Eric is interested in increasing the supply of affordable finance for individuals, social enterprises and small businesses that are unable to obtain it from mainstream financial services. This work particularly focuses on promoting a better understanding of how the bank could be increasing its level of support for individual Community Development Financial Institutions, as well as meet the broader strategic needs of this emerging sector. He is a director of a number of organisations promoting community-based, community-led solutions to encourage enterprise, tackling poverty and reforming public sector delivery.

Antonia Swinson joined SSEC in November 2005. She is an award-winning business journalist who has written for both UK & Scottish national newspapers, including the Sunday and Daily Express and a weekly business column in Scotland on Sunday. A long standing champion of social enterprise, she has also been involved at policy formation at senior level. Antonia is a former Chairman of the Society of Authors in Scotland and has written five books including 'Root of all Evil?' on business and ethics. She is an executive board member of the Centre for Theology & Public Issues at Edinburgh University.

Born in March 1947, Jim Mather MSP was educated at Paisley Grammar, Greenock High School and Glasgow University, where he studied accountancy, law and economics. In 1964, he became an apprentice chartered accountant, going on on to work in the computer industry, latterly running his own business, before entering politics. From 2000 until 2004, he was the party's National Treasurer. At the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Jim was elected as a Highlands and Islands MSP. As Shadow Enterprise and Economy Minister, he was a member of the SNP's Shadow Cabinet. Mr Mather became the MSP for Argyll and Bute at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election and was appointed Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism. He has been involved in the development and promotion of the Economic Case for Independence and is a Director of Business for Scotland. He is married with two children.

Michael joined SVA as founding Chief Executive in 2002, after 15 years as a co-founder and Executive Director of Macquarie BankÕs successful $400m private equity business Macquarie Direct Investment.SVA is a not-for-profit venture philanthropy organisation. It partners with outstanding social enterprises, supports their growth efforts and uses benchmarks and performance measurements to hold them accountable for generating increased social change in Australia.   SVA provides a mix of funding access, corporate mentor support and best practice shared learning.The SVA Boost! Fund, AustraliaÕs firstventure philanthropy fund, has raised commitments of over$21 million and invested in 19 innovative social ventures.   He holds several commercial and non profit directorships, including the Indigenous Capital Fund, the John Maclean Foundation, the Opera Australia Capital Fund, Documentary Australia Foundation and the Advisory Boards of Dimension Data Australia and MLC Private Equity.

ƒthel C™tŽ has been involved in social economic development for 33 years.   As general manager for the Ontario Council of Cooperative (CCO) from 1994 to 2000, she revived this movement and fostered the implementation of some thirty work, services and production cooperatives in addition to supporting agricultural, agri-food, housing and childcare cooperatives.   She holds a Canadian University Certificate in Agricultural Leadership & Rural Development and obtained her Post Diploma in Community Economic Development from Concordia University. She took part in several fact finding missions in Europe and Latin America to investigate the cooperative movements, the mobilization and socio-economic consensus-building processes, and the impact of globalization on the socio-economic development of rural communities in these countries.   Through Uniterra, she participated in skills strengthening missions in Mali, Niger and Senegal for the Social and Solidarity Economy National Networks of these countries and was also part of the organizing committee for the 3rd World Conference on Globalization and Solidarity held in Dakar in 2005. She is now the Canadian representative on the Board of the International Network for Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy (RŽseau intercontinental de promotion dÕŽconomie sociale et solidaire (RIPESS).   In addition to teaching Community Economic Development and Social Enterprise Development at Boreal College and Concordia University 2003-2008 and Hearst University in 2008, she has also mentored hundreds of communities and promoters of social enterprises. She was part of some funders groups who start viable social enterprises still existing after more than 12 years. As a Social Entrepreneur and Founder of LÕArt du developpement, a small business involved in Social Enterprise, CED & coop development, now she is actively involved with Center for Community Enterprise, Responsible of Social Enterprise Development providing technical assistance, training, etc.   As a practitioner, she is involved with the Canadian Community Economic Development Network for several years and sits on the board, Co-chairs the National Policy Council and Member of the International Committee. She currently is the president the Ontario Solidarity Economy Network (ƒconomie solidaire de lÕOntario).   

