Focusing on passion, movements and social media at the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network Conference

This weekend, more than 500 people from communities across the country will convene in Denver, and they are united by a common thread: helping low-income children close the gap and raise the bar with reading proficiency.

I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to participate and speak at the Grade-Level Reading Communities Network Conference on behalf of The Patterson Foundation's strategic communications team. Along with Sam Stern and Roxanne Joffe, we'll be sharing tips, techniques, case studies and resources about the powerful intersection of networked and social communications that move movements forward.

After delving into movements great and small - many of which we will spotlight in our Sunday morning session about fueling modern movements in the digital age - I'm left wondering... is passion enough?

Think Occupy Wall Street. Was there a lack of passion from the people behind this movement? No way! Was that collective passion focused enough to move it forward? There's room for debate.

Passion is essential - but so is being focused on what you stand for, what you want to achieve and how others can be meaningfully engaged to move that vision forward. Only then can you begin to weave a powerful network of supporters and advocates - including those who will support the vision and build community online.

Keep up with the conference June 30-July 2 (and let us know if you're going to be there!) by following #read2012 and @melissathomps/@roxannejoffe/@thepattersonfdn on Twitter.