[Occupymendocino] A Financial System That Works For Everybody - Event

[Charles Cresson Wood]

Mendocino Coast Transition Towns Event Title: 
Prospering and Flourishing in Unpredictable Financial Times

Event Description: Come join us at the Community Center of Mendocino* on Sunday November 15th from 3:00-4:30PM to explore and learn how we can do well personally while doing good for our local and global communities.

Event Details: We live in precarious and disturbing financial times. The disconnect between what Main Street businesses need and what Wall Street actually does, the Federal Reserve’s continued unsustainable money printing efforts, astronomical levels of federal government debt that can never be repaid, our federal government’s addiction to starting and waging wars with our children’s money, and the continuing environmental degradation and depletion of our natural resources, all make our future seem markedly more precarious than it was in recent decades gone past.  

These recent events provoke the question “For whom is the financial system working?” In this event, we will discuss how you can have the financial system work for you and our communities.  In general, when we think of investing, we think of Wall Street, stocks, bonds, etc. But we urgently need to expand our horizons to consider not just money, but also our time, attention, and energy. Are all of these resources being directed toward our desired future dreams? And what would it mean to diversify in the context of such an expanded viewpoint? This event will cover what is increasingly termed “impact investing,” where investors consciously choose how their money is affecting the world. Three major domains of impact investing will be covered: (1) local business, and local investing, (2) using Wall Street and large financial institutions in sustainable and responsible, regenerative ways and (3) how we can shape a future that will be better than the past, redesigning social and technological systems.

Four Speakers:

Barbara Fishelson, DVM, MBA, is a financial advisor and a local veterinarian who will discuss how we can expand our view of what it means to invest. She will cover how impact investing in Wall St. can be used to support companies that are ‘giving back’ as part of their business model. She will additionally cover how to discover what your money is being used for when you invest in a project or organization.

Andy Schexnaydre, is a financial advisor with more than 20 years in experience based in Sonoma County. He is a frequent guest on the Truth About Money KXYZ radio show, and has been a leading proponent of local investing projects in Northern California. He will take us on a tour of the financial landscape from Wall St to Main St.

Charles Cresson Wood, MBA, MSE, is a law school student and local organizer for Mendocino Coast Transition Towns. He will discuss evolutionary investing -- a forward-looking approach to investing. He will also discuss diversification of assets in order to create community resilience, new personal networks, and sustainable local support systems that will prepare us for a healthier and ecologically-supportive future. 

John Kuhry, MS, is the Executive Director of the Economic Development & Financing Corp., a non-profit community development financial institution focused on local investing in Mendocino County. The organization operates a small business revolving loan fund. Prior to that John was the general manager of Anderson Valley Brewing Company, and business development manager for Real Green Power Company. He will speak about local and sustainable projects and how to arrange financing for those projects.

Contact Barbara Fishelson for more information about the event. She can be reached at 707-937-2834 or bfishelson at fwg.com.

* 998 School St., Mendocino, CA 95460; phone 707-937-4133