Melanie Edwards

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2007

Melanie Edwards

Mobile Metrix

http://www.mobilemetrix.org

San Francisco, California, United States

Community Improvement & Economic Development

The Bold Idea:

It is estimated that over one billion poverty-stricken individuals in 120 developing countries have no official record of their lives. Without documentation, these uncounted poor cannot work legally, access crucial aid programs, obtain loans, nor register to vote. Further, they are left out of the public policy equations that divide up development assistance funds at a global level.

Mobile Metrix counts the world's undocumented poor by employing community youth to gather demographic data using mobile technology. By documenting these populations, Mobile Metrix plays a critical role in informing the work of local, national and international organizations by providing them with accurate and timely data, instead of outdated projections.

Biography:

Melanie has had significant experience in both the private and public sectors, having worked at J.P. Morgan and the International Data Group as well as the United Nations Information Technology Service. She received her BA from Washington University and MA in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Melanie is a former Peace Corps volunteer and Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University, where she is currently a lecturer on Social Entrepreneurship.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
I’ve always had a desire to use my abilities to make a difference in the world, a drive that first came alive for me while I was a 20-something Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa. Seeing that not everyone in the world had access to basic human needs (food, water, shelter) filled me with resolve to do what I could to change that. Many years later, as I explored ideas that were the precursor to Mobile Metrix in the favelas of Bahia, Brazil, I had an experience that made me unstoppable. I met an elderly woman who lived meagerly with her daughter and granddaughter in an urban slum. She was ill and the family could barely afford their housing. Her teenage granddaughter had started to prostitute herself to pay for food. I asked the woman if she received social security for her many years of working; she asked, "What is social security?"I was furious at the idea that a family could know such struggle and suffering merely because they didn’t know about solutions that already existed. How can we allow people to fall through the cracks like that? Not because the resources aren’t there or the programs haven’t been invented, but merely because we have no idea these people exist! At that moment, the drive to make Mobile Metrix work became more of an obsession.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched problems in our world?
Growing up on a farm outside a tiny rural community of 534 in Missouri taught me to recognize the compassion of neighbors looking out for one another and the power of self-reliance. Later, during travels in developing countries, I witnessed the vast, untapped resourcefulness of poor communities that were poised to thrive, but lacked some specific, basic provisions: a few dollars to jumpstart a business, clean drinking water, or adequate health care. From my work founding a program to connect settlements of refugees from Kosovo to the Internet, I also saw the ability of technology to provide appropriate solutions. These three ideas: untapped self-reliance, accurate solutions, and the power of technology were the inspiration for Mobile Metrix.

New and Untested: What’s innovative about your new idea for social change?
There are many programs set up to serve the poorest of the poor. We amplify the work of these organizations (and that of international aid agencies) by providing timely accurate data that defines the size of these populations as well as the specific challenges they face. We don’t provide services; we make other service providers more effective and efficient. In that way, we are a field builder, deepening the impact of the whole NGO sector. We also enable for-profit companies looking to do business with the base of the pyramid with the knowledge and market research to do so effectively. By harnessing these market forces, we can unleash our theory of change to a sustainable model for growth and impact.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
Passion; obsession with far-reaching, sustainable social impact; balancing big picture vision while executing small details; profound empathy, ability to relate to those we serve; tenacity (especially in the face of failure); being filled with fear, and doing it anyway.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
Tribalistas, Olodum, Ana Carolina, Ivete Sangalo, Zizi Possi, Mozart, Faure's Requiem, Sibelius/Stone ("Finlandia"/"This is My Song"), Kassav, Glide Ensemble.

What books do you recommend?
Lucky or Smart? Secrets to an Entrepreneurial Life by Bo Peabody, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas by David Bornstein, The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelley, The Collaboration Challenge: How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed Through Strategic Alliances by James E. Austin, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life by Lynne Twist, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale, City of God by Paulo Lins.

Which websites do you visit often?

• travelocity.com
• kiva.org
• craigslist.org
• google.com  

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver 
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things. 

from Dream Work by Mary Oliver
published by Atlantic Monthly Press
© Mary Oliver