S2E01 - Social Offset w/ Special Guest Dr. Elena Gersman

What do you do when your next big conference lands in a city that clashes with your values? In this episode of The Right Kind of Uncomfortable, Dr. James Pogue sits down with Dr. Elena Gersman, co-founder of Social Offset, to unpack a practical alternative to staying home. 

They explore why in-person connection matters for business, how boycotts can unintentionally hurt local communities, and how Social Offset lets leaders and attendees invest in local change while showing up for the conversations that drive big ideas forward. 

If you’re navigating hard choices about where you gather and how you lead, this episode will get you thinking about what it really means to leave a place better than you found it.

www.jamespogue.com

Transcript

Imagine you’re a member-driven organization or association and you’re preparing for your annual or regional conference. An important percentage of your membership has decided that the location is not something they feel comfortable with, so they’re considering not attending — or what some might call boycotting.

What if there was another option? What if there was another way that those people could attend the conference and offset their economic imprint in such a way that it benefits the very population that they support? That’s what Social Offset is all about.

Take a listen to Ellen Gersman’s thoughts around Social Offset. She, as one of the founders, talks about how Social Offset is a new solution to a very old problem.

Hello everyone and welcome to our podcast, The Right Kind of Uncomfortable.

Today’s guest is one of my favorite people that I like to share time and secrets with, if you will. Her name is Elena, but I’m going to give her an opportunity to introduce herself because she’s going to have much more magic and flair than I might have.

So Elena, if you wouldn’t mind taking a moment and introducing yourself to us in whatever way makes you feel comfortable.

Elena: Sure. I mean, first of all, I’m the president of the James Pogue fan club. You mentioned that we go way back, but no — I’m Elena Gersman. I’m here today to actually talk to you about a nonprofit organization that my wife and I founded a couple years ago called Social Offset. That’s what I do as a volunteer, and my day job is I’m the executive director of an organization called Informs, which is a professional association for data scientists, operations researchers, analytics, and the like. But today I’m going to be talking to you all about Social Offset.

So I like to make sure that people understand the business aspect of business podcasts. From a business perspective, what is the problem that Social Offset seeks to solve?

Elena: The business problem for Social Offset is about making people feel comfortable in environments that they may not feel comfortable in — and offsetting that uncomfortableness with something that’s positive. So Social Offset is like carbon offset but for your social values.

If you happen to go someplace and you spend money in a location where you know their state has policies, or their governor has policies, that go against your family’s values, your social values, or your morals, you can say: “Hey, what can I do to actually offset that money spent, that time spent — to actually leave that place better off than you found it — and put money into charities that are actually doing the good work and the grassroots work on the ground?”

So the business problem is getting people to go places even when they’re not comfortable, in order to support the very people that many of us care about.

So help me understand: why shouldn’t I just boycott the thing and not go at all? Why should I go and offset my impact into a place that might be more meaningful to me?

Elena: You can, James — right? One of the things we feel strongly about is people should do what feels comfortable and safe for them. What we try and do is provide an alternative or solution for people who want to go someplace — or if you think about the greater good for going someplace.

Our primary audience right now in 2025 is association conferences. So, let’s imagine there’s an association that you belong to — your professional association — and they’re having a conference in a location that has laws you disagree with. You can stay home, right? But when you stay home, you’re not participating in that wonder and beauty of that in-person networking. And that networking is about friends, future collaboration… I mean, if you think about curing cancer — well, curing cancer is probably going to start at a conference where there’s a bunch of physician-researchers talking about how can we cure cancer.

So that’s the importance of in-person professional association meetings. If you stay home, you don’t get to experience that — and people don’t get to experience you. So if you go, then you can contribute. And then we give you a solution to help you feel more comfortable being there and help people while you’re there.

So the idea you’re describing seems pretty straightforward, and your connection to the ideas that support it seem just as straightforward. Let me ask this a different way: why is any of this important to you? Why does it surface as something that is so important to take away time from a busy person who’s got a whole other day job?

Elena: The shortest answer is it matters because it matters to me, my wife, the other folks on the board of directors, and the folks working on staffing our organization. We want to make the world a better place.

When my wife and I had the conversation about what it would mean — what does it mean now that we have to travel in a world — we had this conversation post the anti-abortion law that overturned Roe v. Wade: what are we going to do as we have to travel to places that don’t align with our values?

And what’s so interesting — in terms of how we came about this — we actually just, fun fact, don’t know who said the word “Social Offset” first, which is fun because we really don’t know who said that, and we love the phrase now.

I view the world from a social justice perspective. I was raised in an environment in which we ask: what can we do to give back to the global good and society? My wife is a certified meeting planner — she views the world through live events. That’s what she does for a living. So it comes together in that: how do we create an opportunity for people to still come together in live events, while also making the world a better place?

And now that you’re in your second year, how has the market responded to your idea?

Elena: Well, the world unfortunately needs Social Offset more in 2025 than they have in the past. The reason I say “unfortunately” is because I wish I lived in a country that didn’t need Social Offset to exist — one with core values that say everybody matters, that we support people, and that we don’t have the systemic -isms that we’ve had for centuries in the United States. If we had that, we wouldn’t need Social Offset. But we do — more than ever.

In terms of the market, we see that Social Offset serves three separate markets. The first audience we serve are meeting planners putting together events in a city or state that might not align with their attendees’ values. We say: if you’re still going to go there — and we have research that shows location boycotts actually don’t work — then create a page with us, a campaign with Social Offset. That page says: here are vetted local charities, and 100% of the donations go to them. Social Offset takes not one cent.

