Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, your company may have mandated that you work from home for the time being. Though you’re probably not new to remote work, this situation is a bit different: we have no idea when we will be back in the office and, in the meantime, we can’t work anywhere but from within our homes.

The 1871 team is sending our very best wishes to you across Chicago, Illinois, and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an upheaval of daily life for most everyone across the world and we’re all in this together.

During this time of change, we’re looking to bolster the ways the 1871 community is adjusting and engaging one another as founders, members, and partners. To support these goals, we are looking for experts to share their expertise via guest blog post submissions!

CONTACTS:

Melissa Lederer, Chief Experience Officer, mHUB
melissa@mhubchicago.com

Liz Kennedy, Marketing Manager, MATTER
liz@matter.health

J Blaszczykiewicz, Director of Marketing, 1871
j@1871.com

1871 and Chicagoland-based Discover partner to put on a full day of female-focused programming for International Women’s Day this March. The event at 1871 kicks off a month of events dedicated to women in tech.

With the growing concerns of COVID-19, we want you to know that we are committed to doing our part to keep both our members, guests, staff, and community healthy. We are continuing to monitor the situation and are keeping a close eye on official information, including the Chicago, Illinois, and U.S. Departments of Public Health and guidance published by the CDC.

Effective immediately, access to 1871 is members-only. Everyone who enters must have their own badge: no public or visitor access will be permitted.

This International Women’s Day at 1871 was remarkable! The impact was so strong because of the thought leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals like you in our community. It was a day dedicated to covering topics that concern everyone, from a woman’s perspective. Underscoring this year’s theme “Each for Equal,” everyone was invited to join in on panels, breakout discussions, and fireside chats ranging from product design to health and wellness.

Given the varying levels of uncertainty in regards to hosting public events due to the progression of COVID-19, your health and safety are our top priority at 1871. 

We’re invested in Chicago, beyond the walls of 1871. It’s in our community’s best interest and our own to keep seeking out ways to support and enable innovation from the outskirts to the epicenter and back, so that our impact is decentralized and, therefore, more inclusive to Chicagoland as a whole.

It's hard to know where to start when it comes to Desiree Rogers, the keynote speaker for International Women's Day at 1871. A total leadership powerhouse, Desiree has over 25 years’ experience building brands in a variety of industries, from magazine publishing to natural gas to, most recently, beauty & wellness.

Desiree's career took form through her tenure as President of the $2B gas utility Peoples Energy and her seven-year stint as CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines.

1871 is dedicated to helping provide pathways to innovation for disinvested communities and any entities doing so on a day-to-day basis are inspirations to us. 

This Black History Month, we would like to highlight some of Chicago's community organizations that are doing the work of supporting black businesses and business owners every day of the year!

Our friends at organizations such as West Side Forward, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Joseph Business School, and Teamwork Englewood may all have different ways of doing it, but ensuring that diverse entrepreneurs and communities are flourishing is central to the fabric of each of these organizations.

West Side Forward