By Dani Shae Thompson

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

At the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN) Summit 2015, four Colorado change-makers proved that they exemplify what Alexander Hamilton, Peter Marshall, or a whole host of other notable folks (quote origin is under heavy debate) encouraged in this quote.

These four driven individuals were panelists for the COIN session, “Taking a stand for change”, during which, they explained what they are doing to encourage positive social change. Their organizations are reaching people all around the world—but they were proud to say they all got their start right here in Colorado.

Let’s get to know them a bit more…

Jack Barker: President, Innovative Water Technologies

Stands for: Access to clean water.

Rocky Ford, Colorado is well known for its cantaloupe and watermelon farms, beautiful southern-Colorado landscape, and its innovative water filtration systems…?

The Sunspring is a self-contained, solar powered, microbiological water purifier invented by Jack Barker. Each unit is capable of filtering 5000 gallons of water per day for 10 years. The large metal tubes are built in Rocky Ford, and shipped to locations around the world to provide safe drinking water to communities in need.

The first Sunspring was installed in Haiti in 2009, just before the massive 7.0 earthquake devastated the country in January 2010. After the quake, Sunspring and their partners at GE installed more units that now serve over 200,000 people each day.

“Over a billion people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water….we take our drinking water for granted, but their choices are no water or dirty water…in the 6 years since we started Innovative Water Technologies, our systems have treated over 10 billions of now clean water around the world.”

“Social entrepreneurship is the hardest job you will ever love.” Well put, Jack Barker! #COIN2015 pic.twitter.com/VpupkJJSEA

— Kaakpema (@kyelpaala) August 28, 2015

Daniela Ibarra-Howell: CEO, Savory Institute

Stands for: Empowering people to help mitigate climate change.

Grasslands cover 1/3 of our land on Earth, but they’ve been disappearing at a rapid rate. What is causing so many grassland ecosystems to become deserts?

In the 1960’s, Allan Savory, a Zimbabwean wildlife biologist, found an answer to that question—poorly managed livestock farms. He also figured out a way to fix the problem with a style of holistic management that mimics the way large herds would naturally graze on the land.

“Grasslands are very ignored by agriculture agendas, but their potential for addressing some of the biggest global issues that we face today from climate change, food and water insecurity, and poverty is tremendous,” Ibarra-Howell said.

The Savory Institute was founded in Boulder, Colorado in 2009 by Savory and other land management experts to educate farmers about holistic planned grazing (Learn more about it in the Savory Institute’s explanatory video.

To do this, “Savory Hubs” are established to provide training and support for farmers, ranchers, and land managers who want to redevelop their grasslands. Currently, 30 Hubs exist ranging from North and Central America to Africa and the Middle East. By 2025, the Savory Institute will have 100 Savory Hubs around the world—they estimate these hubs will affect 1 billion hectares of land, or ⅕ of the grasslands of the world.

@SavoryInstitute “30% of world is made up of grasslands. 70% is degraded.” Save the grasslands, people. #COIN2015

— Daniel Webster (@dan_webster_jr) August 26, 2015

Jeff Macco: Founder and CEO, SeedPaths

Stands for: Helping young adults find success through tech education.

Could you learn to develop software applications using JavaScript, CSS3, or HTML5 in 8 weeks? That’s exactly what Jeff Macco expects students can achieve during their 2 months with SeedPaths.

SeedPaths is a Denver-based software boot camp whose goal is to teach local low-income youth basic programming skills that can land them a job as a professional technologist within 90 days of graduating.

Macco got the idea for SeedPaths while running a software company. He was having trouble finding a replacement for one of his developers, and realized that there are plenty of young people out there who could learn the in-demand, skilled workers he and many other tech companies needed. The tech boot camp trend has been on the rise for a few years now, and for good reason—it’s working.

“[One of our first graduates] had one thing I’ve never had in my life—and I have an MBA—he had 3 job offers at one time to be a software developer,” Macco said.

In fact, of SeedPaths first 76 program graduates in 2014, 91% found a job within 90 days, and their average salary is $35,000—a 200% increase compared with their salaries before the program.

SeedPaths has completed 3 of their boot camps this year, and is working to expand their program in length and scope in the near future.

.@SeedPaths founder @JeffMacco reminds us: “It’s poverty, not stupid.” Experience is more important than education. #COIN2015

— Laura (@50by25) August 26, 2015

Kaakpema (“KP”)Yelpaala: Founder and CEO, Access.Mobile

Stands for: More accessible healthcare using mobile technology.

Founded by Yelpaala in late 2011, Access.Mobile is a digital health business that focuses on developing improved access to healthcare through technology.

Although they are based in Colorado, most of this organization’s work is being carried our in East Africa, Uganda, and Kenya.

Access.Mobile’s main platform, ClinicCommunicator, is a mobile service that connects doctors and patients and healthcare providers through text messaging.

In Kenya, cell phone ownership is at an all-time high of 82%–not far behind the U.S., which is at 89%. Other African countries are seeing similar spikes in mobile ownership, and 80% of Africans with cell phones use their device for texting (Statistics from Pew Global).

When using ClinicConnect, Doctors can send reminders to patients about appointments or when to take their prescriptions. Healthcare providers can also send messages to larger groups of patients to spread health education. Patients can schedule and manage their appointments.  

So far, the service has been a success.

“Patients are going to their doctors and saying, ‘hey doc! I got the message from you.”—They’re excited about it because it’s creating a new bond with their doctors,” Yelpaala said.

60% + people in Africa get Healthcare thru private companies. Even rural poor seek private hospitals #COIN2015 @JHockenberry @kyelpaala

— InnovatioNews (@innov_news) August 26, 2015

For more information about the Colorado Innovation Network Summit visit them online and check out some of our other coverage from the two-day event!

Governor Hickenlooper: “We’re all leaders from time to time.”
Gov. Hickenlooper says “Colorado is the #1 destination for young entrepreneurs.”
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Colorado, What Revolution Will You Lead?
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