Yale Alumni Leaders Discuss Global Volunteerism

On September 24, the Yale Alumni Association hosted the Global Volunteer Service Leadership Forum in New York City. The program gathered alumni who are carrying out Yale University's legacy of service in organizations that focus on solving societal problems, as well as faculty and leaders of volunteer initiatives, to discuss innovations and challenges in volunteerism.

Professor Paul Bracken PhD '82 led a discussion of thought leaders in global volunteer service organizations. The panel featured Barbara Bush YC '04, CEO of Global Health Corps; Michael Beirut, partner in the design firm Pentagram and senior faculty fellow at Yale SOM; Janet Tobias YC '81, co-founder and partner of Ikana Health; and Todd Lang YC '45W, LAW '47, a senior partner in Weil, Gotshal, & Manges LLP and director of Human Rights First. Among the key points that came out of the discussion were the need for good communications between organizations and their key stakeholders, and the synergy between the bottom-up energy and enthusiasm of volunteers and branding strategy.

Neal Keny-Guyer SOM '82, CEO of Mercy Corps, participated in a session on global citizenship through service. Other speeches and panels were devoted to engaging supporters using social media; the challenges of volunteerism in the health arena; and alumni volunteer initiatives including the Yale Alumni Service Corps, Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance, Yale Global Alumni Leadership Exchange, the Yale Alumni Association of New York Haiti Taskforce and Public Service/Social Justice Committee, and the Yale Day of Service.