Community Improvement & Economic Development

Riding up the green-lit escalator to the lobby of the Hudson Hotel in New York City, I arrived at the WorldofGood.com by eBay launch event.  The small room was filled with people, each engaged in their own conversations and WorldofGood.com products lined the walls of the room.  After making my way through all of the display products, I was introduced to Cecilia Appianim, a farmer in Ghana.  Her farm is a part of the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative which owns Divine Chocolate USA.  Kua

Van Jones was named a “Hero of the Environment” in the October 6, 2008 edition of Time, putting him in the company of California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger and World Toilet Organization founder Jack Sim. The article highlights the innovative blend of urban populism and environmental activism that make Jones' Green for All campaign click.

As hurricanes have pummeled the Gulf Coast over the past month, from Gustav to Ike, 2008 Echoing Green Fellow Ben Smilowitz has been doing the important, but occasionally unpopular, work of making sure federal relief agencies are doing their jobs effectively. Ben runs the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP), a new nonprofit organization that provides a platform for public pressure on FEMA and the Red Cross—a platform that simply did not exist prior to Hurricane Katrina.

Hot Bread Kitchen founder Jessamyn Waldman, a 2008 Echoing Green Fellow, was covered by the New York Post this week.

The San Francisco Chronicle published a feature on The Op-Ed Project in its Datebook section last week and highlighted the work of its founder Katie Orenstein. Katie, a 2008 Echoing Green Fellow, began the Project in order to address the lack of female visibility on American op-ed pages. She does so by hosting bimonthly seminars for women that offer tips on how to write quality op-ed pieces, and stress the importance of such contributions because they enrich public debate and catalyze professional growth.

In partnership with Green Chimneys, a housing program for homeless LGBT youth, the Reciprocity Foundation hosted a “Design Your Future” career workshop series that began in May and has helped twenty young New Yorkers sharpen their networking and soft skills.  2007 Echoing Green Fellows Taz Tagore and Adam Bucko began the Reciprocity Foundation to help youth at risk of homelessness develop into creative professionals.