Acumen Fellows 2011: Current Book Discussion

TBD once we get settled in and have time to read!

Preliminarily, I read the intro to Acts of Faith before handing it off to Brenda this weekend to read before she gets her Kindle set up.

ACTS OF FAITH BY EBOO PATEL

(Wendy) I'll post one favorite quote and one reflection just from the intro, itself. I can't wait to read the rest of the book! If you guys have read it already, chime in.

"Someone who doesn't make flowers makes thorns. If you're not building
rooms where wisdom can be openly spoken, you're building a prison."
Shams of Tabriz

Reflection: What are we nurturing?
"Eric Rudolph the religios terrorist was not inevitable, just as the
teenage bridge builders of Whitwell were not. They were each carefully
and intentionally nurtured." Eboo Patel in "Acts of Faith"

Eric Rudolph is the man responsible for the bombings in both the
Alabama health clinic and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The bridge
builders in Whitwell are middle school students responsible for
building a Holocaust memorial to encourage people to "pause and
reflect on the evil of intolerance and hatred."

What kind of actions are we nurturing and encouraging in our
communities and specifically in young people? Why is it more accepted
to love the Jews that were massacred in the Holocaust than to love the
Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian next door, across town, or
across continents? Can we learn to love while we are both alive to
receive the love?

Acumen Fellows 2011

Pages

Current Book Discussion

S.E. Blogs

2012 Acumen Fellows

2011 Acumen Fellows

Book List

Friends' Blogs

	Bryan Farris Bryan Farris will work in Lahore, Pakistan with Ansaar Management Company, which is a housing development and management company that provides an integrated approach to affordable, quality housing. Bryan is from the United States and is a management consultant for Bain & Company. He received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley.
	Mario Ferro Mario Ferro will work in Bihar, India with Husk Power Systems, which uses innovative biomass technology to convert abundant rice husks into energy that provides power to Indian villages. Mario is from Italy and works with NGOs in the post-earthquake relief effort in Haiti. He is a former management consultant with experience in the internationalization of Italian SMEs in China and received an M.S. in Development Management from the London School of Economics.
	Chikako Fujita Chikako Fujita will work in Mumbai, India with 1298 Ambulances, which focuses on providing affordable emergency medical response services. Chikako is from Japan and worked for SANYO on the company’s environmental initiatives. She also started an NGO’s rural electrification and development initiative in India. She earned an MEM from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
	Shane Heywood Shane Heywood will work in Kitale, Kenya with Western Seed, which develops and distributes high-quality hybrid seeds in East Africa. Shane is from Jamaica, and he has a background in the consumer goods industry as well as microfinance experience in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Shane received a joint degree in Business Administration and International Relations from the University of Western Ontario and an M.A. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
	Khuram Hussain Khuram Hussain will work in Nairobi, Kenya with Ecotact, which improves the urban landscape for low-income communities through environmentally responsible sanitation and housing. Khuram is from Pakistan, is a consultant at TechnoServe, and formerly worked for Endeavor and JP Morgan. He earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at University of California at Berkeley.
	Elizabeth Maina Elizabeth Maina will work in Nairobi, Kenya, with Global Easy Water Products, which provides affordable drip irrigation for small-scale farmers. Elizabeth is from Kenya and is a consultant for different companies in systems and process improvement. She has a BSc. in Information Systems and Technology from the United States International University in Kenya.
	Bavidra Mohan Bavidra Mohan will work in Shenzhen, China with D.Light Design, a company that makes low-cost solar lights that provide cleaner, safer, and cheaper lighting to families living at the bottom of the pyramid. Bavidra is from Sri Lanka/Canada and works as a corporate social responsibility consultant at Ethos JWT. Bavidra received an Honours Degree in Sociology from Queen's University, and an MA in Marketing from Kingston University.
	Wendy Wallace Wendy Wallace will work in Hyderabad, India with LifeSpring, which is a network of Maternity and Child Healthcare hospitals that provide vital reproductive and pediatric healthcare. Wendy is from the United States, currently works in consulting, and previously served as a field agent in Nairobi, Kenya with Renew Strategies. She has an MPP from Harvard University and a B.S. in Engineering Sciences and Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
	Benje Williams Benje Williams will work in Lahore, Pakistan with a company that provides access to drinking water for low-income, urban customers, and produces bottled water for middle-income customers. Benje is from the United States, is a management consultant for social enterprises and Fortune 500 corporations, and supported start-up SMEs in Nairobi. Benje holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley.
	Brenda Williams Brenda Williams will work in Andhra Pradesh, India with WaterHealth International, which incorporates technology and social marketing to increase access to safe, affordable water. Brenda is from the United States, is the president and CEO of GlobaLink Consulting, Inc., a private consulting company specializing in business development, microfinance and organizational management services. She earned an M.S. in Organizational Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT.