Nick O’Donohoe, CEO, Big Society Capital

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“If we achieve our goal, in the future the invisible heart of markets will guide the invisible hand to improve the lives of those who would otherwise be left behind.” – Sir Ronald Cohen

Vision: A world where investors ask themselves a different question: not “What is the risk and return?”, but “What is the risk, return and impact?” Action: Created the world’s first social investment financial institution. They established a unique organization with a new way of investing – seeking both a social impact and financial return. www.BigSocietyCapital.com

Matt Patsky, CEO, Trillium Asset Management

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“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Archbisop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

Vision: A world where the capital markets can be used for financial gain while promoting social equity and environmental sustainability. Action: Provides products and services that fulfill the financial, social and sustainability goals of investors. He has purposely surrounded himself with committed people who work to move corporations toward sustainability. www.TrilliumInvest.com

Derek Handley, Serial entrepreneur

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“It’s less about planetary issues and more about the human issues that cause it.”

Vision: A world where profit is put alongside people and planet. Action: Helped establish the B Team, a global group of leaders chosen for the work they’re doing to advance the cause of better business. Seeing the bigger picture of business and its effects on the world is crucial for survival and success. Author of Heart to Start – how business is about more than just profit. www.DerekHandley.org

Wendy Kopp, CEO, Teach For All

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“Invest in educational development as a long-term force for change.”

Vision: To channel the energy of her generation for educational equality. Action: Recruited 11,000 Teach For America corps members—all outstanding college graduates and professionals of all academic disciplines— for a two-year teaching commitment in the nation’s highest- need urban and rural regions www.TeachForAll.org

 

Brenden Millstein, CEO, Carbon Lighthouse

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“If people aren’t inspired to help you, you aren’t asking for enough.”

Vision: To stop climate change by making it easy and profitable for people and organizations to eliminate their carbon footprint. Action: Showing organizations that carbon neutral can be profitable. Since inception, they’ve converted 360 facilities in three countries. They’ve been profitable every year and have eliminated the equivalent emissions of two power plants. Two down, 50,000 to go. www.CarbonLighthouse.com

Stedman Graham, CEO, S. Graham & Associates

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“You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities.”

Vision: To help people understand their potential, develop an identity, and recognize the value of knowledge and how it applies to their lives each day. Action: Graham teaches identity development and leadership to people all over the world – from youth to executives. He has written 11 books to share these messages. Graham wants to transform people from followers to leaders. www.StedmanGraham.com

Tyra Banks, Founder, Tyra Banks Company

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 “Stop saying these negative things about yourself. Look in the mirror and find something about yourself that’s positive and celebrate that!”

Vision: Invest in girls and young women to help them realize their ambitions and discover new possibilities. Action: Established Fierce Capital, which develops and invests in early- stage start-up companies, including firms that are female-led or female- focused. www.TZoneFoundation.org

Jane Elliot, Schoolteacher

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“Keep me from ever judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.”

Vision: Eliminating racial discrimination by showing similarities rather than differences. Action: In 1968, Elliot needed to explain Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination to her class. Her innovative approach to highlight different racial perspectives made her pupils feel what it was like to belong to another race. It’s still used to foster greater empathy today. www.JaneElliot.com

Dennis Overton, CEO, Aquascot

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“I’m better at what I do in Scotland because of my work in Africa.”

Vision: Long-term business sustainability and a deeper understanding of true profits are key. Action: Realizing that farming practices around the world basically require the same skills, regardless of the produce, Overton combined salmon farming practice in Scotland with plant oil farming in Rwanda to help rural African farmers become self-sufficient and earn more than the national average income. www.Aquascot.com

Daryl Hannah, Actress, activist

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“We’re a consumer nation and you have the power to influence big corporations through what you choose to, or not to, purchase.”

Vision: To raise awareness around the environment and sexual slavery. Action: An active member of the World Future Council, Hannah speaks on policy solutions that serve the interests of future generations. This includes awareness around climate change, renewable energy and nuclear abolition. She’s been arrested numerous times for protesting. www.dhlovelife.com