Sally Osberg, Prominent Champion of Social Entrepreneurship, to Speak at Inaugural "Magis" Dinner May 18
Skoll Foundation President and CEO will speak about the next generation of social entrepreneurship
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 14, 2014— Sally Osberg, the internationally respected thought leader in the field of social entrepreneurship, will speak about the future of social innovation and the challenges facing the next generation of innovators, on Sunday, May 18 at Santa Clara University.
Osberg will be one of two extraordinary honorees featured at Santa Clara University’s first annual Magis dinner, to benefit the University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society.
Magis, which takes place at 6 p.m. at the University’s Paul L. Locatelli, S.J., Student Activity Center, aims to bring Silicon Valley together for an engaging evening that both introduces new people to social enterprise and advances the thinking of social enterprise leaders. At the event, Osberg will receive the Magis Global Changemaker Award, along with former social entrepreneur Graham Macmillan of Citi Foundation.
Osberg is the president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. Over the past decade, the Foundation has invested more than $150 million in social entrepreneurs whose transformative innovations have driven solutions to the world’s most pressing problems and improved lives by maximizing health, education, opportunity, and transparency in some of the poorest places on earth. As a global thought leader and author, Osberg has been a powerful force leading the charge for global social progress. She founded the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship – the largest gathering of social entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world, which just completed its spectacular 11th year last week in Oxford, England.
“We are tremendously excited to honor Sally Osberg, one of the world’s most respected authorities and pioneers in the advancement of social entrepreneurship,” said Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., executive director of the Center. “As we continue to scale our own work both locally – through a partnership with eBay Foundation– and globally – through a network of Jesuit and mission-aligned institutions – we are proud to call the Skoll Foundation a treasured partner.”
At the Magis Dinner on May 18, Osberg will discuss the imperative to find the next generation of funders and leaders -- people in the mold of former eBay president Jeffrey Skoll and Ashoka founder Bill Drayton, who have devoted their lives and/or personal fortunes to finding innovative, lasting solutions to problems in developing countries. She will also discuss challenges the next generation of leaders will face, such as how to scale social enterprises in developing countries which lack an essential infrastructure, and how to measure and compare global social progress (Osberg has urged adoption of the just-launched ‘Social Progress Index’ as a more-meaningful measure than GDP).
Proceeds of the Magis dinner will benefit the Center’s core social entrepreneurship programs, which aim to foster practical solutions to problems of global poverty.
Also during the May 18 event:
• Macmillan, senior program officer at Citi Foundation; Council of Foreign Relations term member, and former senior director at affordable-eyeglass provider VisionSpring will be honored for his work. At VisionSpring, he helped achieve a dramatic increase in earning potential and quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. Now at Citi, he is helping to bring banking security to the world’s “unbanked” populations.
• Social entrepreneurs from around the world—from San Francisco to sub-Saharan Africa—will be on hand showcasing their business-based solutions to problems from infant mortality to unclean water.
• Santa Clara University students who have participated in the Global Social Benefit Fellows program –researching and augmenting the work of social entrepreneurs around the world – will present displays of their work in Brazil, India, Uganda, Nepal, and Zambia.
• Representatives from 10 Jesuit universities that are seeking their own ways to mentor and foster social entrepreneurship in countries like the Philippines, Mexico, Spain, Columbia, and India will be in attendance. They will be on campus from May 18 - 21 as part of a meeting of the GSBI Network.
• Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., Secretary for Higher Education for the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) will also be in attendance for the GSBI Network event.
Tickets for Magis are $225 each or $400/pair, and table sponsorships range from $1500 to $10,000. Tickets, tables, sponsorships, an explanation of the name Magis, and more details are available at scu.edu/magis, or by contacting Jen Jayme at jjayme@scu.edu or 408-551-6043. Media are invited to attend by RSVPing to Deborah Lohse of SCU Media Relations, 408-554-5121 or dlohse@scu.edu,
About The Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS)
Since 1997, Santa Clara University’s CSTS has been a pioneer in the field of social entrepreneurship, applying business principles to solve social problems. The Center harnesses Silicon Valley’s unique innovation and business know-how to help impoverished communities from to Santa Clara to Sierra Leone. With its Silicon Valley roots, humanitarian mission, and worldwide network of Jesuit institutions, CSTS has a unique ability to build bridges between Silicon Valley and developing countries. Through a suite of programs focused on entrepreneur training, mentorship by seasoned Silicon Valley executives, and groundbreaking impact capital and education, the Center provides a uniquely integrated support system for social enterprise. The Center’s flagship Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) program has gained international renown for high-quality training of over 200 social enterprises who have collectively impacted more than 100 million lives. The Skoll Foundation’s guidance and support have been instrumental in shaping the Center’s work.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Jaime Gusching | CSTS Marketing | jgusching@scu.edu | 408-554-6048