Henry R. Kravis '67, founding partner and director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Peter Thum '90, founder of Ethos Water and Giving Water, are among the speakers scheduled for the 19th Annual Kravis-de Roulet Leadership Conference on Friday, Feb. 27 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, hosted by the Kravis Leadership Institute at CMC. A registration check-in will take place at 8:30 a.m., followed by conference events from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Adhering to this year's theme, Leading Social Change: Entrepreneurial Solutions, Cross-Sector Collaborations, the conference will highlight the efforts of social entrepreneurs as they strive to "change the world" through innovative solutions to global social problems. The conference will focus on how social entrepreneurs engage various collaborators, bringing together the necessary puzzle pieces to construct solutions for complex local and global societal problems.
"The conference is designed to appeal to a broad range of people," says Sarah Smith Orr, interim executive director of the Kravis Leadership Institute. "Those attending are likely to be business, government, and nonprofit or social sector leaders as well as many students from The Claremont Colleges.
"More and more young people are seeking a balance between making a living and supporting social change," Orr adds. "They see global problems as the kind of problems they want to help solve. There are countless projects developed through student initiatives that are addressing global societal challenges. Some of those students will be at the conference."
Orr says participating speakers have served as role models and as experts in their respective fields. "They are individuals who have tackled problems with a clear mission fueled by inspiration, courage, and fortitude," she says. "They are leaders able to utilize a broad range of leadership skills and styles as they acquire the resources necessary to achieve their mission leaders who are relentless in their quest to improve the lives of others.
"Their dedicated work is not for the sake of money although money is critical to fund entrepreneurial projects and enterprises," Orr says. "Their mission is to remake the world for the better."
A complete list of speakers and moderators can be found online: http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/kli/conference/
A sampling of other presenters on Friday includes:
Pamela Hartigan, director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University's Sa?d School of Business
Paul Rice, president & CEO, TransFair USA
Roy Prosterman, founder and chairman emeritus, Rural Development Institute (and recipient of the 2006 inaugural Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership)
Christiana Thorpe, founding chair/former CEO, FAWE Sierra Leone
Joel Fleishman, professor of law and public policy and faculty chair, Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society, Duke University
Faye Washington, CEO, YWCA Greater Los Angeles
On Thursday, February 26, the day before the conference, conference speakers Pamela Hartigan, David Green and Scott Sherman will be on campus from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Pickford Auditorium to participate in an afternoon panel on How to Change the World: Visionaries and Social Entrepreneurs Solving Global Problems through Compassionate Capitalism.
Registration for the Kravis-DeRoulet Conference is $295 for the general public and $95 for alumni. Admittance is free for Claremont College students, faculty, and staff. However, seats must be reserved with a credit card. A fee of $145 per person will be charged for social sector/nonprofit organizations attendees.
For more information, contact Sarah Smith Orr, 909-621-8743, or sarah.smithorr@cmc.edu.