2026 Show-Me Philanthropy Statewide Conference
Keynote Presentations
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28 - AFTERNOON KEYNOTE
Now Is the time for Future Thinking
In a year when urgency has crowded out almost everything else, how do we make room to imagine what comes next? We are all trying to make the world a better place, but we often use yesterday's information. What if we could envision the future and prepare for the coming realities that will impact our grantees and communities?
Philanthropic futurist Betsy Cohen will help us lift our heads above today's pressures and explore what's possible. This interactive keynote blends a series of trends that will impact the field with hands-on activities, allowing you to try out FutureGood's practical futures tools for yourself. You'll leave with simple approaches you can use long after the conference, in grantmaking decisions, strategy conversations, and work with your board, staff, and grantee partners.
Betsy has seen philanthropy and community-building from many perspectives. At Nestlé Purina, she became a Vice President in Marketing and worked as a corporate futurist. She then spent 12 years as founding Executive Director of the nonprofit Mosaic Project, a public-private partnership to attract and retain international talent, sharing that work with audiences across Missouri and nationwide, including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and companies throughout the USA. Betsy has been a board member and advisory member for many organizations, from the United Way to our top universities. She now brings FutureGood's national perspective to funders, families, boards and advisors. She is a TEDx speaker, author, and 21/64 Certified Philanthropic Advisor
BETSY COHEN
Betsy Cohen leverages her financial and organizational expertise as a Philanthropic Futurist working with advisory firm FutureGood. This builds on her prior expertise as a corporate futurist and her work in business, government and nonprofits. Betsy specializes in keynotes, workshops, briefings, board education and engagements that are a catalyst for more giving to causes that matter.
Betsy was the Executive Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project 2013-2025, a regional initiative of the non-profit World Trade Center-St. Louis within the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. This was a public-private partnership whose goal was to attract and retain foreign-born people to St. Louis, resulting in a #1 rating in the US for growth in 2024 data. Prior to the work above, Betsy had a long career at Nestle Purina where she was a Vice President of marketing, sustainability, new products, new ventures and other operations.
She was a corporate futurist for business goals. She had prior experience working with financial institutions with a passion for financial services and philanthropy.
She is on the external board for Washington University McDonnell International Scholars Academy and the St. Louis University Chaifetz Business School External Advisory Board. She is on the advisory board of the consulting firm CEdge. She is the author of a book to help international people find a good US job. She gave a TEDx talk on immigration in 2023. She is a well-known multicultural leader and has been honored by many of the regional ethnic organizations. In 2025 she was honored as one of the St. Louis top 500 business leaders by St. Louis Magazine for economic development. She is a 21/64 Certified Philanthropic Advisor and a member of the National Speakers Association. She is the co-creator of the FOCUS St. Louis BoardBridge program to match and educate potential board members with nonprofits seeking new board members. Betsy is a graduate of Wellesley College and has her MBA from the Harvard Business School.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29 - OPENING KEYNOTE
The Limits of Responsibility: Making Sound Decisions in Uncertain Times
Leaders in philanthropy are being asked to respond to rising needs with finite resources, often without the clarity or time they would like. Drawing on two decades of work across psychiatry, humanitarian response, and public policy, Dr. Suzan Song explores what sustained uncertainty does to the way we think and make decisions. Burnout is one consequence, but there are quieter strains as well: the moral weight of choices that leave real needs unmet and the gradual loss of purpose that can come from feeling responsible for problems no one person or institution can solve.
Through stories, research, and practical tools, Dr. Song looks at how individuals and institutions can avoid reactive cycles, make thoughtful choices, and set healthier boundaries around what they can and cannot control. The goal is to recognize the limits of our responsibility without disengaging and remain connected to the people affected by our choices in order to preserve our sense of agency and purpose.
DR. SUZAN SONG
Suzan Song, MD, PhD, is a Harvard- and Stanford-trained psychiatrist and internationally recognized adviser working at the intersection of mental health, humanitarian crises, and public policy. Over more than two decades, her work has spanned clinical care, conflict-affected settings, and systems-level leadership, supporting individuals and institutions operating under sustained strain. Drawing on this experience, Dr. Song brings a grounded perspective on how trauma and prolonged uncertainty shape human behavior, and what helps people and systems recover over time.
Dr. Song’s debut book, Why We Suffer and How We Heal, is out now. Described as “a gift of empathy and lived wisdom—rare, real, and deeply human,” the book offers a clear and accessible framework for understanding suffering and recovery. Integrating clinical insight with humanitarian experience, Dr. Song introduces three core capacities that support resilience in uncertain conditions: Narrative, Ritual, and Purpose.
Dr. Song is a sought-after speaker for philanthropic foundations, global organizations, corporations, and public institutions, including Google, Harvard, Stanford, and U.S. federal agencies. Whether addressing senior leaders navigating instability, parents seeking to better understand child and adolescent neurobiology, or mission-driven organizations facing burnout and moral injury, she translates complex psychological and social science into practical insight grounded in real-world contexts. Audiences value her ability to combine intellectual rigor with clarity and care, leaving them better equipped to act thoughtfully under pressure.
Dr. Song has advised U.S. federal agencies including the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security, consulted with United Nations agencies, and provided multiple Congressional testimonies on child protection and human trafficking. She is based in Washington, D.C.
For more information on Suzan Song, MD, PhD, please visit www.prhspeakers.com.