NY '13 Speaker Bios 05.31.13

The 2013 New York Institute for Social Innovation
Design for Social Innovation, School of Visual Arts
New York, NY 10011
June 6 - 10, 2013
Speaker Bios

136 West 21st Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10011
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StartingBloc, 349 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402 (4th Floor), New York, NY 10016 | www.startingbloc.org | tw :: @startingbloc.org
Day 1 :: Off the Bloc
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Houston Spencer, VP of Communications & Media Relations, Rio Tinto/Oyu Tolgoi
Houston Spencer joined Oyu Tolgoi and Rio Tinto in April 2012. He leads the
Communications and Media Relations team, which is responsible for
providing the public and other stakeholders with accurate and timely
information about Oyu Tolgoi, and for engaging Mongolian and international
parties in the vibrant conversation about how Oyu Tolgoi will contribute to
several generations of Mongolian prosperity.
Houston has over 20 years’ experience in communications and marketing, and in leading
international teams. Prior to joining Oyu Tolgoi, he was Vice President, Marketing and
Communications (EMEA), for the global high-tech innovator, Alcatel-Lucent. Previously, he also
worked with McKinsey and Company, and was a member of the team that generated the
business best-seller The Alchemy of Growth. Houston is both Australian and American, but has
lived in six countries on four continents. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in
communication and social science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Prof. Scott Sherman, Executive Director, Transformative Action Institute
Scott Sherman has worked on nonviolence and social justice projects from
the war-torn island of Sri Lanka to the inner city ghettoes of America. He is an
expert on the most effective ways that citizens succeed in creating social
progress and innovation.
Sherman's work on nonviolent social change projects has been praised by
such Nobel Peace Prize Laureates as the Dalai Lama and the late Mother
Teresa. He is also a nationally recognized speaker on environmental regeneration and
transformative action. He has won the outstanding teaching award from the University of
California at Berkeley. In 2004, he was nominated for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars'
Faculty of the Year award for the entire U.S.
Sherman earned his undergraduate and law degrees from U.C. Berkeley, as well as his Ph.D. in
environmental studies from the University of Michigan. Besides his work as a grassroots
community organizer, lecturer, and author, Sherman has worked with the Natural Resources
Defense Council and the Environmental Law Foundation. He is currently an adjunct faculty
member in UCLA's School of Public Affairs.

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Day 1 :: Off the Bloc
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Joanne Legler, Associate Director of Admissions, Chicago Booth Full-Time MBA Program
Joanne is an Associate Director of Admissions at Chicago Booth, where she
has worked since September of 2006. She is responsible for overseeing the
Dean's Student Admissions Committee (DSAC), working on women's initiatives
and heading undergraduate outreach initiatives. She most enjoys reading
applications and interacting with prospective students and loves the travel
she gets to do to promote Chicago Booth. Joanne previously worked as
assistant director of admission at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, and in Residence Life at Towson University in Maryland. Joanne received a
bachelor's degree in American Studies from Hamilton College in 1997 and a M.Ed. in student
affairs from the University of Delaware in 2001. She lives in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood
and, a native New Yorker, is a loyal fan of the New York Yankees.

