It takes a lot of courage to go against the grain. If you need some motivation or support that will help propel you into your dream project or job, AIGA Chicago and TCG Chicago invite you to grab a coworker or a friend and join us for an evening of networking and inspiration.

On June 20, get to know your fellow calculated-risk-takers while enjoying free drinks and light bites to eat. The night will also feature storytellers that will share times they've taken big (and sometimes small) creative risks. By the end of the evening, you’ll leave with the support you need to make the leap from just thinking about that passion project to finally seeing it through. We can’t wait to see you there!

Speakers

JinJa Birkenbeuel
Founder, The Honest Field Guide Podcast, CEO, Birk Creative, Co-Founder, Utah Carol, Founder, Birk Digital

JinJa Birkenbeuel is a serial entrepreneur and women’s business advocate dedicated to helping businesses win customers. A management consultant by trade, JinJa has successfully worked with Fortune 500 companies including Tesla, Google and AECOM on awareness and branding campaigns. She is credited as collaborating architect of Google’s Digital Coaches Program, Google’s international training initiative for underrepresented business owners.

A beacon for diverse voices in business, JinJa serves as a board member for DePaul University’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center  and the Jewish-Black Business Alliance. She serves as an international advisor for woman-founded start ups PAX and LVLY. She is also an investor in the first Black woman-owned food company, Journey Foods. JinJa and other powerfully engaged women founded the first Women In Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University in 2019. In 2017, she was appointed to join the Chicago Mayoral Business Council with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and in 2019 was named to the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Leadership Council.

Currently, JinJa is enjoying 22 years as CEO of Birk Creative leading branding, digital and social growth strategies for businesses. Birk Creative’s roster includes three of the world’s largest tech companies as well as Camelot Illinois, CPASS Foundation, Zing Health and True Value.

Her unique ability to spark fresh innovations for her customer's brands through vibrant conversations and intimate engagements encouraged her to create and host The Honest Field Guide podcast with discussions dedicated to winning in business.

JinJa is a professional publisher and developer of printed and eBooks for authors, entrepreneurs, brands and institutions through her publishing company Birkdigital. She is also a composer, songwriter, artist and music publisher. Her music composition workshop Stomping Ground Studios creates original songs for advertisers and filmmakers. Visit http://www.utahcarol.com to hear more.

Anna Russett
Anna Russett creates for the internet. Her best work encourages young women to be critical of and take part in shaping the world around them. She previously worked at Havas Chicago as a Creative Director and now works independently as a creative consultant and social influencer with over 170,000 followers. She’s worked with a variety of brands, organizations, nonprofits, and artists to make and talk about things that matter: Nike, Capital One, L'Oreal, Coca-Cola, Dunkin' Donuts, Pier 1, Bedsider, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Simple Health, Cause the Effect, and Girl Scouts, to name a few.

William Ferguson
RXBAR
Bio coming soon.

Agenda
6 PM — Mix, mingle
6:20 PM — Presentation
7:30 PM — Networking

Ticket Pricing
$5 Student Members
$5 AIGA Members
$5 Non-Members

Code of Conduct
By registering to attend this event, you agree to abide by AIGA Chicago Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct may be found here. https://www.aiga.org/code-of-conduct

Twitter Hashtags & Handles
@AIGAChicago
@CreativeGroup

Special thanks to Buddy Boor, Marcos Cuellar, Lois Snavely, Melody Pohla, and Yash Rastogi for planning this event, to Seismic for hosting this event, and to The Creative Group for sponsoring this event.