:: Our History
Ken Janke - ken@groundworksonline.com
Visit Ken's blog at www.socialinnovators.wordpress.com
Ken is one of the founders of Groundworks and believes that life is enhanced through quality relationships. He works to resource people as change agents and to support people in their process of personal growth. Ken believes that collaboration fuels change, and that it works to facilitate opportunities for co-creating and networking. Ken’s passion is in steward the dreams of emerging leaders, pioneers, and creative’s, while creating space for transformational initiatives to incubate.
Before launching Groundworks, Ken worked with marketplace leaders in the for-profit sector and has been involved for 25 years in the non-profit sector. Ken has extensively been involved in global initiatives, such as church planting, leadership training, Life Coaching and continues to networking globally with emerging leaders. He currently lives in New Haven with his wife, Lori, and their four children. Ken works with community leaders to catalyze change in the city of New Haven.
Slate Ballard - slate@groundworksonline.com
Slate desires to stimulate economic and community development through tapping the power of collective intelligence and collaborative creativity. Slate is a founder, along with Ken Janke, of the Social Innovators Consortium. Social Innovators desires to address systemic social issues through providing organizational development for non profits and facilitating inter-organizational collaborative initiatives. Slate has a desire to see cities utilize their cultural and creative resources as a means of economic and community development.
Slate has been a small business owner for the past four years and is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University. While at Southern Slate studied organizational behavior. Specifically, Slate researches areas such as: organizational creativity, culture, organizational learning, creative economies, social innovation, and nonprofit innovation.
Slate, his wife Rachel, and their daughter Lily live in New Haven, CT.