What are the ingredients for successfully implementing social change?
For this collaborative event, we'll hear from Ashoka - the world's largest network of social entrepreneurs - about key approaches and patterns that emerge across its global fellowship of 4,000 innovators.
Discover why the problem diagnosis itself matters so much, why you might be thinking about "scale" in the wrong way, and what really makes an idea fly. Hear why changing systems i the holy grail for most entrepreneurs.
The insights shared during this event should help anyone interested in social change ask better questions and design better strategies, no matter the social problem they want to dig into.
Our guest speaker will be Michael Zakaras, Director of Ashoka in the United States
Michael Zakaras is Director of Ashoka in the United States. He is co-author of the 2023 book America’s Path Forward: Conversations with Social Innovators on the Power of Communities Everywhere, and also co-founder of Ashoka’s All America initiative that since 2015 has pushed the boundaries of social entrepreneurship beyond coastal circles.
Michael has worked for Ashoka in Ireland, Central Europe, and before that in the California wine industry. He writes regularly about social entrepreneurship for Forbes, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Chronicle of Philanthropy and more. Michael grew up in Brussels, holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and currently lives in Burlington, Vermont with his wife and two daughters.
Our moderator will be Eidi Cruz-Valdivieso FRSA
Eidi Cruz-Valdivieso is the Director for Strategy and Engagement for Ashoka U. For over 15 years, she collaborated and worked in community-driven development within marginalized communities in urban and rural settings in Mexico, co-creating programs that encouraged communities to find their own priorities and solutions, and providing educational opportunities for all.
Eidi also worked at the London School of Economics consulting on intellectual capital and co-creation processes within small and medium enterprises. For several years Eidi also directed a global prize awarded to high-impact social innovators, significantly amplifying its reach to 70 countries.
Eidi is a licensed psychologist by background, following undergraduate studies at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico. She holds masters degrees from the London School of Economics in Organizational and Social Psychology and in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge. Eidi loves the performing arts and is a Fellow and Connector of the RSA. She lives in Washington, DC.
This event was recorded.
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