Fellow News

“I am the only child on my mother's side of the family, because my father did not want me as his son. I have no idea why, but at this point in my life I don't care. I don't want anything to do with him.”

What is your guess on the context of why these words were written? Would you have thought of a college admission essay? I wouldn’t have. But, these words are from Phillip Herring’s personal statement—one that he wrote as a student for the nationally recognized nonprofit College Summit.

Congratulations to 2001 Echoing Green Fellow Dr. Michael Bengwayan! Last week, Michael’s organization, Pine Tree, won the World Bank Ecological Award. The award, worth one million pesos, has been presented to Pine Tree to prevent further dengue infestation in La Trinidad, Benguet, in the Philippines. The organization plans to use these funds to study the production of dengue’s natural enemies and mosquito plant repellants.

Set your TiVo!

Once again, we’re excited to see 1994 Echoing Green Fellow Van Jones getting great press in The New York Times. The article explores the question of what is a "green-collar" worker..vs a blue-collar worker or vs an enviromental scientistic.

Are you a woman who has an idea for a business or nonprofit organization, an interest in running for political office or aspirations to become a community leader?  Then apply for the 2008 Women Rule! Leadership Training Program!  Women Rule! is a social action campaign started by Cause & Affect, an advocacy organization led by 1998 Echoing Green Fellow Meredith Blake, in collaboration with O Magazine and The White House Project.

Most folks in the social entrepreneurship space know that being selected as a World Economic Forum Young Leader is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on this population. Afterall, 5,000 leaders worldwide were nominated in 2008 and only 245 indivdiuals under the age of 40 were selected. Furthermore, a good number of those leaders include some of today's most very well known public figures, such as CNN reporter Anderson Cooper, tennis extradinaire Steffi Graf, the singer Shakira, and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Reciprocity Foundation youth on ANTM

If you missed the most recent episode of Tyra Bank's America's Next Top Model, then you missed the linkage between modeling and social entrepreneurship. The show featured none other than 2007 Echoing Green Fellow Taz Tagore and Reciprocity Foundation youth. In their own words:

1993 Echoing Green Fellow Priya Haji and her organization World of Good recently partnered with eBay with the bold goal of developing the world’s largest fair trade community and marketplace. Last week, they unveiled the community portal at www.worldofgood.com. eBay’s Robert Chatwani sums up their community strategy at a recent interview at TreeHugger.com:

We felt compelled to pass along this fantastic article from The American, which touts itself as “the new business magazine for people who think.”  Written by Alex Halperin, it details a visit with Andrew Youn, founder of One Acre Fund and 2006 Echoing Green Fellow.  Halperin gives us a look into Andrew’s organization, while describing life as a farmer in Bungoma and the rising trend of microfinance.  This combination makes for a fascinating read which celebrates Andrew’s fine work.

Did you know that approximately one-third of the workforce in the United States is comprised freelancers and temporary workers? Despite this, worker benefits are mostly reserved for full-time employees. That means millions of hard workers are not protected. For many, that means no health insurance or paid vacations. That is where 1996 Echoing Green Fellow Sara Horowitz comes in.