James Hilder has been Development Manager for the Mull & Iona Community Trust since it was launched in 1998, joining up on a one-year contract after leaving his job in London as head of services (England) for a major youth and community care charity. Since studying rural development at the University of Wales, his career has spanned operational management of out-of-town retail sites, running a visitor attraction and associated on-site businesses in Windsor, and, management consultancy and training for private and charitable organisations across the country working for The Industrial Society and the L&R Group.   James Hilder is an Associate Tutor for the Scottish Social Enterprise Academy having delivered a year long, 12 day module Leadership Development Programme, commissioned by the Scottish Centre for Regeneration, and facilitated Policy Forums for the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition.   He was a founder director of the Nadair Trust, an HLF Funded landscape partnership scheme for the Argyll Islands which released £7million into local heritage projects, Chairman of the Argyll & Islands Community Economic Development Partnership (£600,000) and is currently a Director of the Argyll & Bute Volunteer Centre.   Most recently James became a founder Director of the Argyll & Bute Social Enterprise Network which is to become a trading entity to help serve its membership across the region. Following the work undertaken on Mull over the last 10 years James has addressed conferences across Scotland on community capacity building, social enterprises and sustainability of community companies.

Gonzalois Enterprise Development Manager at NESsT, concentrating in the implementation of the NESsT Venture Fund (Fondo Nido) in Latin America. He is mainly responsible for the development of the NESsT Latin America Business Advisory Network, developing the Investors Circle for the NESsT Venture Fund in Latin America, identifying and performing due diligence on portfolio candidates, providing consultative support to the NESsT portfolio, and assisting with performance easurement of social enterprises in the portfolio. Before joining NESsT, Gonzalo worked nearly ten years in business development in Chile. As a Business Unit Manager for PŽrez and Jacard S.A., he managed businesses and accounts in the chemical and food industry sector for a continuously expanding product list. The creation in 1997 of the Business Unit he managed was motivated by the success of the diversification process Gonzalo was assigned to lead in 1995. He was responsible for identifying and developing business opportunities, planning, controlling and monitoring development activities, strategic procurement and technical support to staff and other business units. Gonzalo holds an MBA from The University of Edinburgh Management School and a first degree in Engineering/Food Technology from the Universidad Cat—lica de Valpara’so. He was born in Valpara’so, Chile, and currently lives in Santiago, Chile.

Jerr Boschee has long been recognized as one of the founders of the social enterprise movement worldwide.  To date he's been a keynoter or conducted master classes in 42 states and 15 countries.  He is one of the six co-founders of the Social Enterprise Alliance, the author of five books, and the former President/CEO of The National Center for Social Entrepreneurs.He has also been a senior communications executive for a Fortune 100 company, managing editor for a chain of regional newspapers and a Peace Corps Volunteer in India.

Jan Owen is the Executive Director of Social Ventures Australia established to innovate, fund, mentor and support social ventures which address intractable social issues. In this role, Jan is leading the Venture Development Program within SVA driving a program which seeks to build and grow outstanding social entrepreneurs and their enterprises.   Jan has over 20 years experience in advocacy, policy and practice in the area of child welfare, youth affairs and womenÕs issues within Australia. She has also been responsible for leading and forging innovative partnerships across sectors to achieve improved social policy, participation and opportunities in the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Australia.   From 1993 - 2002 Jan was the Founder and inaugural Chief Executive of the CREATE Foundation Ð an advocacy group for 20,000 children and young people in State care.   She has held a number of key appointments in the area of children, young people, women, health and welfare issues. Many of these appointments have been at a governmental level, as well as non-government organisations and peak bodies.   She currently serves on the Board of the Inspire Foundation and the International Board of Advisors of the Medical Knowledge Institute Foundation.   Jan is the Author of Every Childhood Lasts a Lifetime (1996), a book of lifestories of young people and adults in AustraliaÕs care system; inaugural editor of the Illusion Free Zone magazine; and has numerous articles published in human services journals and magazines.   In 1999, Jan was awarded a 12 month fellowship to the Peter F Drucker Foundation in the US for Leadership and Innovation, the only non U.S. based fellow ever to be selected. Jan Owen received an Order of Australia (AM) in the Queens Birthday Award Honors in June 2000 for services to the children and the community.