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Day 2 :: Intrapreneurship
Friday, June 7, 2013
Cheryl Kiser, Executive Director, The Lewis Institute and Babson Social Innovation Lab
As the Executive Director of The Lewis Institute for Social Innovation and The
Babson Social Innovation Lab, Cheryl is responsible for leading a critical
aspect of the growth strategy for Babson by promoting broad support for
Babson's work in integrating social innovation and social entrepreneurship
into its curriculum and co-curricular activities. Employing Entrepreneurial
Thought & Action as Babson’s key methodology for spurring social innovation
in all sectors, Cheryl is developing Babson as the “go to place“ for global
social entrepreneurship resources, activities, relationships, networks,
knowledge and convenings. These initiatives will enable Babson to serve as an educator,
amplifier, accelerator and communicator of the positive impacts of social entrepreneurship in all
of its forms.
Before coming to Babson, Cheryl was the Managing Director of the Boston College Center for
Corporate Citizenship. She is one of the leading voices in the U.S. on the role of business in
society. For more than 12 years she played a central role in creating the largest research center
of its kind in the U.S., and spearheaded a national initiative to engage leading businesses to take
a collaborative approach to working on education issues.
For over a decade she managed the content and delivery of the largest annual conference in
the world on corporate citizenship, the International Corporate Citizenship Conference that
drew representatives from over one third of the Fortune 500 and from 24 countries around the
globe.
Robert Tomasko, Director, Social Enterprise Program, School of International Service, AU
Robert Tomasko directs the Social Enterprise Program and holds a faculty
appointment at American University, where he teaches graduate courses in
corporate social responsibility, effective activism, leadership, NGO
management and social entrepreneurship. Before coming to American
University he was an author, business consultant, and frequent speaker at
management conferences throughout the world. Over 100,000 copies of his
books have been sold, and they have been translated into Chinese, Dutch,
German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. He has
advised clients throughout the world on issues of organization and strategy, including Coca-
Cola, Exxon, Ford, Marriott, Mitsubishi, Telstra, Toyota, chemical manufacturers in France and
Japan, oil companies in Peru and Thailand, and four of the “Baby Bell" regional telephone
companies. His public sector clients include Auditor General of Canada, Presidential
Commission on World Hunger, US Federal Aviation Administration, US Navy, and UNICEF.

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Day 2 :: Intrapreneurship
Friday, June 7, 2013
Mikhail Naumov, Founder and Director, The GREEN Program
Mikhail Naumov is the co-Founder and Director of the Global Renewable
Energy Education Network, otherwise known as "The GREEN Program".
Each year, The GREEN Program helps hundreds of universities and companies
enhance their global programs portfolio. GREEN experiential learning
programs provide students and young professionals with unprecedented
access to clean energy technology and sustainability systems around the
world.
In 2012, The GREEN Program was recognized as one of the Top Three student-founded
companies in the world at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards and the New York Stock
Exchange. Mikhail and his team have grown this socially responsible venture from their dorm-
room at Rutgers University to become the leading provider of transformational experiential
education in clean energy, one of the fastest growing industries of our time.
Mikhail believes in global entrepreneurial collaboration and has served as U.S. Delegate to the
G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Summit in Mexico City and the Open Innovations Technology Forum in
Moscow. He is a self-proclaimed tea connoisseur, enjoys playing chess, traveling and tearing up
the dance floor with fellow StartingBloc'ers!

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Day 3 :: Social Entrepreneurship
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Houston Spencer, VP of Communications & Media Relations, Rio Tinto/Oyu Tolgoi
Houston Spencer joined Oyu Tolgoi and Rio Tinto in April 2012. He leads the
Communications and Media Relations team, which is responsible for
providing the public and other stakeholders with accurate and timely
information about Oyu Tolgoi, and for engaging Mongolian and international
parties in the vibrant conversation about how Oyu Tolgoi will contribute to
several generations of Mongolian prosperity.
Houston has over 20 years’ experience in communications and marketing, and in leading
international teams. Prior to joining Oyu Tolgoi, he was Vice President, Marketing and
Communications (EMEA), for the global high-tech innovator, Alcatel-Lucent. Previously, he also
worked with McKinsey and Company, and was a member of the team that generated the
business best-seller The Alchemy of Growth. Houston is both Australian and American, but has
lived in six countries on four continents. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in
communication and social science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mitchell Wade, Founder, Institute3
Mitchell Wade helps innovators turn insights into change. He was lucky
enough to work with public policy analysts at RAND, executives at Schwab,
technologists at Accenture -- plus architects, priests, and rowing coaches.
Then Mitchell struck gold, teaming up with seven social entrepreneurs working
in the poorest villages of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They helped 60,000
people escape extreme poverty, quadrupled per-dollar impact, and
launched their organizations toward sustainability.
Most importantly, the team created a simple; proven method that enables sustainable growth. It
scales, spreads organically, and boosts large organizations’ impact without wrenching change.
The model also adapts to the “top of the pyramid”-- for donors, skilled volunteers, and overtaxed
staff.
Mitchell’s goal now is to share the method much more broadly -- and to collaborate with
innovative social entrepreneurs to enact widespread change. So he’s writing a third book. (The
first two, both co-authored with B-school professor John Beck, went beyond business as usual.
Mitchell's latest project is creating institute3, a thinktank for practitioners obsessed with
sustainable growth.

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Day 3 :: Social Entrepreneurship
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Cheryl Kiser, Executive Director, The Lewis Institute and Babson Social Innovation Lab
As the Executive Director of The Lewis Institute for Social Innovation and The
Babson Social Innovation Lab, Cheryl is responsible for leading a critical
aspect of the growth strategy for Babson by promoting broad support for
Babson's work in integrating social innovation and social entrepreneurship
into its curriculum and co-curricular activities. Employing Entrepreneurial
Thought & Action as Babson’s key methodology for spurring social innovation
in all sectors, Cheryl is developing Babson as the “go to place“ for global
social entrepreneurship resources, activities, relationships, networks,
knowledge and convenings. These initiatives will enable Babson to serve as an educator,
amplifier, accelerator and communicator of the positive impacts of social entrepreneurship in all
of its forms.
Before coming to Babson, Cheryl was the Managing Director of the Boston College Center for
Corporate Citizenship. She is one of the leading voices in the U.S. on the role of business in
society. For more than 12 years she played a central role in creating the largest research center
of its kind in the U.S., and spearheaded a national initiative to engage leading businesses to take
a collaborative approach to working on education issues.
For over a decade she managed the content and delivery of the largest annual conference in
the world on corporate citizenship, the International Corporate Citizenship Conference that
drew representatives from over one third of the Fortune 500 and from 24 countries around the
globe.
Yao-Hui Huang, Founder and Managing Director, The Hatchery
Yao-Hui Huang is a highly entrepreneurial executive who works with
businesses and startups in many industries with a focus on technology, helping
them to grow their organizations in a market-smart and cost-effective way.
Yao has started and run several companies in the technology, digital media,
and venture space. She is a Founder and Managing Director of The Hatchery,
a venture collaboration organization with international reach bridging the
gap between entrepreneurs and investors through resources, advisory,
funding and building communities. She has had multiple successes as an entrepreneur and
supports other companies in advisory and C level management roles. With greater and greater
needs and access by entrepreneurs, The Hatchery was found.

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Day 4 :: Cross Sector Partnerships
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Rob Lalka, Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships, Howard G. Buffett Foundation
Rob Lalka is the Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships at the Howard G.
Buffett Foundation and a consultant to Five Stone Green Capital and social
enterprises around the world. From 2008-2012, Mr. Lalka served in the
Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, where he coordinated
Partners for a New Beginning, a global coalition that created 20,000 new jobs
through 180 new partnerships. Mr. Lalka also worked closely with the White
House to develop partnerships for numerous presidential initiatives, including
the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, the President’s Forum with Young African Leaders,
and the White House Interagency Task Force on Religion and Global Affairs. He co-wrote the
White House Office of Social Innovation strategy for cross-sector collaboration, and he earned
the State Department’s prestigious Superior Honor Award for authoring the first policy and legal
guidelines for partnerships while serving on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff. Previously, Rob
worked in international investment banking, consulted on partnerships at the World Bank and UN,
and assisted with recovery efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In 2011, Rob was
named one of the Top 99 Leaders Under 33 by Diplomatic Courier and he became a World
Economic Forum Global Shaper. Rob has been a Presidential Management Fellow and a
Truman National Security Project Fellow. He is a graduate of Yale University and holds his master’s
degree in global public policy from Duke University’s Terry Sanford School.

