Conscious Connections: Awakening the Collaborative Region

Break silos. Build partnerships. Join regional leaders activating collaboration and shared purpose across the GLBR.

What becomes possible when organizations stop working in silos and start designing around shared purpose?

Join leaders from across business, nonprofit, education, healthcare, housing, transit, and community organizations for a powerful morning focused on cross-sector collaboration in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Conscious Connections: Awakening the Collaborative Region is a half-day leadership gathering designed to spark new partnerships, surface shared opportunities, and strengthen the relationships that shape our region’s future.

This is not a traditional conference. It is a working session for the future of the region.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Purpose and Partnership Marketplace: A structured networking experience where organizations share:

• Their Higher Purpose
• The stakeholders they exist to serve
• Where collaboration could expand their impact
• The types of partners they are seeking

This is not a vendor fair. It is a collaboration space designed to reveal alignment across organizations before the main program begins.

Featured Keynote: Regional Collaboration in Action: Christina Harrington, MPH Director and Chief Health Officer, Saginaw County Health Department & BWell Saginaw.

Hear a powerful, real-world example of cross-sector collaboration in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Christina will share how organizations came together to identify regional needs, align stakeholders, navigate challenges, and create measurable impact through the B Well initiative.

This keynote sets the foundation for the day by demonstrating what is possible when organizations move beyond silos and work toward shared purpose.

Cross-Sector Collaboration Panel: Following the keynote, a panel of for-profit and nonprofit leaders from across the region will share their own experiences building partnerships that expand impact and opportunity.

This conversation will explore:

• How collaboration opportunities were identified
• What challenges and friction points had to be overcome
• What made these partnerships successful
• Where future opportunities for alignment exist across the region

This session brings together diverse perspectives to provide practical insight into how collaboration actually works across sectors in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Regional Collaboration Lab: Participants will engage in a facilitated experience designed to move from inspiration to action. You will:

• Clarify your organization’s Higher Purpose
• Identify stakeholder impact gaps and unrealized opportunities
• Discover unexpected cross-sector partnership possibilities
• Commit to one intentional 30-day exploration conversation

WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH

• New relationships across sectors
• Clearer alignment around purpose
• At least one next-step collaboration to explore

A SHARED REGIONAL COMMITMENT

The event concludes with a collective reflection and commitment to continue strengthening relationships and collaboration across the Great Lakes Bay Region.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This event is designed for leaders and professionals who care about the future of our region, including:

• Business leaders and entrepreneurs
• Nonprofit and foundation leaders
• Education leaders and workforce partners
• Healthcare and community leaders
• Civic leaders and economic development professionals
• Human resources leaders and managers
• Students and emerging leaders

EVENT FLOW

8:00 to 8:30 AM: Arrival, coffee, and connection

8:30 to 9:00 AM: Purpose and Partnership Marketplace

9:00 AM to 12:00 PM: Main Program and Regional Collaboration Lab

12:00 to 12:20 PM (Optional): Collaboration Connection Window for continued conversations

Location

Saginaw Valley State University

Scott L. Carmona College of Business – Curtiss Hall

7400 Bay Rd, University Center, MI 48710

Free parking is available near Curtiss Hall.

Why This Matters

If the Great Lakes Bay Region is going to thrive, our organizations cannot work in isolation. This experience is designed to move leaders from conversation to connection to collaboration to action. You will leave with new relationships, clearer direction, and a defined next step to explore.