Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship

Speaker(s):

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  Bradley Myles

  Former Chief Executive Officer, Polaris

  Bradley Myles is former CEO of Polaris, a global leader in the fight to eradicate human trafficking and to restore freedom to survivors. Since 2002, he has devoted himself to combating human trafficking and modern slavery on a local, national, and global scale. Mr. Myles' early efforts focused on directly serving survivors, researching local human trafficking markets, and helping to build Washington DC's first-ever Human Trafficking Task Force. Under Myles' leadership, Polaris has worked to strengthen the U.S. national movement against human trafficking through policy advocacy in all 50 states and through a wide range of training and capacity-building programs. He also helped launch Polaris's operation of the United States National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888-373-7888), a 24/7 operation that has now identified and responded to more than 50,000 cases of human trafficking nationwide, received calls directly from over 10,000 survivors, and formulated a unique typology of the 25 major types of human trafficking that exist in the present-day United States. This hotline and data hub model is now regarded as one of the best-functioning anti- trafficking hotlines in the world and has become a focal point of Polaris' growing global programs. Mr. Myles is currently focusing his efforts on Polaris’s future strategy for the next decade, which includes working towards better anti-trafficking hotline coverage globally to build a stronger safety net for all 25 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, strengthening partnerships with the world's leading technology companies, and undertaking new data-driven intervention efforts targeted towards eliminating specific types of modern slavery in the U.S. and around the world. Mr. Myles holds degrees in Psychology and Political Science from Stanford University. He is the 2017 recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

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  Elizabeth Hausler

  Founder & CEO, Build Change

  World-class social entrepreneur. Safe housing advocate. Bricklayer. Dr. Elizabeth Hausler is the Founder and CEO of Build Change and a global expert on resilient housing, post-disaster reconstruction, and systems change. Elizabeth’s strategic direction and leadership have grown Build Change from a few employees in 2004 to a global team spread across five continents. She has profoundly influenced global development policy by making resilience a major consideration for reconstruction efforts. Elizabeth’s extensive experience in post-disaster communities, including a Fulbright Scholarship in India, led her to found Build Change to ensure reconstruction efforts would be safe and sustainable. She is the recipient of many honors, and in 2011, was named the US Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation. Together with Build Change, she was awarded the 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2018, she received the University of California, Berkeley’s Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award. Since 2014 she has been a member of the UC-Berkeley Civil and Environmental Engineering Department’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Elizabeth is also an Ashoka Fellow, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, and an Echoing Green Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. from UC-Berkeley in Civil Engineering, as well as an M.S. from the University of Colorado and a B.S. from the University of Illinois. Dr. Hausler has headlined top conferences, lectured at eminent universities, and been featured in media outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, Forbes, Elle Magazine, ABC News, and Bloomberg Businessweek.

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  Kola Masha

  Founder & Managing Director, Babban Gona Farm Services, Ltd., Babban Gona

  Kola is an award-winning social entrepreneur dedicated to solving Africa's leading social challenge, dramatic rise in insecurity. Kola brings significant leadership experience across four continents and multiple leading companies, including General Electric (GE), Abiomed and Notore. In addition, Kola brings extensive public sector experience as the former Senior Advisor to the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture. Kola is globally recognized as a thought leader in African Agribusiness. In recognition of his leadership in driving positive change on the African Continent, he has received several global awards including the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship and Rainer Fellowship. Kola holds an MBA (Honors) from Harvard and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. Specialties: Impact Investing, Agricultural Development, Smallholder Farmer Development,

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  Raj Panjabi

  Chief Executive Officer, Last Mile Health

  Dr. Raj Panjabi, CEO of Last Mile Health and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, joined the Skoll Foundation Board in 2021. Raj also serves as Technical Advisor to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in her role as Co-Chair, alongside former Prime Minister Helen Clark, of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response at the World Health Organization. Raj grew up in Liberia and fled Liberia’s civil war with his family when he was nine years old, becoming a refugee in the United States of America. He returned to Liberia as a medical student and then in 2007 co-founded Last Mile Health, a non-profit organization working to save lives in the world’s most remote communities. Raj has authored or co-authored over 50 publications. He has worked on rural community-based primary health care systems in Alaska, Africa, and Afghanistan. Raj has been a Gavi Champion, member of the International Advisory Group for Frontlines First at the Global Financing Facility, advisor to the Community Health Roadmap, and a member of the Community Health Worker Hub at the World Health Organization, where he served on the External Review Group for the WHO’s guidelines on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker programs. He has chaired a global study with the Gates Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation investigating lessons learned from exemplar community-based health care programs. Raj was named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and one of the 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare. He has been listed as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune. Panjabi is a recipient of the TED Prize, Clinton Global Citizen Award, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and is a Schwab Social Entrepreneur at the World Economic Forum. In 2017, the Government of Liberia recognized Raj with one of Liberia’s highest civilian honors: Distinction of Knight Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Pioneers of the Republic of Liberia. Raj has served as a Beck Visiting Social Innovator at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and primary care at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He received a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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  Michael Franti

