Will Byrne
| Will Byrne | |
|---|---|
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| Occupation | Activist, entrepreneur, CEO |
| Organization | Groundswell |
| Website | |
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www | |
Will Byrne is an activist and entrepreneur. He is currently the CEO of Groundswell, which he co-founded in 2009. Will was named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30.[1] He has been a featured speaker at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy, Social Enterprise Bootcamp, and NYU Stern's Business School, and his writing has appeared in Forbes and Fast Company.[2][3]
Career
Early career
Prior to founding Groundswell, Will worked in journalism at Der Speigel as well as The American Academy in Berlin, Germany before joining Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign.[4]
Obama for America
During his work on President Obama’s 2008 Campaign, Will utilized online and offline community organizing tactics. While doing this work, Byrne and his co-founders saw the impact of community organizing in the political sphere.[5][6] Rather than joining the administration after Obama was elected, Will went on to develop these tactics as a social entrepreneur.[7]
Groundswell
In 2009, Will and a group of friends who had worked for President Obama’s campaign founded Groundswell. Groundswell is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that uses collective buying power to drive positive social change, especially in the clean energy sector.[8]
Honors and Awards
- Forbes 30 Under 30 Selection; Social Entrepreneurs, Forbes Magazine (December 2012) [9]
- Global Fellow, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, December 2011 [10]
- Global Shaper, World Economic Forum, 2011
- Champions of Change, White House Executive Office of the President, 2011 [11][12]
- Young Atlanticist Network, Atlantic Council, January 2014
- Cordes Social Entrepreneurship Fellow (Global), 2010
- Lisa B. Hall Fellow, Concord Academy, 2013 [13]
See also
References
- ↑ "Forbes 30 Under 30" Forbes, Retrieved on 17 December 2012
- ↑ "4 Innovators Using Civic Consumption to Change the World" Forbes, Retrieved on 23 December 2013
- ↑ "Purchasing Power is Social Impact Power" Fast Company, Retrieved on 22 June 2012
- ↑ “Champions of Change: William Byrne” Whitehouse.gov
- ↑ "Power in Numbers: Crowd Purchasing Brings Clean Energy Within Reach" Grist, Retrieved on 16 May 2012
- ↑ “The Evolution of a Green Organization” BlogTalkRadio, Retrieved on 21 March 2012
- ↑ “Who’s Next: Will Byrne” Washington Life, Retrieved on 19 May 2011
- ↑ “The Evolution of Cool in DC. Will Byrne: Socially Conscious CEO” Capitol File Magazine, Retrieved on 1 June 2014
- ↑ "Forbes 30 Under 30" Forbes, Retrieved on 17 December 2012
- ↑ “Will Byrne”
- ↑ “Champions of Change: William Byrne” Whitehouse.gov
- ↑ “Champions of Change: Harnessing the Power of Community and Clean Energy” White House Blog, Retrieved 13 April 2011
- ↑ “Hall Fellowship”