ABOUT

Building What Comes Next.

BCW was never created to simply host events.

It was built to create real spaces for connection, visibility, healing, education, opportunity, and collaboration at a time when too many people felt disconnected from the conversations shaping the future.

Rooted in Philadelphia, the platform carries the spirit of a city shaped by organizing, creativity, resilience, and community survival. Over the years, BCW has evolved into a week of experiences where policymakers, entrepreneurs, educators, advocates, wellness leaders, creatives, students, and community members gather to exchange ideas, build relationships, and move conversations forward together.

Some people come looking for opportunity. Others come looking for community. Many come looking for both.

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Our Story

Built through community. Sustained through collective vision.

More collaboration. More dialogue. More room for the community to lead.

Back in 2015, conversations around legalization, investment, and economic opportunity were expanding quickly, but many communities still felt disconnected from the rooms shaping policy, visibility, and long-term access.

Information was fragmented. Leadership spaces often felt transactional. And too many people — especially those closest to the cultural and social impact of these conversations — were navigating systems that did not feel built with community in mind.

That reality led founder Cherron Perry-Thomas, alongside organizers, educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, to begin building something different.

Instead of creating a traditional conference, the vision centered around building an entire week of experiences that could bring different communities, conversations, and forms of engagement together under one connected platform.

What started as a few conversations evolved into a collaborative ecosystem centered around education, restorative dialogue, wellness, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, storytelling, and collective growth. Over time, BCW became known not just for programming, but for the feeling people experienced when they entered the space: intentional, welcoming, honest, creative, and deeply rooted in connection.

People stayed long after sessions ended. Conversations spilled into hallways, dinners, parking lots, partnerships, collaborations, and future organizing work.

As the platform evolved, so did the model. Four years ago, BCW intentionally shifted toward a more unconference-inspired experience that created more room for participation, collaboration, creativity, and real dialogue instead of rigid, transactional programming.

Because learning, leadership, healing, and opportunity are not monolithic — and the spaces designed to support people shouldn’t be either.

Built for Intersection, Not Isolation.

Too many people are still disconnected from the information, relationships, resources, and opportunities shaping this space.

For years, stigma, criminalization, misinformation, and unequal access created barriers that impacted communities socially, economically, and politically. At the same time, many leadership spaces became increasingly inaccessible, expensive, or disconnected from the realities everyday people were navigating.

BCW was built to create something different:
a space centered around education, dialogue, visibility, wellness, entrepreneurship, and collective participation.

We believe people deserve spaces where leadership conversations feel accessible, learning feels collaborative, wellness is treated as essential, and culture is recognized as a powerful force shaping public dialogue and collective futures.

We also believe people deserve spaces where they do not constantly have to explain their value, defend their humanity, or separate healing from opportunity.

  • Too many traditional spaces operate in silos.

    Policy conversations happen in one room. Wellness conversations happen somewhere else. Entrepreneurs are separated from educators. Community members are separated from decision-makers. Cultural leaders are rarely treated as systems leaders even while shaping public narratives every day.

    The result is fragmented ecosystems that struggle to build long-term collective progress.

  • BCW intentionally brings together policymakers, entrepreneurs, advocates, creatives, educators, healthcare professionals, students, organizers, and community members through a model designed around participation instead of gatekeeping.

    That includes:

    • leadership gatherings and policy conversations

    • restorative justice and civic engagement initiatives

    • wellness and cultural activations

    • entrepreneurship and workforce visibility

    • collaborative learning experiences rooted in dialogue and participation

    Four years ago, the platform intentionally shifted toward a more unconference-inspired experience focused on accessibility, relationship-building, creativity, and cross-sector collaboration.

    Instead of asking people to fit into one lane, BCW creates room for multiple forms of leadership, learning, healing, and participation to exist together.

#WEFUNDTHEMOVEMENT'

For nine years, BCW has continued showing up for community even when support, funding, and visibility felt inconsistent.

#wefundthemovement is rooted in the understanding that if communities do not intentionally invest in building spaces for themselves, those spaces eventually disappear.

This movement has always been bigger than events.

It is about creating places where people feel seen, informed, connected, supported, and able to participate in conversations that directly impact their lives and futures.

BCW has always prioritized accessibility.

From affordable programming and hybrid experiences to community-centered activations and public education, the goal has never been exclusivity. The goal has been creating spaces where more people can participate, learn, connect, and grow together.

That means continuing to invest in:

  • civic engagement and restorative justice

  • leadership and policy dialogue

  • entrepreneurship and workforce access

  • wellness, storytelling, and cultural experiences

  • intergenerational learning and community collaboration

Four years ago, BCW intentionally shifted toward a more unconference-inspired model focused on deeper participation, more collaboration, and more authentic community connection.

Because movements survive when communities choose to fund, protect, and build for themselves.