Seth Kahan and Tom Raffa Co-Host “Grand Challenges: Harnessing Your Association’s Unique Business & Social Value to Drive Membership and Benefit Society”

Washington, DC, February 13, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Seth Kahan joins with co-host, Tom Raffa and keynote speaker, Lisa Earle Mcleod on March 20, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm, leading a World Café Event, “Grand Challenges: Harnessing Your Association’s Unique Business & Social Value to Drive Membership and Benefit Society” at the American Geophysical Union in Washington, DC.

“A Grand Challenge is a skeleton key that opens three doors: growth; mission impact; and sustainable, profitable revenue,” says Seth Kahan, author of 2013’s Getting Innovation Right. “A Grand Challenge is especially valuable to scalable associations,” he says, “because it grows their stakeholder base exponentially. A Grand Challenge is a bold, audacious, socially beneficial goal aligned with the organization’s mission that captures the public’s imagination.”

Tom Raffa helps nonprofit organizations and businesses “build capacity and sustain excellence in all areas of their operation.” He is the President and CEO of Raffa, PC, a B-Corp certified, national top 100 accounting, consulting and technology firm and founder of Companies for Causes, a collective of socially-conscious CEOs whose mission is to solve the problems of their community using targeted philanthropy and “hands-on engagement from member CEOs.” Raffa is the recipient of the 2014 Pearl Foundation Award for Innovation in Philanthropy.

The keynote speaker is Lisa Earle McCleod, Sales Leadership expert for Forbes.com, and author of four bestselling books, including Selling with Nobel Purpose. McCleod is a sought-after expert, having appeared on NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Her next book is entitled Leading with Nobel Purpose.

“Grand Challenges” is by invitation-only and already has a notable registration list, including Chris McEntee of the American Geophysical Union (AGU); Linda Hallman of the American Association of University Women (AAUW); Barbara Byrd Keenan of the Endocrine Society; Peter O’Neil of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA); and Marla Weston of the American Nurses Association (ANA). All CEOs in attendance will bring a member and an up-and-coming CEO who is a member of the millennial generation. “There will be three people from every organization,” says Kahan, “allowing us to do a deep dive into the realities of systemic change, and to work with tomorrows’ leaders, as well as today’s.’”

Kahan discusses accessibility for the March 20th event: “We are intentionally keeping the costs low—$300 for all three attendees from an organization. This event is about making an impact. We have CEOs in attendance who are in the midst of conducting their own Grand Challenges and will be sharing what they are learning: the good, the bad, and the ugly, so you can build on their know-how as you shape your own.”

If you’d like to consider attending “Grand Challenges,” reach out to Seth Kahan at Seth@VisionaryLeadership.com to set up a conversation about how you might do so.

About Seth Kahan
Kahan has worked with over 100 CEOs and agency heads in both the private and public sectors. He has lead change initiatives working with the Peace Corps, World Bank, Shell, and Prudential, and is identified as a Thought Leader and an Exemplar in Change Leadership. Kahan is the bestselling author of Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations from the Inside Out.