Alan has a background in community-owned enterprise with over twenty years experience in many aspects of community development in the UK and overseas.He is self-employed, based in Edinburgh and on the board of CBS Network, the Social Audit Network and the Community Development Journal.He has been involved in social accounting and audit since 1990 and has worked with a wide range of social economy organisations assisting them in keeping social accounts.He worked with John Pearce in authoring the Social Accounting and Audit Manual and CD (2005) and recently collaborated on a research project which looked at the experience of social accounting and audit in parts of the UK over the last ten years. 

Jeremy is one of the founders of SROI UK and a member of the European SROI Network and his work has increasingly focused on finding ways for organisations to better understand and then manage the social value they create. He is a fellow of the new economics foundation (nef) and he co-founded the Beta Model Ltd, a business that provides on line access to reports on trends and dynamics in business size and numbers in the UK. He is currently involved in starting a new social enterprise - Fairfield Anaerobic Digestion and has recently become the chair of FairPensions.

Andrew has been Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland since 1996. He has a wide ranging involvement in the charity sector in Scotland and recently spent time in Australia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka broadening his knowledge of the international sector.

Anyone who has met Andrew will know he is always looking at ways to do things better and to make sure money gets where it is needed with the minimum of red tape. He is determined that the Foundation and the charity sector more widely will get the maximum benefit from what he has learnt from his international work about delivering philanthropic resources efficiently and effectively.

Dharmendra has held senior management positions in Scotland and GB-wide working in the voluntary and statutory sector. This has involved improving operational and management standards; devising high impact delivery; managing and developing political relations; developing new ways of working and conceptualising ideas and developing policy focused on public/community benefit. Formerly the Head of the Commission for Racial Equality Scotland and later the Director of Countries, Regions and Communities GB-wide at the CRE, he worked until 1999 as a Director of Racial Equality bodies in Scotland and London. He chaired a number of voluntary community organisations at national and local level in Scotland and London, and has established a number of new community organisations dealing with employment training, youth mentoring, community advocacy and social housing. Dharmendra has been an adviser to a number of national statutory and voluntary organisations, Scottish Executive and Whitehall Ministerial Groups. He is the Chair of the Scotland FundersÕ Forum, and a board member of several arts bodies in Scotland.  

Nicole Etchart is a Co-Founder and CEO of NESsT. Nicole has over twenty years experience in international development, nonprofit management and civil society development. She has held numerous executive positions with international organizations working in the USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America. From 1995-97, as the first Executive Director of the Association for Women in Development (AWID), Ms. Etchart engineered AWID's transition from a volunteer -run association to a professional international membership organization of over 1000 gender-in-development researchers, development practitioners and policymakers in over 80 countries. From 1991-1994, she was the founding Program Manager of the Third Sector Project, an NGO development initiative within the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies. The program provided capacity-building and management assistance to leaders of NGOs in seven countries across for Central and Eastern Europe. For five years prior, she was Director of the Global Education Office at Catholic Relief Services (CRS) where she oversaw 20 programs focusing on increasing awareness of poverty and development issues. From 1984-86, as a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Fellowship for "fast-track" public leaders, Ms. Etchart served in both the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture, overseeing the implementation of food assistance programs in Africa, and in the Caribbean Affairs Office of the US Agency for International Development, responsible for the implementation of the Caribbean Development Initiative, an effort aimed to foster trade and development. In 1983-1987, along with three international development professionals, Ms. Etchart was a volunteer co-founder of Communications for Development, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the US public on international development issues. There, Ms. Etchart was involved in the production of several multi-media programs on international development and interdependence. She currently sits on the Boards of Directors of Colegio Media de Santiago and the ComitŽ para la Democratizaci—n de la Inform‡tica (CDI) in Chile. Ms. Etchart holds an M.A. in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) with a focus on economic development and Latin American Studies and a B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in Latin American Studies from Tulane University where she received the President«s award for academic excellence and extra curricular contribution. She speaks four languages fluently (English, French, Portuguese and Spanish). She was born and currently lives in Santiago, Chile.  

Following a career in the accounting profession and electrical retailing he moved to the British Red Cross in Scotland in 1991 as Finance Director and subsequently Executive Director. In 2000 he joined Haven Products, formerly owned by Red Cross, as Managing Director. He is Vice Chairman of BASE in Scotland and a Director of Social Firms Scotland.

