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Center for
Social Innovation

Center for Social Innovation

Social Innovation Live

 

Ashkon Jafari

Social Innovation Live, sponsored by the Stanford Graduate School of Business Center for Social Innovation, highlights innovations in education and society by talking to leaders from a variety of sectors. Creator and Host Ash Jafari interviews CEOs and leaders from governments, non-profits, corporations, and academia to see how each group is working to alleviate social problems.

Ash is the Founder and CEO of StudentMentor.org, the national college student mentoring organization. StudentMentor.org aims to increase college completion and enhance student career readiness thereby producing a robust 21st century workforce. Ash was recently invited to The White House to meet the President and talk to his staff about StudentMentor.org's role in improving college completion and preparing students for the workforce of tomorrow.

 

 

Philanthropy and the Free Market in Education
What can the for-profit market bring to K-12 education reform, and how can philanthropy help such efforts? In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, Gisèle Huff, executive director of the Jaquelin Hume Foundation, discusses the foundation's investment strategy in this regard. She touches on lessons the organization has learned, and what the average citizen can do to raise American education standards.
Grassroots Philanthropy in Schools
Want to make sure American schoolchildren have enough pencils for a poetry writing unit, violins for a school recital, or microscope slides for a biology class? Go to DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that makes it easy to support any classroom project request nationwide. In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, CEO Charles Best talks about the organization's humble beginnings, its use of cross-sector collaboration, its current initiatives, and the impact it is having in America's classrooms.
Connecting Nonprofits

Connecting good, effective nonprofits and other organizations that get the job done is the mission of Craigconnects, the latest enterprise of Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, Newmark discusses the organization's philosophy, primary activities, and future plans.

Social Entrepreneurship in Education
Good education should be a right, not a privilege. So says Piyush Mangukiya, founder of EducateNCare.com, an innovative online tutoring program for students. In this audio interview, Mangukiya speaks with host Ashkon Jafari about how this unique enterprise is bettering the lives of children around the world through quality education and assistance.
Bringing Fair Trade to Indigenous Farmers
[photo - Picture: Coffee Beans]
In Chiapas, Mexico, twelve indigenous communities have joined forces to obtain fair trade prices for their coffee under the auspices of the micro-industry Bats'il Maya. In this audio interview, COO Alberto Irezabal speaks with host Ashkon Jafari about how the co-op works to empower coffee growers, and how it is expanding to include coffee stores in Mexico City, among other innovations.
Pairing Nonprofits with Professionals
[photo - Picture: Chong]
Catchafire is a New York City-based, for-profit social mission business that matches professionals who want to give their skills to nonprofits and social enterprises that need their help. In this audio interview, CEO and founder Rachael Chong speaks with host Ashkon Jafari about the ins and outs of the organization, from its founding, to its funding, to how it finds "matches."
Promoting Philanthropy Through Collaboration
Taproot is a nonprofit that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society. In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, founder Aaron Hurst discusses how Taproot started, what impact the organization has had, and the challenges it has faced. He also shares how the enterprise evaluates nonprofits applying for grants.
International Development and Entrepreneurship
[photo - Picture: Shea]

Got a great business idea? Consider taking it to Chile, where the government is now offering $40,000 grants and one-year visas to help early-stage entrepreneurs develop their companies, through a program called Start-Up Chile. In this audio interview, Stanford Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari talks with Nicolas Shea, innovation advisor to the Chilean minister of economy, about the program's genesis, goals, and progress so far.

Applying Design Thinking to Healthcare

How can "design thinking" enhance healthcare in the developing world? In this audio interview Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari talks with Joel Sadler, CEO of re:motion designs, about the company's innovative artificial knee joint, which is giving new mobility to amputees in impoverished areas of the globe. Sadler discusses prototyping, funding, partnering, and the kinds of things enterprising design and engineering students should be thinking about.

Creating a World Without Poverty

In the world of international development, microcredit has become an increasingly important means of poverty alleviation. In this audio interview, Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari talks with Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus about how he founded Grameen Bank to offer economic building tools for some of the poorest people in Bangladesh. Yunus shares lessons learned along the way, future directions, and what gets him up and motivated every day.

Collaborating for Environmental Sustainability
Making environmental sustainability stick is requiring the cooperation of the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. In this audio interview, Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari interviews Ceres president Mindy Lubber about how her organization brings together investors, government, human rights groups, and others to build a cross-sector voice for sustainability.
Using Social Enterprise to Outpace Poverty
[photo - Claire A. Williams and Sara Vogel]

Hope Runs is a nonprofit social enterprise working in Kenya and Tanzania that uses athletics, education, and social entrepreneurship to empower AIDS orphans. In this audio interview, founders Claire Williams and Lara Vogel talk about how they have turned their idea of using marathon running to "outpace poverty" into a vital organization that partners with AIDS orphanages to have a real influence in children's lives. They discuss their model, how they use volunteers, and advice for social entrepreneurs.

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