Theme: Social Entrepreneurs. Social Innovators.

“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry” -- Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka Foundation.

Social entrepreneurs address the world’s biggest problems as an opportunity through innovation. Much like ASB’s mission, they are driven to create change and enhance the lives of others. Social entrepreneurs measure success through their impact on the world. This event will focus on innovative social leaders who strive to transform lives; all they need is passion, teamwork, and the access to the right resources. Social innovators dream big, yet create realistic goals to achieve their vision of transformation; one that will benefit their communities and demonstrate the power of social change.

Bandra Kurla Complex, SF 2 G Block
Bandra East
Mumbai, 400098
India

Suzie Boss

Suzie Boss is a writer and educational consultant who focuses on the power of teaching and learning to improve lives and transform communities. She is the author of Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World and co-author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age. She is a regular contributor to Edutopia and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and a member of the Buck Institute for Education National Faculty. Inspired by educators who push the boundaries of the traditional classroom, she consults with teachers who are ready to shift their practice to project-based learning (PBL). A frequent conference presenter, she also has worked with educators online, facilitating webinars and extended professional development events such as a summer PBL Camp for the Edutopiaaudience. In 2011, she spent several weeks delivering workshops on project-based learning to teachers across India. Her professional expertise extends beyond the traditional school day. She has developed programs for nonprofit organizations that teach youth and adults how to improve their communities with innovative, sustainable solutions. A recent focus has been introducing project-based learning strategies to after-school providers to enrich the out-of-school-time experiences of at-risk youth. Her wide-ranging interests in education were shaped by several years as a writer, editor, and field researcher for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (now known as Education Northwest). Working at the lab, which focuses on applied research in a multi-state region, offered a useful complement to her previous experience as a journalism instructor at the community college level.

Eshaan Patheria

Eshaan Patheria is a senior at the American School of Bombay who has the belief that technology enriches an education; he has experienced it first-hand. In 2010, he founded Plugged In to teach digital literacy to Municipal School students, to fulfill an extended vision: that economic disparity should not limit who can be enriched and empowered by an education in an era of technology. His endeavor has met many challenges that emphasized the scale and depth of what it would mean to realize his vision. Plugged In is just a small start up in the context of fulfilling the goal of empowerment of all students. To be a student social entrepreneur means to target an element of a larger problem. Eshaan looks forward to seeing many more student social entrepreneurs lead society to embrace the challenges that are beyond the scope of Plugged In, to make digital literacy a fundamental right of every 21st century student.