He co-founded the Sunflower County Freedom Project in 1998 and received an Echoing Green fellowship in 2007 to launch the US Public Service Academy.

The Academy doesn't exist yet - Chris is currently petitioning the US Congress to fund the launch of the Academy so it can matriculate its first class in 2011.

The Academy will be a civilian counterpart to WestPoint and the US military academies -- a four-year college that provides a free education in return for students’ commitment to serve in the public sector for five years after graduation. Chris sees a need for the US to reinvest in civilian leadership. Shortages are developing in the public sector from the local to Federal levels as the current generation of leaders retires. And there is a huge desire on the part of the post 9/11 generation to serve their country but needs choices beyond the military.

The US Public service Academy will be different from other leadership programs in that the entire college will be focused on public service leadership. Its graduates will help change the image of America in the world and will send a message to young people that civilian public service is noble and honorable.

Chris Asch's advice to other social entrepreneurs: “Have adaptive persistence – adapt as necessary to conditions, but stay determined and move ahead.”

He feels that the only way American communities of color will become self-determining and involved in the global economy is by exposing their best to the world, who in return will put their new knowledge to work at home. The program lasts 18 months, with 5 months of preparation, 5 - 8 weeks abroad and a Global Leadership Academy and internships.

Although Anthony grew up in a low income family, he traveled abroad six times before graduating from college and learned the value of seeing the world. He wants to show others what he learned, including how international travel can help a person's career. The program is also good for America –when the U.S. negotiates abroad, its diversity can be a strength. The fact that the U.S. has had two African-American Secretaries of State has demonstrated that his program can be successful and minorities can contribute to America's global role.

He says that his decision to become a social entrepreneur began with Teach for America, which inspired him to become a social entrepreneur. He learned vital skills, including teaching as leadership – the paradigm of any great leader.

His advice to fellow social entrepreneurs: “Dream big, think about system changing endeavors, and take a market approach.”

She realized that she could make more of a contribution as a social change agent rather than as a clinician, and she began volunteering at juvenile hall, counseling young people in jail. She and two friends had regular dialogues with youth, using non-traditional means to reach them.

Currently the CEO of Interage Research, Bobinet is trying to create a for–profit model that can bring social change through workspace wellness and mind-body training. She is now finishing a master's degree in healthcare management and innovation, studying business, health and education models at Harvard University. She plans to apply them in her products and services that promote human development and social change.

As a person who has run for-profit and non-profit organizations, Bobinet understands that the business takes on the qualities of the entrepreneur, both strengths and weaknesses. Very few entrepreneurs go on to become the managerial types needed as the business matures, and she believes that it is imperative for entrepreneurs to “have exquisite self-awareness and reflection on their impact as they build their organization.”

He has built it into a powerful voice for the young people of Baltimore. He saw that many social institutions had "dumbed down” the perception of young people and he started the Coalition to turn that around by training young leaders. He started with a national youth conference, which he still produced, and then moved into leadership development programs to get young people ready to become leaders as adults.

His goal is to create a national movement – the youth empowerment movement – engaging young people in their communities. His secret is that he is a great communicator who can share a vision with a radio program that reaches thousands of youth in Baltimore.

His advice to young people: “Change the way you see yourself – see yourself as a leader.”

Dan Ravicher thinks that the system is skewed toward special interests that use patents to deny the public and entrepreneurs the benefits of creativity. The Patent Office often mistakenly grants many of these patents. Dan and PubPat's lawyers negotiate or even litigate to block undeserved patents or stop their holders from using them to interfere with social entrepreneurs. The Echoing Green Fellowship not only gave Dan the financial support to start PubPat, but also the emotional community support he needed.

His advice to fellow social entrepreneurs: “Give yourself a break. Don't be hard on yourself when you can't achieve your goals as quickly as you want. Work hard, do your best and stay with it.”

Fred is very passionate about Africa and wants to play an important role in its future. He thinks that Africa needs more ethical and competent leaders. That is what inspired him to start a leadership academy in Africa – that and the family tradition. He started the African Leadership Academy, a world-class boarding school on the outskirts of Johannesburg, to identify young, talented people from all over Africa. He brings them together for three years to train them in leadership skills and Pan Africanism.

His success metrics? He wants to train 6,000 leaders in 50 years in all segments of society to bring about change on the African continent. He knows that leaders don't develop overnight and that the Academy will stay with them during their life so that they are part of a network of leaders throughout the continent.

The Academy gives them a world-class academic education, training in entrepreneurship, exposure to mentors and role models, and it provides a framework that will enable them to work in an ethical environment.

Fred also established the Global Leadership Adventures for high school students from all over the world, a three-week experience to develop global awareness. Students come from about 200 schools in 35 countries (70% from the US) to attend seminars on leadership in Ghana, Costa Rica, South Africa, India or Brazil. They meet local leaders and do community service –altogether a very impactful experience that opens their eyes to the role they can play in the world.

His advice to social entrepreneurs: “Don't wait too long – do it now before you lose your energy and passion. Do it while you have the passion!”

Echoing Green was very important to CV Madhukar as he prepared to return to India from the US. The primary funding for PRS came from the Ford Foundation, but it was the Echoing Green Fellowship that allowed him to live while he started the service. Ford is still supporting PRS and he anticipates grants from other US and Indian sources to keep it in operation. He also expects to receive donations from Indians living abroad who use PRS to keep up on India's legislation. He has also been producing information packages for corporations and institutions for a fee, earning some extra income to supplement their grant. But the service remains free for members.

