NEW YORK, June 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Echoing Green today announced the recipients of its 2018 Fellowship for emerging leaders, providing seed funding, training, and programmatic support, and access to a large network of investors, supporters, and thought leaders to 35 for-profit and nonprofit entrepreneurs tackling the world’s most pressing issues—from systemic racism to climate change.
This year’s Echoing Green Fellows are working on everything from harnessing artificial intelligence and data to tracking police interactions with communities of color in the U.S. to reducing plastic in the environment through innovative chemical processing techniques that allow the re-use of previously-unusable plastic waste. They come from across the globe, working in eight different countries and ten different cities and states, including Brazil, India, Kenya, Oakland, Detroit, St. Louis and more. Each Fellow has an innovative and promising solution to address urgent social and environmental challenges worldwide.
Echoing Green selected the 35 talented winners from a pool of 2,847 individual applicants proposing work in 155 different countries. View the full list of 2018 Fellows here: www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/introducing2018
“When opportunity is equitably allocated, people with a deep understanding of the problem and a strong drive to take action can solve the most challenging issues of our day,” said Echoing Green President Cheryl L. Dorsey. “We believe in supporting not just the big ideas for positive social change, but in investing in the bold and talented people behind them. That’s why Echoing Green is creating an ecosystem to support our past, present, and future Fellows with the tools they need to thrive. We are excited to welcome the 2018 class into a lifelong support network that can help make their ideas reality for years into the future.”
Access to social capital, networks, and funding can make or break the potential of emerging social entrepreneurs to realize their visions for change. Echoing Green is a global organization that identifies social entrepreneurs with the greatest potential to make lasting change and invests deeply in their success. The organization embraces “smart risks” by providing seed funding of up to $90,000 for two years to accelerate the growth of high-potential leaders and their organizations. These individuals are also welcomed into a lifelong global network of philanthropists, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Echoing Green’s 2018 Fellowship class is supported by private contributions and the generous support of funders, including three major funders: Citi Foundation, the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, and the ZOOM Foundation. Each funder enables Echoing Green to provide critical, early support to leaders who are proximate to the issues they work on. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the 2018 class identify as members of the constituency they are serving. This year, the Citi Foundation is supporting Echoing Green to launch the Inclusive Leadership Initiative, which will support members of the 2018 Echoing Green Fellow class who are leaders representing communities of color in the United States, with an emphasis on leaders providing pathways to employment and critical services to young men and women of color.
“Congratulations to the 2018 Fellowship recipients as they embark on this next step to help realize their vision of change,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation. “The Citi Foundation is proud to be part of this journey with Echoing Green so that together we can support the next generation of leaders who are helping create economic and social opportunities for young women and men of color.”
The support of the Jerome L. Green Foundation has helped ensure that finding and investing in the leadership of innovators with a focus on equity and social justice remains at the forefront of Echoing Green’s work. The Foundation has supported 31 Echoing Green Fellow organizations since 2014.
“We are continually impressed with the courage and creativity of these young leaders so carefully selected by Echoing Green. These are the people who will bring positive change to the world, and now more than ever we must invest in their ideas and let them soar” noted Christina McInerney, President and CEO, Jerome L. Greene Foundation.
Without the continuing support of our funders, Echoing Green’s support for these driven Fellows and organizations would not be possible. Echoing Green’s 2018 Climate Fellowship is supported by The ZOOM Foundation. Over the next three years, the U.S. African Development Foundation will partner with Echoing Green to underwrite Fellows working in sub-Saharan Africa and grow both organizations’ capabilities to provide investment-readiness training to emerging leaders within the continent. Additional members of the 2018 class are also supported by the U.S. African Development Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, and author of “Micro-Meltdown” Vikram Akula ’98.
About Echoing Green: Echoing Green identifies tomorrow’s transformational leaders today. Through its Fellowships and other innovative leadership initiatives, Echoing Green spots emerging leaders and invests deeply in their success to accelerate their impact.
Echoing Green has been ahead of the curve for more than 30 years, supporting visionaries around the world who are transforming economies, racial and gender equity, and environmental sustainability. Echoing Green’s unparalleled community of talent consists of nearly 800 innovators who have launched Teach For America, City Year, One Acre Fund, Public Allies, and more. The organization provides seed-funding and leadership development to a new class of Fellows every year and welcomes them into its lifelong community of leaders.