Fargo
