Civic Forum Series continues with leading social entrepreneurs

The Civic Forum Series at Bates continues with four of the nation’s leading social entrepreneurs, including a co-founder of the fair-trade coffee importer Equal Exchange, discussing their work at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave.

Sponsored by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the Civic Forum Series invites audiences to contemplate civic, political and policy issues significant to Maine and beyond. Civic Forum events are open to the public at no cost. For more information, please call 207-786-6202.

The social entrepreneurs in the Oct. 24 panel:

Peter Murray is the co-founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Progressive Leadership, dedicated to developing the next generation of progressive political leaders. He also founded three nonprofit organizations promoting economic mobility for low-income people.

Bethany Robertson is the co-founder and former executive director of I Do Foundation, whose mission is to help engaged couples bring a charitable focus to their marriage. The organization has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, and Modern Bride, amongst other publications.

Jonathan Rosenthal of Watertown, Mass., is a co-founder of Oké USA, North America’s first fair trade fruit company, and of Equal Exchange, the first U.S. fair trade coffee company. He is now a principal in Just Works, a firm that provides innovative consulting services to mission-driven organizations.

Elizabeth Stefanski is the chief market maker of Business Innovation Factory of Providence, R.I., an organization dedicated to transforming society’s most intractable systems through forward-thinking collaboration. She is also a consultant for the business-strategy firm Bazaar Strategies.