Youth Lens 360 is a for-profit marketing company that works with youth. Youth Lens 360 provides visual communication, product marketing, and branding services through the lens of youth ages 14-24. Dario Otero, the founder of Youth Lens 360, has seen first-hand how the education systems do not support, nurture or value entrepreneurial thinking. “I’ve found in my teaching and leadership experience that underrecognized youth of color have a naturally creative and resourceful entrepreneurial spirit. That gets ignored in traditional education settings,” he explains. “As a result, youth will eventually lose that capacity and enthusiasm for education. They don’t stay engaged when we don’t connect what they are learning to the…

The Empowerment Bag is an eco-friendly brand of bags, that employs women at risk of sex trafficking. Vaishali Umrikar is a passionate social entrepreneur who is committed to fighting human trafficking. While she was in high school, she read the book, The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek. This book awakened her to the realities of modern-day human trafficking. She became involved in anti-trafficking advocacy groups throughout high school and college. Since then, Vaishali has worked with the Australian Government Office for Women, Chicago Probation Sex Offender Unit, and Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. After graduating from college and beginning her corporate career, Vaishali realized her…

Acara + Four Leading Social Entrepreneurs + YOU = Social Entrepreneur Live! Do you want to be at a live taping of the Social Entrepreneur podcast? We’re partnering with Acara, a program of the Institute on the Environment and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Together, we’re interviewing four world-changing entrepreneurs, live in front of an audience. Imagine, four entrepreneurs, fifteen minutes each, answering the questions that you care about. At the end of the night, we’ll reassemble entrepreneurs on the stage to take your questions. Step up to the mic and ask them anything. The event will take place during Twin Cities Startup Week…