The second audience is what we call the backbone of our business model: the destination cities. Some of our founding cities — Visit Austin, Visit Seattle, Nashville, Baltimore — and now we have 10 or 15 other cities supporting us. They sponsor and promote Social Offset as a way to tell future clients, “Hey, we get you. We know this location might have an issue, but we want to partner with you.”

The third audience are the people who actually attend the event — attendees, exhibitors — who reach into their own pocket to say, “I’m going to this city, I’m paying taxes at my hotel, food and beverage, and other places. I want to offset that by giving to a local charity.” Social Offset puts all these groups together and works with vetted, solid local charities. Again, 100% of that money goes to those local charities.

When you’ve talked to leaders of these organizations, what are they saying that suggests this is a value?

Elena: That’s a great question. We’ve shown impact. People come to us saying, “Hey, we want to do a campaign with you,” because they heard about it in a pitch deck from a city that partners with Social Offset. That tells us the sponsors see value.

Event organizers ask, “What is Social Offset?” Some people think it’s just about Florida and Texas. The research we show — and unfortunately I don’t have the numbers in front of me, James — is that almost every state has a “problem.” Over 40 states have laws that somehow restrict or harm people experiencing homelessness. Many states have anti-abortion laws or restrictions; states with policies that work against Black and brown individuals, queer individuals, and the list goes on.

So when people say, “We’re just going to stay away from Florida and Texas,” we say, “Look at the data.” We have issues everywhere. If we want to leave the places we visit better off, Social Offset is a safe, easy, seamless way to do that. Again, no one’s making a dime off this — the money goes to the charities.

I want to circle back to something you said about boycotts, because we hear a lot from larger organizations that can only be housed in certain cities. What’s your perspective there?

Elena: 100% — I’ll go even further. Those individuals who might lose their job or not get paid because you boycott that city? They’re the ones voting to overcome some of those laws you disagree with. If they lose their job, that’s a double whammy for your values. So it’s important that we serve them and go to those places.

Most associations have members in every state. So when you boycott, you’re telling those members in that state, “You’re not as good as everybody else.” Destinations International has research that shows location boycotts don’t work anymore. They may have worked in the mid-teens, but not in the last 8 to 10 years.

We’ve found that when groups boycott and pull out of cities, it can amplify the voices they disagree with. Governors stand up and say, “Guess what I did today? I got these people to leave our state.” They’d rather have the sound bite than consider the financial ramifications.

So really, you have to double click into the word “boycott,” because maybe it works in some cases, but not in this one?

Elena: Exactly. You have to look at the data. If we’re not careful, we get caught up in the phrasing of the time and don’t realize we can be causing harm to the very people and ideals we’re trying to support.

Where did this idea start for you?

Elena: In 2019, I was at an airport in Dallas and had to buy a sandwich from a restaurant I typically boycott. I tried to figure out how much of that sandwich cost was profit and what percent of that profit could wind up funding anti-gay causes. I thought, “I should be giving that money to the other side.” That idea stuck with me for years until Joel and I came up with this.

Boycotts are not all created equal. Location boycotts, we believe, don’t work.

Has an association CEO ever pulled you aside and asked for the real story? What do you tell them in that “super secret elevator conversation”?

Elena: If you care about having your attendees feel good about attending — especially the ones who will be vocal about the location — you can’t just sweep their discomfort under the carpet. You have to validate that.

If they’re interested, they should go to socialoffset.org and click “Create a Campaign.” It will help them communicate to their members that they understand their concerns and are not sweeping it under the carpet. And won’t it feel good when you and your members leave that place better off than when you found it?

One and a half final questions. First: with all the change happening, how is this an opportunity for Social Offset?

Elena: The change is so disruptive — sometimes we describe it like whack-a-mole. Social Offset is just one tool in your toolkit. It might work for this segment; it might not work for that segment. Whether you’re putting on conferences, concerts — Taylor Swift can use Social Offset too. It’s just one tool that might work for you in serving your constituency and aligning with your mission and vision.

Last half question: if I’m a destination leader, meeting planner, or nonprofit, what should I do to find out more?

Elena: Easy: go to socialoffset.org. If you’re interested in a campaign, there’s a button at the top that says “Start a Campaign.” It’s not a guarantee you’ll do it, but it’s the first step.

And what’s a campaign?

Elena: A campaign is: let’s say you’re putting on the POG 2025 conference in Austin. You’re the event organizer, so you go to Social Offset and say, “Can I create a campaign?” We create a page — socialoffset.org/POG2025 — and pick three, four, five vetted local charities. We give you literature, QR codes, PowerPoints to promote it. Attendees go to that page, see your logo, see the local charities, and donate.

What if I have a special charity I want included?

Elena: It depends. It has to be local — it’s about leaving the place you were better off. It has to be well-run — we have a vetting process. And it has to align with our values. But we’re open to conversation — we’ve done over 100 campaigns, raised over $40,000. We want more zeros on that number in 2025.

Any final thoughts?

Elena: When Beth, my wife, and I started this, it was really just about doing good in the world. I love talking to people and experimenting — this is just one idea. If anyone has thoughts, just drop me an email: elena@socialoffset.org.

James: Absolutely. This was good — it helps people see one potential solution for change and disruption, and it empowers people to think about their own solution.

Thank you so much for being here.

Elena: Thank you, James. I appreciate you as well.

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