At Emerson Collective's Demo Day '18, Peter O’Driscoll, Executive Director of Equitable Food Initiative, a nonprofit consortium bringing farmworkers, consumers, and producers together, described the ongoing efforts to improve food safety and working conditions in the fresh produce industry.

A community organizer gazed into Texas’ demographic future. A crisis-text-line founder explained how machine learning is helping to save lives. And a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter recounted the events behind one of the biggest stories of the year.
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Emerson Collective’s second annual [Demo Day](https://www.emersoncollective.com/articles/emerson-collective-demo-day-2018) brought together leading minds working at the intersection of social justice, education, health, environment, media, and the arts. Held on December 7, Demo Day ’18 presenters delivered talks, updates, and conversations as diverse and wide-ranging as the organizations they represent.
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In addition to those presentations, Demo Day ’18 included several poignant performances, including an [excerpt from the work](https://vimeo.com/305621372/a918e6f990 "Anna Deavere Smith") of award-winning playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith; a dance performance by members of ODC.
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A varied group of visionaries connected the belief that our collective humanity pushes us all forward. “Leap and the net will appear,” said Emerson Collective Founder and President Laurene Powell Jobs, summing up the spirit of the event. “The net appears because we weave it together for ourselves and for each other.”

Demo Day 2018: The Power of a Collective 

During [Demo Day 2018](https://www.emersoncollective.com/articles/emerson-collective-demo-day-2018), Emerson Collective Founder Laurene Powell Jobs joined friend, collaborator and celebrity chef José Andrés for a keynote conversation about the chef’s NGO World Central Kitchen, which delivered 3.6 million meals to people in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

José Andrés in Conversation with Laurene Powell Jobs

Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, Founder and Executive Director of the Texas organization Jolt, predicted that in 2020, her group would register 300,000 new voters statewide. “We believe that it will be a young and diverse Texas that changes the course of American history and ends the politics of hate,” she said.

Mobilizing Latino Voters in Texas

At [Emerson Collective's Demo Day '18](https://www.emersoncollective.com/articles/emerson-collective-demo-day-2018 "Emerson Collective's Demo Day 2018"), Marshall Hatch Jr., Co-Founder and Executive Director of MAAFA Redemption Project inspired by reframing the idea that jobs alone are not enough to transform violence driven neighborhoods in Chicago, but working with young men holistically MAAFA reduces gun violence. By treating them as the solution to the city's most pressing problems and exposing these men to a belief about themselves and their city that they never knew was possible.

Creating a Safe & Healing Space for Chicago Teens

At Emerson Collective's Demo Day '18, Ginger Thompson, a senior reporter with ProPublica, spoke with Atlantic Staff Writer Alexis Madrigal about her profoundly distressing June, 2018 report on conditions inside a U.S. Border Patrol facility where children were being separated from their families.

Ginger Thompson in Conversation with Alexis Madrigal

What can journalism learn from conflict mediation? “Ask better questions,” said Atlantic Contributing Writer (and Emerson Collective Fellow) Amanda Ripley, who spoke with Solutions Journalism Network Co-founder David Bornstein at Emerson Collective's Demo Day '18 about lessons she learned from studying other industries’ approaches to reaching across a divide.

Amanda Ripley in Conversation with Solutions Journalism Network's David Bornstein

Cecillia Wang, deputy legal director for the ACLU and director of its Center for Democracy, explained that in 2018 alone, the ACLU has filed five major lawsuits related to asylum-seekers. But litigation alone can only accomplish so much. “We’re dealing with a problem older than our country, as old as human nature: fear of the stranger,” she explained. From Emerson Collective's Demo Day '18.

Fear of the Stranger

At Emerson Collective's Demo Day '18, Jonathan Stull, CEO of Handshake sketched the crisis facing new college graduates, some 40 percent of whom are underemployed.


Ensuring All College Students Have Equal Access to Meaningful Careers

Shatoya Ward, Principal of Purdue Polytechnic High School, an XQ Super School, talked about creating a direct pipeline into a four-year university for under-represented students.

Creating a Pipeline to Universities for Under-Represented Students

Chuck Slaughter, Founder and President of Living Goods, explained how his organization is using mobile technology to support community-health workers in developing countries as they deliver care on demand to people in remote areas.

Supporting Digitally Empowered Community Health Workers

Solstice CEO Steph Speirs highlighted that four out of five Americans are unable to install solar panels on their own homes. That’s where community-shared solar farms come in, she said, connecting customers—at no upfront cost—to energy savings and reducing their carbon footprint.

Making Solar Accessible for Every American

Demo Day 2018 Highlights

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Brandan "bmike" Odums is an artist and muralist based in New Orleans, celebrated for his vibrant street art that addresses themes of identity, culture, and social justice. In addition to his artistic endeavors, bmike founded Eternal Seeds, a nonprofit organization that provides resources, mentorship, and opportunities for young artists, cultivating a new generation of creative voices. He also founded Studio Be, a large-scale art space that serves as a gallery and community hub for the local arts scene in New Orleans. bmike’s art and community initiatives use creativity as a tool for dialogue and transformation.

Brandan "bmike" Odums

Brandan "bmike" Odums is an artist and muralist based in New Orleans, celebrated for his vibrant street art that addresses themes of identity, culture, and social justice. 

Demo Day 2024 - Video - Brandan “bmike” Odums

Reimagining opportunities for the next generation of artists | Brandan “bmike” Odums

Emerson Collective Presents Demo Day