CV Madhukar holds a Master in Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He also has an MBA (Finance) from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree from Bangalore University. In recognition of his innovative leadership, Madhukar has been awarded the Echoing Green Fellowship and Ashoka Fellowship. He has recently been selected as the Eisenhower Fellow from India for 2008.

His next social enterprise is to develop a way to use information to change the nature of electoral debates in state elections, which are currently personality-driven, rather than information and issue driven.

One of his failures has been his inability to engage with the civil society and NGOs of India. He is working on that.

His advice to entrepreneurs: “Take advice, trust your instincts, and go for it!”

This is how it started: In 1998 she was running a support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students who had been harassed or discriminated against when she discovered the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in high schools. She thought it was a powerful concept that could solve the problem of LGBT violence and harassment at the root cause, through education rather than counseling kids who had been victimized.

She created an organization that would propel forward the creation and success of the GSA Clubs. Today the GSA Network is in over 650 schools in California.

Her secret? The GSA Network is actually youth driven! Decisions are made by the Club members and leaders. The kids bring an enthusiasm and an authenticity that an adult-driven organization could not create on its own.

Carolyn has started several organizations and admits to being a serial entrepreneur as well as a very determined woman. All of the organizations she has started forward her vision of creating a world in which a range of sexual orientations and gender identities are accepted. She has also started the California Safe Schools Coalition, and other organizations that work for acceptance of many sexual orientations.

The model of organization she has helped create in California is now emerging nationwide, accelerating the movement for LGBT rights.

Her advice to other social entrepreneurs: “You should pursue your vision with every resource you can find, and all of your energy – get a clear goal, leverage your resources and turn them into reality!”

Doug applied for an Echoing Green Fellowship in 1997 at the behest of his professor of social entrepreneurship. The Fellowship gave him the support and the community he needed to grow and expand the Ulman Foundation. Armstrong found Doug through an article in the Brown Alumni Magazine and the two carried on an email relationship for two years. Eventually Doug joined the Lance Armstrong Foundation as Director of Survivorship and then Armstrong asked him to serve as president.

As foundation President, Doug and his team has established the LIVESTRONG brand built on numerous educational, grant and training programs to allow people with cancer to take control of their lives. In the last few years the foundation has gotten involved in advocacy to influence public policy to help those with cancer. Doug feels the brand gives him the leverage he needs at the political and policy level to fight the number one killer (in the US) through public policy. He feels his strength is inspiring people.

The best lesson he has learned from a failure is to plan for success. As a small non-profit organization based in Texas, the Armstrong Foundation sold millions of wristbands and had no plan for how to use that success to further their agenda – they had no strategic plan. The Foundation does now, but Doug feels they missed some opportunities by not planning for success earlier.

His advice: “Take the risk: you may find that it is not as much risk as you think. Do it when you have the opportunity!”

She applied for an Echoing Green Fellowship to deal with the "dropout factory" – the nickname for the Los Angeles Unified School district, the second largest district in the US with 750,000 students, which has a 45% graduation rate – yes, 55% of the students don't finish school. The school district is under-funded and serves mostly a low-income population. Sissy Trinh knew that the Southeast Asian community in Los Angeles – Thais, Laotians, Vietnamese, Chinese and Cambodians - were struggling with poverty, gangs, and sweat shops, and she realized that they needed to develop a community center to give them resources to address the problems that the City and the school district could not.

She founded the multiethnic Southeast Asian Community Alliance (SECA) five years ago to create a center to work with the younger generation. It provides training, mentorship, and resources like help with college applications, SAT tests, jobs. It also trains young leaders to work for student-centered solutions to the District's problems. She says that SECA is able to break down the complicated problems like poverty and the enormous bureaucracy of the School District into chunks the youth can handle. This enables the students to be proactive and work to correct the system.

Her challenge is that she runs a very small organization trying to deal with a huge institution. Getting the students to think about long-term change is also difficult. Her failures – which she sees as part of the learning process – are in losing momentum sometimes and in losing individual students who just give up.

Her advice to social entrepreneurs: “Ask a lot of questions before you begin.” She underestimated the amount of work she would have to do because she didn't ask enough questions. “Know what you are getting into and then go for it!”

The Fellowship allowed him to attract other grants and successfully grow the institution, which is still going strong 12 years later. He currently runs the Center for After School Excellence, which supports after school programs in New York City and is now expanding nationwide. The programs are vital because the after school period from 3p.m. to 6 p.m. is a time where kids can grow in many ways, academically, artistically and socially. The Center helps high school students get college degrees by tutoring them in math and other important subjects and introducing them to college-level course.

Mark loves startups, especially the thrill of creation and building an organization. And he loves big ideas – what social entrepreneurs call the "Big Hairy Aggressive Goal, or BHAG, because nothing motivates stakeholders like a big idea.”

His major failure, or actually a stumble, happened when Mark expanded the community credit union just a few months before the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Many of the credit union borrowers, mostly blue-color workers, lost their jobs and stopped paying their loans – a big financial hit. Mark had been overly optimistic and learned that even in period of great growth, one shouldn’t assume that it will continue. “Build a reserve. Extrapolating today's success into tomorrow's success is very dangerous. Don’t be tempted to be too aggressive; use some of your success to squirrel away a reserve in case you hit an economic slowdown in a later year.”