The founder of Chicago-based Open Books has built a high-impact literacy nonprofit by applying everything she learned as a serial tech entrepreneur.
1000 Social Enterprise
This Woman Created the Uber of Legal Aid
Donna Peel founded the nonprofit Pro Bono Network to make volunteering easy for stay-at-home moms on hiatus from legal careers.
Laurin Hodge: Helping the Formerly Incarcerated Re-Enter the Workforce
“Often social enterprise feels like a trade off — do the most good or make the most money. When getting a business off the ground, I have found it hard to balance the two, which has increased my admiration for women who seemingly get it right.”
Danielle Wilson Naqvi: Bringing Newborn Screening to Pakistan
“The ZB Foundation was born and we are now the pioneers for new born screening in Pakistan.”
CJ Scarlet: A Device and Mission to Stop Violence Before It Starts
“Our aim is to prevent sexual assaults and other violence and I won’t rest until our product is in the market and doing its job.”
Rania Habiby Anderson of The Way Women Work: Helping Women in Emerging Economies Achieve Career Success
“My first goal for myself and The Way Women Work is to accelerate the careers and businesses of 100,000 women in emerging economies.”
Lillian Gregory of The Institute for Human and Leadership Excellence: Inspiration Motivates an Entrepreneur to Help Others Achieve Excellence
“In order to feel and be successful, I challenge myself daily to explore new ideas and new ways of growing and doing business.”
Dr. Leslie Grace of Elements of Community Inc.: Inspiring, Empowering, and Enlightening Opportunities for Inner City Youth
“Success is learning how to make sure that human capitol + social capitol = financial wealth.”
Suzette Dumfries of JP Dumfries Corporation: A For Profit Economic Development Corporation Seeking to Make Change in the Lives of Women
“The future can be better than the present, and you have the power to actualize that.”
Susan Rocco of Women to Watch ™: An Online Talk Show Encourages Female Entrepreneurship
“My mission is to inspire and encourage more women to pursue leadership roles worldwide.”
Jillian Ryan of Mariemae: Utilizing E-Commerce to Support Business Training for Women in Developing Markets
“Mariemae was founded on the belief that the key to alleviating poverty in developing markets is in fostering the private sector.”
Linda Singh of Sitara Collections: Empowering Indian Artisans with Fair Trade Wages for Their Handmade Jewelry
“We have loyal customers who love sifting through the site looking for new gemstone jewelry or home accents, but the fair-trade mission behind the company is too important to allow Sitara to remain only semi-successful.”
Shenoba Kinsey of Fuzionz Magazine: A Youth Outreach Magazine
“I wanted the community’s story to be heard.”
Komal Agarwal of GRASSroot Solutions: Fostering Financial Literacy in India
“GRASSroot Solutions is a humble attempt on my part to promote financial inclusion through provision of two essentials: literacy and access.”
Elisa Miller-Out of Singlebrook Technologies: Web Programmers and Designers Making a Difference
“I wanted to use technology to empower other entrepreneurs and business leaders to live their mission and follow their passions.”