Congratulations to 2005 Fellow Sylvia Mathews Burwell who was nominated March 4, 2013 to become the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. President Obama expressed his confidence in his Sylvia’s abilities, stating she “knows her way around a budget”, though she will face significant challenges with ongoing budget debates. Mike Duke, president and chief executive of Walmart–where Sylvia currently heads the Walmart Foundation, congratulated Sylvia on her nomination, describing her as “a strong leader who both masters the details and has a clear vision for making big thing happen.” Read more about Sylvia’s nomination here.
In her final press conference on Jan. 31, 2013, Hillary Clinton announced the Alliance for Affordable Internet, a new initiative being run by 2011 Fellow Ann Mei Chang. Clinton noted that the initiative will, “expand access to the internet in developing countries where only 25 percent on average of the population are online,” and will “help the next billion people come online.” Click here to read the article in Businessweek, and here to watch the coverage on MSNBC Morning Joe.
In November 2012, the Financial Times named the Global Fund for Children (GFC) its 2012 Seasonal Appeal charity partner, promoting GFC’s work in print and online throughout December to raise money and increase awareness for the organization. The GFC was founded and run by 2011 Fellow Maya Ajmera from inception until 2011, and she continues to serve on their board of trustees. GFC finds and invests in grassroots organizations that make sure the most disadvantaged children in their communities are safe, healthy and educated. To date, they have invested over $26 million in 500 grassroots groups in 78 countries. To launch the campaign, they had several donors (including the Crown Family Charities) who put forth a $2.3 million match enabling them to double the impact of any contributions made through the seasonal appeal. Read more here.
2006 Fellow David Carmel was honored at the Jumpstart Founder’s Dinner on January 29th at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, DC to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Jumpstart which he co-founded while at Harvard. Since its founding, Jumpstart has served over 50,000 preschool children from low-income communities across the United States.
The Henry Crown Fellowship was well represented at this year’s TED Conference in Long Beach, CA at the end of February. Many thanks to 1997 Fellow Gary Lauder, who gathered together Fellows from nearly every class for an annual photo. Pictured “TEDsters” include: (back row, l to r): Gary Lauder (’97), Aneel Bhusri (’97), Anand Giridharadas (’11), Chris Sacca (’07), Anne Dwane (’10), John Danner (’99); and Michael Powell (’99); (middle row, l to r): Stephen Deberry (’04), Aedhmar Hynes (’08), and Mark Tebbe (’00); (front row, l to r): Janet Echelman (’06), Thelma Golden (’08), Arjun Gupta (’01), Kim Polese (’01), Aileen Lee (’04), Joanna Rees (’02), and Li Lu (’98).
It was great to see the True North Fellows gather for a mini reunion in Boston, MA on February 27th and 28th. They spent part of the day with a check in and discussion on Fellowship and then were able to meet with some fellow Bostonian Fellows, including a visit with TripleCrown Fellow and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (’99). Special thanks to local Massachusetts hosts Rob Price, Sheila Marcelo, and Willy Foote. Pictured l to r: Lisa Skeete Tatum, Andy Karsner, Sheila Marcelo, Deval Patrick, Willy Foote, Rob Price, and Dan Smith.
