Todd Lawrence is the executive director of Nashville’s Urban Green Lab & has accomplished a slew of incredible things in his life ranging from service in the Peace Corps to leading the historic International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. His current project, the Urban Green Lab, boasts a powerful mission: to facilitate a range of educational & social programs that inspire Nashvillians to make sustainability a bigger part of their lives in their homes, neighborhoods, & businesses. They are making moves to instigate true, positive change in the community through educational workshops & are even reaching out to the younger generation through their Mobile Lab that travels to local schools.
What is your personal motto?
Get it done.
What characteristic do you admire most in successful entrepreneurs?
Digging deep within themselves to find great solutions.
What tool, object or ritual could you not live without in your workday?
Optimism and a to do list…
What advice would you give someone seeking to create, launch or grow a business?
Think focused, not big (yet). As a young environmental nonprofit, it’s easy to take on too much in our pursuit of growth. Better to focus on your target population, a simple product, and how to measure its long-term impact.
What does the world need more of?
Social entrepreneurs who listen closely to those in need.
Why the EC?
The EC provides the synergy, professionalism, and freedom our nonprofit needs to operate smoothly. Within weeks of arriving, it felt like home.
