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In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama called for a focus on jobs, American innovation, and education. Well Mr. President, we've done some research and found nine innovative individuals and organizations already leading the charge, and they're just the tip of the spear.
photo (cc) by Flickr user yousayyeah
JOBS: Kickstarter
Perry Chen, of Kickstarter. Kickstarter is the "largest funding platform for creative projects in the world." The website offers the opportunity for entrepreneurs to crowdsource funding by a given deadline. Funding is "all or nothing," offering artists and entrepreneurs a consequence-free chance to test out their newest music, film, technology, or publishing ideas on a global audience.
photo (cc) by Flickr user salty_soul
JOBS: ProFounder
Jessica Jackley, CEO and Founder of ProFounder. Profounder facilitates community financial support of socially conscious entrepreneurs by providing an online platform for public and private fundraising and assisting with the paper and legal legwork. ProFounder has supported numerous "raises," including a candlemaking venture for women in developing countries and a sustainable, community-centric Hawaiian snack shop.
photo by Ed Schipul
JOBS: LIFT
LIFT CEO and Co-Founder Kirsten Lodal. Started in 1998 when Lodal was a sophomore at Yale University, LIFT approaches employment as one of five essential aspects of economic security. LIFT volunteers and clients work one-on-one finding stable jobs, education and training, safe housing, health care, and basic necessities like food, transportation, and clothing.
photo from liftcommunities.com
INNOVATION: Behance
Scott Belsky, Founder and CEO of Behance. Behance is an online, collaborative platform designed to allow creative professionals to showcase their work in multimedia portfolios. By putting the "power in the hands of creative professionals," Behance has developed a network of dynamic creatives and is a leading source for the most innovative creative work.
photo (cc) by Flickr user magerleagues
INNOVATION: XPrize
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of The XPrize Foundation. Leveraging "public interest, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary innovation" XPrize tries to foster "revolution through competition." The program's multi-million dollar XPrizes incentivize innovation in the realms of energy and environment, exploration, education, global development, and life science.
photo (cc) by Flickr user Sebastiaan ter Burg
INNOVATION: CCSER at The Resnick Institute
The Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research at The Resnick Institute is committed to research in the hopes of replacing global dependence on fossil fuels with solar energy. The center is focusing its initial work on the development of solar electrical generation, solar-driven fuel synthesis, and fuel cells.
photo (cc) by Flickr user Mountain/\Ash
EDUCATION: 826 National
Ninive Calegari, Co-Founder of 826 National, a national nonprofit organization aimed at improving expository and creative writing among America's kids. Focusing on one-on-one attention, 826 National provides free after-school tutoring, student publishing, field trips, in-school help, and workshops to kids aged 6 to 18 in eight different cities.
photo (cc) by Flickr user EnergeticNYC
EDUCATION: Khan Academy
With "37,141,908 lessons delivered" as of today, the Khan Academy is changing the face of academic resources. The open source project website now supports more than 1,800 academic tutorial videos and plenty of educational exercises in various subjects, making it an ever-changing and growing resource of educators and students alike.
photo (cc) by Flickr user eleanor ryan
EDUCATION: Peer Health Exchange
Peer Health Exchange is redefining the nature of sexual education by taking it out of the hands of educators and placing it in the hands of students' peers. By selectively recruiting and training volunteers from 22 colleges, PHE has, in its seven years, changed sexual education in the five major city sites in which it operates.
photo (cc) by Flickr user romana klee
President Obama called for renewed hustle in the areas of job creation, innovation, and education. We found nine organizations that are already hard at work.
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| Nine Organizations Already Working to Win the Future by Sara Fletcher |
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama called for a focus on jobs, American innovation, and education. Well Mr. President, we've done some research and found nine innovative individuals and organizations already leading the charge, and they're just the tip of the spear.
photo (cc) by Flickr user yousayyeah
JOBS: Kickstarter
Perry Chen, of Kickstarter. Kickstarter is the "largest funding platform for creative projects in the world." The website offers the opportunity for entrepreneurs to crowdsource funding by a given deadline. Funding is "all or nothing," offering artists and entrepreneurs a consequence-free chance to test out their newest music, film, technology, or publishing ideas on a global audience.
photo (cc) by Flickr user salty_soul
JOBS: ProFounder
Jessica Jackley, CEO and Founder of ProFounder. Profounder facilitates community financial support of socially conscious entrepreneurs by providing an online platform for public and private fundraising and assisting with the paper and legal legwork. ProFounder has supported numerous "raises," including a candlemaking venture for women in developing countries and a sustainable, community-centric Hawaiian snack shop.
photo by Ed Schipul
JOBS: LIFT
LIFT CEO and Co-Founder Kirsten Lodal. Started in 1998 when Lodal was a sophomore at Yale University, LIFT approaches employment as one of five essential aspects of economic security. LIFT volunteers and clients work one-on-one finding stable jobs, education and training, safe housing, health care, and basic necessities like food, transportation, and clothing.
photo from liftcommunities.com
INNOVATION: Behance
Scott Belsky, Founder and CEO of Behance. Behance is an online, collaborative platform designed to allow creative professionals to showcase their work in multimedia portfolios. By putting the "power in the hands of creative professionals," Behance has developed a network of dynamic creatives and is a leading source for the most innovative creative work.
photo (cc) by Flickr user magerleagues
INNOVATION: XPrize
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of The XPrize Foundation. Leveraging "public interest, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary innovation" XPrize tries to foster "revolution through competition." The program's multi-million dollar XPrizes incentivize innovation in the realms of energy and environment, exploration, education, global development, and life science.
photo (cc) by Flickr user Sebastiaan ter Burg
INNOVATION: CCSER at The Resnick Institute
The Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research at The Resnick Institute is committed to research in the hopes of replacing global dependence on fossil fuels with solar energy. The center is focusing its initial work on the development of solar electrical generation, solar-driven fuel synthesis, and fuel cells.
photo (cc) by Flickr user Mountain/\Ash
EDUCATION: 826 National
Ninive Calegari, Co-Founder of 826 National, a national nonprofit organization aimed at improving expository and creative writing among America's kids. Focusing on one-on-one attention, 826 National provides free after-school tutoring, student publishing, field trips, in-school help, and workshops to kids aged 6 to 18 in eight different cities.
photo (cc) by Flickr user EnergeticNYC
EDUCATION: Khan Academy
With "37,141,908 lessons delivered" as of today, the Khan Academy is changing the face of academic resources. The open source project website now supports more than 1,800 academic tutorial videos and plenty of educational exercises in various subjects, making it an ever-changing and growing resource of educators and students alike.
photo (cc) by Flickr user eleanor ryan
EDUCATION: Peer Health Exchange
Peer Health Exchange is redefining the nature of sexual education by taking it out of the hands of educators and placing it in the hands of students' peers. By selectively recruiting and training volunteers from 22 colleges, PHE has, in its seven years, changed sexual education in the five major city sites in which it operates.
photo (cc) by Flickr user romana klee
