Bill and Melinda Gates, Founders, Gates Foundation

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“Don’t just go for safe projects, take on the really tough problems.”

Vision: Be an optimist. Focus on a few big goals that can help every person have a healthy, productive life. Action: Some of the projects the foundation funds will fail. Bill and Melinda Gates not only accept that, they expect it—because they think their essential role is to make bets on promising solutions that governments and businesses can’t afford to make. They adjust strategies and share the results so everyone can benefit. www.GatesFoundation.org

Spencer West, Motivational speaker

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“Just because the world tells us something is impossible, it doesn’t mean we have to believe it.”

Vision: To show the impossible can be done. Action: Losing both legs at age five has not stopped West from reaching the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and inspiring millions of people to overcome their challenges. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Free The Children – creating clean water programs in Kenya. He is the author of Standing Tall: My Journey. www.MeToWe.com

John Mackey, Founder, Whole Foods

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“Great companies have great purposes.”

Vision: A more conscious way of doing business. Action: Mackey has devoted his career to helping shoppers satisfy their lifestyle needs with high- quality natural and organic foods. He cofounded the Conscious Capitalism Movement to challenge business leaders to rethink why their organizations exist, and to acknowledge their roles in the interdependent global marketplace. www.WholeFoodsMarket.com

Jennifer Garner, Actress

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“Seeing pictures of a sponsored child makes you realize they look just like your kids.”

Vision: Invest in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. Action: As a member of the board of Save The Children, Garner has deepened her commitment to issues affecting children, especially the fact that a child in poverty will be 18 months behind privileged kids by the age of four. It doesn’t take money to be a good mother, but is does take someone showing you what to do. www.SaveTheChildren.org

Christine Lagarde, M.D. International Monetary Fund

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 “The financial industry is a service industry. It should serve others before it serves itself.”

Vision: Foreseeing global opportunities and challenges in a globalized world. Action: Oversees global growth and economic stability at the world’s most powerful financing institution on behalf of 188 member countries. She works with developing nations to achieve stability and reduce poverty, and with developed nations to promote international trade. www.IMF.org

Scilla Elworthy, Founder, Oxford Research Group

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“If the mantra of last century was ‘what can I GET?’, the mantra of this century ( for those ahead of the curve) is ‘what can I GIVE?”

Vision: To enable leaders to make wiser decisions so that there is less suffering as a result of war. Action: Elworthy has brought nuclear weapons policy makers into dialogue with their counterparts and with their critics, in confidential under-the-radar meetings to discuss the terms of treaties. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. www.ScillaElworthy.com

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese opposition leader

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“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it.”

Vision: A democratic Burma. Action: Spending two decades in detainment can dampen your enthusiasm, but Suu Kyi has emerged as an icon for peaceful resistance in an effort to bring democracy to military-ruled Burma. She must get powerful military leaders on board to revisit the constitution to ensure a democratic future for her country. She is commited to non-violent means to achieve her goals. www.SuuFoundation.org

Emma Watson, Actress, gender activist

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“Gender equality is not only a woman’s issue, it’s a human rights issue.”

Vision: A world of gender equality. Action: Some campaigns portray the feminist cause as “man-hating.” By involving both genders in the #HeForShe campaign, Watson hopes to abolish the “us vs. them” mentality. She has launched a campaign that aims to galvanize one billion men and boys to end female inequality. As she’s said to men, “It’s your fight too.” www.HeForShe.org

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Founder, The 99

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 “Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win a war. Often the lines between battles and wars are blurred.”

Vision: A world where those who think outside the box don’t have their thoughts bullied back in to a box. Action: Created The 99 superhero comic series, based on the values that Islam shares with humanity. The idea was fought by zealots in both the East and West as it competes for mindshare. It became the first intellectual property from the Muslim world to go global. www.Al-Mutawa.com

Dick Simon, Changemaker

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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

Vision: A world in which there is no “them” – the most dangerous four- letter word in the English language. Action: Leads delegations to countries that are understood only as adversaries and that are traditionally difficult to access to hear local perspectives and gain understanding beyond the headlines. He uses photography to convey his message around the world. www.DickSimon.com

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