Echoing Green Alums in Public Office
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2011-01-23 10:30
In 2008, Echoing Green alum Randi Shade was elected to Austin’s city council. Her campaign slogan: “Different. Just like Austin.” Like Randi, Echoing Green Fellows are different. Being a social entrepreneur requires a different way of thinking, a different way of interacting with the world, and most importantly, a different approach to creating social change.
In 2009, Alan Khazei, 1991 Echoing Green Fellow and co-founder of City Year, ran for the seat left vacant by Senator Ted Kennedy’s passing. Unshaken by the loss of the election, Alan continues to be active in shaping public policy and was instrumental in the drafting of the Serve America Act signed by President Obama in April, which established a Social Innovation Fund. He also recently released the book, Big Citizenship: How Pragmatic Idealism Can Bring Out The Best In America.
Echoing Green Fellows address a diverse range of issues, but the common denominator is an enduring belief that individuals can drive social change. Through their innovative ideas, passion, and ability to see concrete solutions, our Fellows inspire others to join them as they work to solve the everyday problems plaguing communities around the world. And it is this unique individual, the “human capital,” that Echoing Green invests in, not simply the idea. With this spirit of idealism and real vision for change, it’s not surprising that many Echoing Green alumni seek public office. 2010 has proven that this trend is on the rise.
In the past year alone, three Echoing Green alums have run for office with one very notable win. Randy Parraz ran and lost in the August Democratic primary for the open Arizona Senate seat. Randy became a part of the Echoing Green Fellow network when he and co-founder Scott Sherman were awarded a fellowship in 2005 for their organization, the Transformative Action Institute, which trains future leaders in alternative social change methods. Mark Levine had a strong but unsuccessful run for the New York State Senate seat representing Upper Manhattan. Mark has been working in Upper Manhattan neighborhoods, specifically Washington Heights and West Harlem, since his 1995 Echoing Green Fellowship, which funded his then-start up, Credit Where Credit is Due. Mark created CWCID to bring a new kind of bank, complete with personal finance education, to this low-income community. And finally, Angel Taveras (pictured) recently ran for and won the mayoral race in his native Providence, RI, making him the first Latino mayor in the state’s history! Angel received an Echoing Green Fellowship in 1992 for his work with youth through the Elmwood Community Center in Providence, which provided much-needed safe space for racial minorities in a neighborhood with a rising juvenile delinquency problem. No stranger to public office, Angel has previously run for Congress and served several years as an Associate Judge on the Providence Housing Court.
Though many of these alumni have moved on from the organizations that originally brought them to Echoing Green, they continue to be a different sort of citizen: undaunted by risk, able to see a better future, and willing to be active leaders in creating social change. Echoing Green is proud to have such strong leaders within our community, and we look forward to finding the next generation of leaders in the years to come!