  Musician, Humanitarian, and Co-Founder, Do It For The Love Foundation

  A musician, filmmaker and humanitarian who is recognized as a pioneering force in the music industry. Long known for his globally conscious lyrics, powerful performances, and dynamic live shows, Franti has continually been at the forefront of lyrical activism, using his music as a positive force for change. ​ “I make music because I believe it can change people’s lives and make a difference in the world,” enthuses Franti, “music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose.” He and his band Spearhead, known for their authentic and uplifting music, have found global success with multi-platinum songs like “Say Hey (I Love You)”, the chart breaking 2010 release of The Sound Of Sunshine. Franti and his band guarantee a show that will be thought provoking as well as energetic. ​ Franti has a brand new single, “Once A Day” from his upcoming debut album on Fantasy Records. “Once a Day” was inspired by his son’s diagnosis with a rare kidney disease called FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis) in the hopes that this song would inspire anyone in the world who is going through challenging times. “My belief is that through music, dance and gratitude for this life we can all ‘rise up’,” explains Franti. “Once A Day” was produced by Supa Dups (Eminem, Damian Marley, Bruno Mars) and features special guest Sonna Rele. This new song has the same feel-good, inspiring vibe as “Say Hey (I Love You),” his 2x platinum hit single. ​ Giving back has always been at the heart of Franti’s mission, he has dedicated his life to spreading the joy of music and positivity to millions of people. Franti’s humanitarian, social justice, and peace efforts continue to inspire his music and are infused throughout his music.

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  Jeff Skoll

  Founder And Chairman Emeritus, Jeff Skoll Group

  Founder and Chairman Emeritus Jeff Skoll is an entrepreneur devoted to creating a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. Over the last 17 years, he has crafted an innovative portfolio of philanthropic and commercial enterprises, each a distinctive catalyst for changing the trajectory of issues that most affect the survival and thriving of humanity. This portfolio includes the Skoll Foundation, Skoll Global Threats Fund, Participant Media, and Capricorn Investment Group—all coordinated under the Jeff Skoll Group umbrella. The Skoll entrepreneurial approach is unique: driving large-scale, permanent social impact by investing in a range of efforts that integrate powerful stories, data, capital markets, technology, partnerships, and organized learning networks. Operating independently from one another yet deeply connected through a shared vision, Skoll organizations galvanize public will, influence policy, and mobilize resources to accelerate the pace and depth of change. Jeff was the first full-time employee and President of eBay, where he experienced firsthand the power of combining entrepreneurship, technology, and trust in people. His work today embodies those fundamental lessons. All of Jeff’s organizations rely on the premise that people are fundamentally good, and that given the opportunity to do the right thing, they will.

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  Bono

  Founder, ONE Campaign

  Bono was born Paul David Hewson on May 10, 1960, in Dublin, Ireland. He joined U2 while still in high school. Their sixth album The Joshua Tree, made them international stars. Bono has used his celebrity to call attention to global problems, including world poverty, and AIDS. Bono was named a "Person of the Year" by TIME magazine in 2005, and Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary knight in 2007. Throughout U2's career, Bono has written most of the band's lyrics, often focusing on untraditional themes like politics and religion. In fact, social activism has always been close to the singer's heart, and he has used his music to raise consciousness with performances at Band Aid, Live 8 and Net Aid, among others. In 2006, U2 joined forces with the punk-influenced band Green Day to record a cover of the Skids' "The Saints Are Coming" to benefit the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The next year, Bono and the rest of U2 contributed the title track to Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Outside of music, Bono has used his celebrity to generate awareness about many global problems. Over the years, he has met with world leaders and many U.S. politicians to discuss such issues as debt relief for developing countries, world poverty and AIDS. Bono has also lobbied tirelessly on behalf of many causes, including two he helped create. DATA, which stands for Debt AIDS Trade Africa, is dedicated to fighting AIDS and ending poverty in Africa. Started in 2004, One is a nonpartisan campaign to "Make Poverty History" and is supported by more than 100 nonprofit organizations as well as millions of individuals, including celebrities like Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt. In 2005, Bono and his wife Ali Hewson established EDUN, a socially responsible clothing line. While it is a for-profit enterprise, its mission is to foster "sustainable employment in developing areas of the world, particularly Africa," according to its website. Bono was named a "Person of the Year" by TIME magazine for his charitable work that same year, along with Bill and Melinda Gates. Across the Atlantic, Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary knight of the British Empire in 2007.

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  Sally Osberg

  Past President and CEO, Individual

  As the first President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, Sally Osberg helped build it into the leading philanthropy in the field of social entrepreneurship. During her tenure, the Foundation supported more than 100 entrepreneurial organizations driving equilibrium change on many of the world’s most pressing problems and developed innovative platforms for connecting civil society, government and private sector leaders with societal problem solvers. Among these platforms are the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, the Skoll Centre at Oxford University’s Said Business School, and the Sundance Institute’s “Stories of Change” initiative. In 2015, Sally and Roger Martin published Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works, which articulates a theoretical framework for social entrepreneurship and distills lessons for practitioners, academics and impact investors. Her thought pieces have appeared in leading social impact and business journals and books; in 2015, she and Roger Martin were honored by Thinkers 50 for their intellectual leadership in the field of social enterprise. Prior to joining Jeff Skoll and the Skoll Foundation, Sally served as the founding Executive Director for Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, a pioneering institution in the field. Sally currently serves as the Chair of the Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education in Africa) USA Foundation, on the Philanthropy Advisory Council of the Royal Bank of Canada, on the Advisory Council of the Elders, and as a board director of the Social Progress Imperative and the Palestine-based Partners for Sustainable Development. She is also an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School of Oxford University. She received her M.A. in English and American Literature from the Claremont Graduate School and her B.A. in English from Scripps College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Born in Boston, Sally grew up on the east coast but has spent most of her adult life in California. She now lives outside Philadelphia, in Wayne, Pa., within walking distance of her two grandchildren.

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