In part of its "Take Charge" effort, the company features entrepreneurs who use the Amex OPEN card.
It will feature entrepreneurs around the world who are building sustainable businesses with the aim of maximizing social impact in health, education, poverty reduction and housing.
In a little more than a decade, Bend, a town of 78,000, has created a rich ecosystem, a popular term in emerging entrepreneurial enclaves, with an accelerator, a weekend boot camp for aspiring entrepreneurs, an annual venture conference and a monthly "PubTalk" featuring successful entrepreneurs and early-stage companies seeking capital.
In March, Emily Drabant, 28, who is completing her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford University, listened to a StartOut talk featuring lesbian entrepreneurs.
James Caan, one of the prominent stars of Dragons' Den, the British TV programme featuring young entrepreneurs, is a non-dom, born in Pakistan.
The conference kicks off on December 5 and is packed both days with a lineup featuring inspiring entrepreneurs, savvy investors and TechCrunch's world-renowned Startup Battlefield competition.
This was the second in a series they've started, featuring food entrepreneurs telling an unscripted story around the month's theme.
The judges included Heidi Lehmann and Marci Weisler, founders of SWSIMedia (Smart Women, Smart Ideas), a multi-screen video network featuring female entrepreneurs, Kara Nortman, Partner at Upfront Ventures, a VC firm in LA and Robyn Ward, who heads up UTA's strategic investment fund.
The United Colors of Benetton touts its global "Africa Works" program in an ad campaign that features Senegalese entrepreneurs who successfully started their own businesses, from fishing to tailoring.
