The challenges America faces today are unprecedented, and government can’t do it alone. The Obama administration’s creation of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation serves as one signal heralding an entire new era in business as usual at the federal level. In this panel discussion hosted by Full Circle Fund, a Bay Area philanthropy organization, key White House staff talk about how government policy is now being made, how good ideas are surfacing in Washington, and how new partners are being invited to the table. They also look at how the government is promoting efforts to help innovative nonprofit groups and social entrepreneurs expand successful approaches to address pressing social problems.
Sonal Shah is the White House director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Shah was formerly the head of Global Development Initiatives for Google.org. There, she developed a number of successful programs and coordinated partnerships with leading non-governmental organizations and businesses, such as the Omidyar Network and the Soros Foundation. Before that, she served as a vice president at Goldman Sachs, where she led the development of the company's environmental policy. Shah also worked extensively in Washington, D.C., where she developed intelligent policy initiatives on trade, global development, and reform. From 1995-2002, she worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Shah has received numerous awards for her work, and has earned a stellar reputation for her innovative and intelligent solutions to global development issues.
Greg Nelson is the associate director for energy, environment, and technology at the Office of Public Engagement at the White House. Before joining the Obama-Biden Administration, he was the CEO and cofounder of Green Harvest Technologies (GHT), an applications and marketing company that developed a line of "clean and green" consumer products using bio-based plastics and fibers. Prior to GHT, Nelson was the general manager of the Politics and Public Policy division for a nonprofit software and strategy provider, and a partner and managing director of CTSG, a 75-person technology and consulting firm. Nelson also has been a speech writer, worked at the U.S. Peace Corps, and has been a speaker on technology, business, and sustainability at national conferences and retreats. Nelson received his BA in political science and history from Yale University.
Michele Jolin is currently a senior advisor for social innovation for the Domestic Policy Council at the White House. In this capacity, she is developing policy tools to support and catalyze greater innovation directed at solving our most serious social problems, especially in the areas of education, economic mobility, energy conservation, and health care. Prior to joining the White House, Jolin was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where she co-edited the Center's presidential transition document titled Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President. Prior to that, Jolin was a senior vice president at Ashoka, a global foundation that invests in leading social entrepreneurs in 45 countries around the world. During President Clinton's administration, Jolin served as the chief of staff at the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Jolin also worked for Senator Boxer on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and as an associate at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Patton Boggs & Blow.
This free podcast is from our Stanford Discussions series.
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