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Day 5 :: Sustainability
Monday, June 10, 2013
Alnoor Ladha, Partner & Head of Strategy, Purpose
Alnoor’s work focuses on the intersection of online organizing, brand strategy,
policy, and technology. He is leading a new global anti-poverty initiative
called The Rules, which aims to address the root causes of poverty (e.g. land
rights, trade policy, tax justice) rather than simply focusing on aid.
Prior to joining Purpose, Alnoor spent a decade creating social strategies for
progressive organizations in both the private and public sector. His clients
have included Amnesty International, MTV Exit, Greenpeace, Global Zero, TED, Jamie Oliver’s
Food Revolution, Google, Livestrong, Conservation International and the Gates Foundation.
Alnoor is an industry writer and speaker on the structural causes of inequality, new forms of
activism, movement entrepreneurship and social innovation, with a focus on emerging
economies. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Fast Company and The
Economist. Alnoor holds an MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of
Economics and a BBA in International Business from Simon Fraser University in his hometown of
Vancouver, Canada.
Mitchell Wade, Founder, Institute3
Mitchell Wade helps innovators turn insights into change. He was lucky
enough to work with public policy analysts at RAND, executives at Schwab,
technologists at Accenture -- plus architects, priests, and rowing coaches.
Then Mitchell struck gold, teaming up with seven social entrepreneurs working
in the poorest villages of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They helped 60,000
people escape extreme poverty, quadrupled per-dollar impact, and
launched their organizations toward sustainability.
Most importantly, the team created a simple; proven method that enables sustainable growth. It
scales, spreads organically, and boosts large organizations’ impact without wrenching change.
The model also adapts to the “top of the pyramid”-- for donors, skilled volunteers, and overtaxed
staff.
Mitchell’s goal now is to share the method much more broadly -- and to collaborate with
innovative social entrepreneurs to enact widespread change. So he’s writing a third book. (The
first two, both co-authored with B-school professor John Beck, went beyond business as usual.
Mitchell's latest project is creating institute3, a thinktank for practitioners obsessed with
sustainable growth.

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Day 5 :: Sustainability
Monday, June 10, 2013
Erica Dhawan, Leadership Thought Leader, Keynote Speaker, Consultant
Erica Dhawan is a globally recognized Harvard-based leadership expert,
corporate consultant and keynote speaker teaching business leaders and
companies creative actions designed to drive elite performance, improve
innovation across generations and cultures, capitalize on the expertise of
emerging talent, and prepare the global workforce for the future. With Ivy
League prowess and Wall Street experience, Erica’s consulting, workshops &
keynotes integrate sound business sense with sparkling intuition — and leave
audiences with practical direction.
Erica has spoken on global stages from the World Economic Forum at Davos to Morgan Stanley
and her clients span from Fedex to KPMG. Erica writes for Harvard Business Review, Forbes and
the Huffington Post and has been featured in Business Insider, Newsweek, Fast Company and
USA Today. She is a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, Aspen Socrates Society, and
TEDx fellows. She was named a Young Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum.
Previously, she worked at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. She has a MPA from Harvard
University, a MBA from MIT Sloan, and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School.

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StartingBloc :: Staff
Adriana Pentz, CEO
Since becoming CEO in June 2009, Adriana has expanded StartingBloc’s
presence across the country and internationally. She has also been
instrumental in revising the strategic direction of the organization and building
key partnerships necessary to support StartingBloc’s growing community.
Prior to joining StartingBloc, Adriana Pentz was the Senior Director of
Operations for Vision Education and was responsible for the creation of
GreenFab, one of the first after school programs to focus on sustainable technology and
engineering.
Adriana lives in Sleepy Hollow, NY with her husband and their dog. She holds a degree in English
and Communications from the University of Pennsylvania, is a Boston 2007 StartingBloc Fellow.
Lora Stoyanova, Fellowship Director
Lora manages the entire lifecycle of StartingBloc Fellows, including programs
for the current community of 1,800 Fellows around the world.
Lora attended Florida State University where she completed a Master degree
in International Affairs with a focus on Africa. Prior to working at StartingBloc,
she served as Program Assistant at the International START Secretariat in
Washington D.C.
Her belief in alternative approaches to international development led her to become a Scholar
at the Innovation Institute with ThinkImpact. She spent the summer of 2011 in the Coastal area of
Kenya, where she participated in a social entrepreneurship program. Lora is a Los Angeles 2012
StartingBloc Fellow.

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StartingBloc
349 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402
New York, NY 10016
info@startingbloc.org
tw :: @startingbloc

NY '13 Speaker Bios 05.31.13

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