Blackbaud Announces First Featured Speakers and 100 Session Topics for bbcon 2020 Virtual

Dr. Cornel West, Justin Dillon, Meico Marquette Whitlock and Alice L. Ferris to take to the virtual mainstage at the tech conference for a better world October 6-8, 2020

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, Aug. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, is pleased to announce the first set of featured speakers who will join bbcon 2020 Virtual October 6-8, 2020. Among the latest speaker announcements are Dr. Cornel West—a prominent author, philosopher, professor and activist—who will lead a fireside chat on day two of the global virtual event. Award-winning entrepreneur, author of A Selfish Plan to Change the World and founder/CEO of FRDM, Justin Dillon will be joining the mainstage. Alice L. Ferris, fundraising leadership expert and founder of GoalBusters, and digital wellness and leadership coach Meico Marquette Whitlock will lead a discussion on working in a changing world as part of the mainstage lineup.

To date, nearly 15,000 people from around the world have already registered to attend the tech conference for a better world. This week, bbcon 2020 Virtual also previewed 100 session topics with details on speakers, networking opportunities and social events to be released soon.

"When we set out to plan our first virtual, global bbcon, we knew we wanted to reimagine the experience entirely for the social good community," said Catherine LaCour, Blackbaud Chief Marketing Officer. "Having nearly 15,000 registrants (and counting!) from around the world tells us that this is exactly what our Ecosystem of Good needs in 2020 – a way to connect with others in this space while learning about the latest trends and innovations to drive their missions forward. We couldn't be more pleased to have these four prominent, inspiring speakers join us on the mainstage as we bring that vision to life. This is just the first of many announcements to come, so stay tuned!"

Below is an overview of the first four mainstage speakers announced for bbcon 2020 Virtual. More speaker announcements to come.

Dr. Cornel West – Fireside Chat
Dr. Cornel West is professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University and professor emeritus at Princeton University. He has written 20 books and is a frequent guest on the Bill Maher Show, CNN, C-Span and Democracy Now. He has a passion to communicate to diverse audiences in order to keep alive the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. – a legacy of telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice.