Looking back on my Fellowship so far, I can remember meeting a lot of different types of people. Here’s the proof: I’ve exchanged nearly 100 business cards. These cards represent the conversations, ideas and excitement I’ve shared with various individuals in our communities. I made connections with businesses, schools, government offices, other universities and nonprofit [...]

The Student United Way at ASU held their final meeting of the school year this week. The group’s President presented this video, which summarizes their incredible achievements during the 2012 – 2013 year: youtube.com/SUW@ASU. I appreciate the recap and recognition that the video offers, but the greatest gift my students gave me was the President’s [...]

Throughout the spring semester, members of the Student United Way at ASU dedicated hours of volunteerism to ensure that children and youth succeed in school and in life. Their efforts culminated with an education-themed carnival for over 160 children at the Tempe Ladmo Boys and Girls Club, on Friday, April 12. Nearly 30 ASU students [...]

A culture of giving leads to a lifetime of impact. A strong culture of philanthropy stems from offering stakeholders ample opportunities to engage with the mission in firsthand and meaningful ways. Stakeholders can include donors, partners, volunteers and staff. And when an organization designs experiences with these stakeholders and the mission in mind, a culture [...]

First-Ever Study of Maryland Benefit Corps Released Looking forward to following this movement. Most of these laws are too young to predict their long-term impact. If successful though, many states may look to social enterprise to balance their budgets and simultaneously meet public need. The concept isn’t necessarily a bad idea. If political culture continues [...]

In “Measuring Shared Value,” Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter issues a warning to companies across the country: “if companies do not rigorously track the interdependency between social and business results, they miss important opportunities for growth, innovation and social impact at scale.” Porter proposes a solution—shared value strategies. The idea of shared value goes [...]

Over the past several weeks I have been contemplating the meaning of public service in America. It’s a hot topic to be sure. Prominent political and thought leaders from Hillary Clinton to Tom Brokaw have made passionate pleas for a renewed commitment to civilian service. Exactly what public service means though, depends on who are [...]

Last October I had the honor of speaking at Campus Compact’s 2012 Presidents’ Leadership Summit. The Summit is the second such event for Campus Compact – a national network of 1,200 college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. The Summit brought together leading presidents from all over [...]

It has been almost six months since my first day as an Innovation Fellow. To mark this, I thought this would be a good time to reflect back on my decision to come to ASU. No matter how much research you do, any new job or opportunity is ultimately a leap a faith. Thats exactly [...]

Recently, I was interviewed for an article at my undergraduate alma mater. During the interview I was asked: If I could pass on one piece of advice to current student what would it be? My response was, “don’t give up, but also don’t be afraid to pivot.” This philosophy is at the core of a [...]