FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ashoka Announces Four New Fellows in the United States

WASHINGTON, DC JUNE 16, 2014 - Ashoka US is pleased to announce its four newest Fellows, joining a
network of over 3,000 of the worlds leading social entrepreneurs. These innovators are reimagining the way
the world works from the way we learn to the way we do business; from finding great schools to unleashing
the power of story in changemaking.
Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with Fellows in 70 countries putting their
system-changing ideas into practice on a global scale. We're thrilled to welcome these extraordinary social
innovators into our fellowship, says Michael Zakaras, who directs the Fellow selection process in the United
States. Like all Ashoka Fellows, they bring a creative energy and bold vision which manifests itself in
transformative solutions for pressing societal problems.
Ashoka extends an enthusiastic welcome to these social entrepreneurs, with great eagerness to witness their
future achievements:
David Flink, CEO and Co-Founder of Eye to Eye.
David has drawn off his personal experiences to create a mentoring and advocacy organization to connect
students with learning disabilities to others like themselves and to change how schools teach students who
learn differently. In a country where 20 percent of students have some sort of learning disability, David helping
to redesign the American classroom to accommodate more than just one type of learner.
Andrew Slack, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Harry Potter Alliance
Andrew is channeling the power of popular culture to create a new network for activism. Through its platform
that connects todays vast online fan communities to social change, the Harry Potter Alliance helps young
people who already identify with pop culture heroes to become a force for good in their own communities. The
Harry Potter Alliance now boasts over 200 chapters on 5 continents. Moving beyond just fans, the HPAs
Imagine Better Network will also help other cause-based organizations to use similar methodology,
strengthening educators and non-profits best practices in engaging younger audiences.
Janelle Orsi, Executive Director of the Sustainable Economies Law Center
Over the last decade, experimentation with new and more democratic economic models has accelerated in the
US and around the world. Yet the variety of successful worker cooperatives and community-owned
enterprises that now exist are at odds with the current legal system. Janelle founded the Sustainable
Economies Law Center to develop a new legal infrastructure to help this new sharing economy grow, pursing
a more democratic future where local economies can thrive.
Bill Jackson, CEO and Founder of GreatSchools
Children spend about 1,000 hours a year in school, yet parents know relatively little about what goes on behind
closed classroom doors. A teacher turned tech entrepreneur, Bill recognized that parents have a right to
understand the teaching methods and results of their childs school, students have a right to speak up about
what works for them, and that this feedback is useful for schools. The result was GreatSchools, a platform that
combines a schools testing data with parent, student and teacher reviews to provide a look inside over
200,000 schools that is used yearly by half of all parent households in the US.

ABOUT ASHOKA
Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70
countries putting their system changing ideas into practice on a global scale. Founded by Bill Drayton in 1980,
Ashoka has provided start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network
across the business and social sectors, and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world. Ashoka
launched the field of social entrepreneurship and has activated multi-sector partners across the world who
increasingly look to entrepreneurial talent and new ideas to solve social problems.

CONTACT

Brittany Koteles
Ashoka USA
bkoteles@ashoka.org
1700 N. Moore St.
Suite #2000
Arlington, VA
Ph. (703) 527-8300 Ext. 504


###