Remember how a while back I was raving about this book called How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein (I first talked about it in this post from July 2005)?
Anyway, the book details different stories of Ashoka Fellows, how they are located, screened and selected, and how they grow their change-making non-profit organizations throughout the world. From Ashoka‘s website:
Ashoka is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. Since 1981, Ashoka has elected over 1,800 leading social entrepreneurs as Ashoka Fellows, providing them with living stipends, professional support, and access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries.
I am proud to say that my very own CEO, Suzanne, was elected into the Ashoka Fellowship, and last week I attended the induction ceremony of the North American Ashoka Fellows. I caught the tail-end of the inspirational event (because I had work until 7:30 as usual), and even got the chance to hear Bill Drayton, Chairman & CEO of Ashoka, give a keynote address.
Some of the BUILD staff attended to support Suzanne, and I realized that this is such an amazing organization to work with, and it is such a privilege to be part of the org as it grows. I feel like BUILD is poised to grow, and I am lucky enough to get the opportunity to play a huge role in making the growth of the organization a success. In addition, it also gives me something to strive for. Way before Suzanne was inducted, or even interviewed for the Ashoka Fellowship, I had set my sights on it.
As Bill Drayton said, “Every citizen can be a change-maker,” and that’s what I intend to be.