ARLINGTON, VA. - December 3, 2008 – Twenty-one leading social entrepreneurs from across the country have been elected Ashoka Fellows, surpassing the milestone of 100 U.S.-based Fellows for the first time. Recognized for their system-changing solutions to the world's most urgent social problems, these new Fellows will be inducted by Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, along with newly-elected Fellows from Mexico and Central America, at a ceremony on December 9 in Los Angeles. They will join the ranks of some 2,200 Fellows in over 60 countries around the world who are working for social change to improve society. Globally, Ashoka has been electing Fellows for almost 30 years, but the Ashoka-U.S. program is in its eighth year.

"At a time when the whole world is excited about change, it's wonderful to honor these new Fellows as they join Ashoka and continue their work to strengthen the 'citizen sector' here and around the world," said Barbara Kazdan, Ashoka-US director. "These social entrepreneurs represent the best of America, with innovative and creative ideas to address pressing social problems such as improving education, increasing access to affordable housing and health care, mobilizing consumers and voters, enabling the marginalized to enter the mainstream, and addressing global warming."

The new U.S. Ashoka Fellows are:

• David Anderson, Safe Families for Children, Chicago, Illinois – Creating a network of surrogate families to care for children when parents need help
• Rick Aubry (Senior Fellow), Rubicon Programs, Richmond, California – Giving new hope to the disadvantaged through employment in socially sustainable businesses
• Molly Barker, Girls on the Run, Charlotte, North Carolina – Freeing girls to run toward their own light
• Edgar Cahn (Senior Fellow), CareBanks, Washington, DC – Creating a reliable "cash and caring" community service exchange
• Timothy Carpenter, EngAGE: The Art of Active Aging, Burbank, California – Using the luxury of time to discover the art of living
• Sandy Close (Senior Fellow), New American Media, San Francisco, California – Giving voice to ethnic diversity in the media
• Adele Douglass, Humane Farm Animal Care, Herndon, Virginia – Harnessing market forces for the welfare of farm animals, farmers and families
• Brenda Eheart, Generations of Hope, Champaign, Illinois – Developing neighborhoods where children find homes, elders find purpose, and everyone matters
• Fabrice Florin, NewsTrust, Mill Valley, California – Providing reader-reviewed news on which citizens can rely
• Mark Hanis,
• Genocide Information Network, Washington, DC – Equipping citizens to stop genocide before it starts
• Wendy Kopp (Member), Teach for America, New York, New York – Steering passionate college grads into teaching at the poorest schools in the country
• Andy Lipkis,
• reePeople and Functioning Community Forests, Los Angeles, California – Preparing communities to heal and sustain urban ecosystems
• John Marks (Senior Fellow), Search for Common Ground, Washington, DC – Harnessing the media and popular culture as tools for peace building and tolerance
• Robert Moses (Member), The Algebra Project, Cambridge, Massachusetts – Adding up the value of minority students through math literacy programs
• Rebecca Onie, Project HEALTH, Boston, Massachusetts – Helping pediatric clinics go beyond the symptoms of poverty to make children well
• Earl Phalen (Senior Fellow), BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), Boston, Massachusetts – Redefining out-of-school time to help students catch up and take off
• Terrie Rose, Baby's Space: A Place to Grow, Minneapolis, Minnesota – Flipping the system so the most vulnerable babies get the best quality child care
• Eric Rosenthal (Senior Fellow), Mental Disability Rights International, Washington, DC – Protecting the rights of the most vulnerable citizens throughout the world
• Elisabeth Stock, Computers for Youth, New York, New York – Tapping home learning opportunities to close the achievement gap in school
• Dorothy Stoneman (Senior Fellow), YouthBuild, Somerville, Massachusetts – Offering transformative service opportunities to at-risk youth
• Jimmy Wales (Member), Wikipedia, San Francisco, California – Revolutionizing the exchange and availability of facts to empower every citizen with unlimited information

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a global community of social entrepreneurs who deliver innovative solutions to social problems. To build this citizen sector community, Ashoka identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs, creates opportunities for collaboration, and builds systems and institutions that facilitate high impact social solutions. Over the past 27 years since Bill Drayton founded Ashoka, the organization has invested in over 2,200 Ashoka Fellows in more than 60 countries.

www.ashoka.org www.usa.ashoka.org www.changemakers.net
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