On the heels of all the thrilling and fast-paced sports of the Olympics, we're bringing speed to professional Net Impact networking events, too. On Tuesday, March 23rd, Net Impact Austin is hosting a round-robin speed networking event to bring together professionals in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. As an attendee, you'll be able to chat with another professional for a few minutes before moving on to someone new.  It will be a great way to meet other individuals committed to bettering the world, expand your network in just a handful of minutes, and have some fun while you're at it. As an added bonus you will get to network with some local rock stars in the sustainability field from right here in Austin.

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Kathy Zarsky is the Founder and Director of HOLOS.  As a long time practitioner and advocate of system change, Kathy’s real call to action epiphany occurred when she heard Herbert Dreiseitl speak at USGBC’s first Greenbuild Conference held in Austin.  He demonstrated how easily and beautifully ecosystem services can be celebrated and integrated into development projects, a key motivator to Kathy to this day.

Kathy graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in architecture in 1994 and went on to spend 14 years providing construction management and integrated design/build services within the commercial building sector. Due to her background in architecture and building science, she is highly skilled at evaluating a broad spectrum of issues and has developed a keen ability to bridge knowledge gaps and networks.  The latter concept serves as the primary driver behind the creation of HOLOS Collaborative, an international collective intelligence network that adds dimension and resources to the growing service needs of the sustainability marketplace. She is also committed to staying on the forefront of sustainability by working within the larger framework of biomimicry (innovation inspired by nature) and immersing herself in intensive study- a measure necessitated by “we are our ecosystem”. Kathy has extensive facilitation experience, is a vegetated roof owner and researcher, has experience managing multiple LEED rating systems, and working as a sustainability strategist for municipalities, non-profit and private sector clients. 

When she’s not working on her business, you can find her volunteering and speaking on behalf of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the International Living Building Institute(ILBI) and the Biomimicry Institute(TBI). She served on the City of Austin’s Energy Efficiency Retrofit Task Force and is currently an advisor on the City of Austin Green Roof Stakeholder Group.  Kathy is also the mother of two energetic and comic toddler boys. 

Nell Edgington has over 15 years of experience innovating in the social sector. She is the founder of Social Velocity, a firm that works with nonprofits to make sure they have a path forward that will solve the challenges they face and bring social change. Prior to founding Social Velocity, she transformed the fundraising and marketing functions at KLRU, Austin’s PBS station. She conceived, secured funding for and implemented a new development plan which increased annual revenue by $1.6 million, with double or triple-digit percentage growth in major gifts, membership, corporate support and online giving.

Previously, as Director of Development at the Capital Area Food Bank, she increased annual revenue by 40% to $2.5 million. Before earning her MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, Nell worked at PBS headquarters in D.C. managing $1 million+ corporate sponsorship accounts and strengthening PBS’s marketing initiatives as well as leading fundraising, marketing and board development efforts at the Oregon Children’s Foundation.

Sarah Cooke is the founder of Fig Strategy a strategic coaching company committed to individual and organizational innovation and sustainability. As an employee at various traditional corporations - including Motorola, Dell, and Herman Miller,  a small business founder, and an executive board member for several nonprofits, Sarah has succesfully crafted a social impact career – without the CSR title.  Sarah will share lessons from her experiences and answer questions about how you can realize your passion for positive impact through any job, company, or industry.

Sarah has 10 years of experience as a social intrapreneur and consultant. She has been instrumental in a wide range of impactful socio-environmental programs: public education strategies for developing countries; responsible business plan competitions; entrepreneurial training for at risk populations; workplace transformation; skills-based volunteerism; responsible consumer goods and more. She holds a BS in Industrial & Systems Engineering from The Ohio State University and is a MS candidate in Positive Organizational Development at Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.

Kelly Holmes is a Sustainability Specialist at Austin-based high-tech company National Instruments (NI). She leads the grassroots NI Green Team, which now has more than 150 members. She also contributes to the company's annual citizenship report effort.

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