A trained chartered accountant, Duncan worked overseas with both VSO and Christian Aid before joining Fairtrade pioneers Twin. He was part of the team that set-up Divine Chocolate, then launched and directed AgroFair UK , the Fairtrade fruit company and more recently lead the successful launch of Liberation Foods CIC, the 100% Fairtrade small farmer owned nut company. Today Duncan works independantly as a consultant

Eric Lombardi is the Executive Director of Eco-Cycle, Inc. and is recognized as an authority on the social and technical aspects of creating community-based ÒZero WasteÓ resource recovery programs.Lombardi has experience internationally as a consultant and public speaker, he was invited to the Clinton White House in 1998 as one of the Top 100 USA Recyclers, and he currently serves as the President of the U.S. GrassRoots Recycling Network. 

Frank was born in Northern Ireland but lived in the Shetland Islands for most of his working life. Trained as a Special needs teacher but soon after became involved with setting up enterprise activities for people with disabilities both here in the UK and in developing countries. Founded COPE Ltd in 1998 an internationally recognised Social Enterprise and have been working developing and replicating the model with other organisation in places as distant and remote as St Helena in the South Atlantic. Frank now works with the Aga Khan Development Network setting up Enterprises in Northern Afghanistan.

Sally is a co-founder of Social Firms UK and has been Chief Executive since January 2004. With a private sector background in marketing and PR, Sally previously worked for Surrey Oaklands NHS Trust where she developed the marketing activities of the Trust's training and employment services for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities. As someone who is dedicated to raising the profile of Social Firms, Sally is constantly lobbying for support of the model, travelling the world andsharing her expertise with a wide range of groups, organisations and politicians.She is a director of Social Enterprise Coalition, Social Firms Scotland and Social Firms Wales, on the Executive Committee of the European Social Firm network of CEFEC and ENSIE, and Chair of two Social Firms:Travel Matters and Netherne Printing Services

Sophi is Managing Director of Divine Chocolate Ltd, the pioneering Fairtrade company co-owned by farmers. Over the last nine years, she and her team have built the company and the brand from a wonderful idea to a dynamic robust business turning over £10 million with £500k profit. She has a high profile as a champion of the company's mission to improve the lives of smallholder cocoa farmers in West Africa through a fairer trading relationship, and is an innovative marketeer, creating a brand that delights and engages consumers.    To further set this farmer-owned Fairtrade company apart, Sophi has overseen the development of Dubble Ð a Fairtrade chocolate brand specially for young people. Co-founded with Comic Relief, and accompanied by award-winning education resources for young people, the brand has attracted a signed up fan club of 50,000 proactive young Fairtraders.Sophi is also a founding trustee of Trading Visions, an education charity established to build awareness of fair trade issues and to amplify the voices of smallscale producers.   In 2007 Sophi was proud to announce the first Dividend paid to the farmers as shareholders, and on ValentineÕs Day 2007, she attended the launch of the USA company Divine Chocolate Inc she helped to set up, with a briefing on Capitol Hill and front page coverage.   In 2007 Sophi also won the Real Business /CBI First Woman award for Retail and Property. Divine was later voted Best Social Enterprise at the Enterprising Solutions Awards, and Sophi was invited to become one of the Social Enterprise Ambassadors. She is also the chair of the steering committee to make London a Fairtrade City and elected director and vice chair of Social Enterprise London.  Most recently she was appointed a member of the newly formed Council on Social Action, chaired by the Prime Minister.   Most recently Divine Chocolate won the Observer Ethical Business Award.   Sophi Tranchell graduated in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Warwick in 1986. She lives in London with her husband and their two children.    

Thorkil Sonne has a background within IT and the autism community in Denmark.   In 2004 Thorkil founded ÔSpecialisterneÕ (The Specialists), as a company where people with autism are given the understanding and support needed to perform highly specialist tasks for the business sector at market terms.

Charles Leadbeater (formerly known as Charlie Leadbeater) is a British author and former advisor to Tony Blair. Charles is a leading authority on innovation and creativity. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world on innovation strategy and drawn on that experience in writing his latest book We-think: the power of mass creativity, which charts the rise of mass, participative approaches to innovation from science and open source software, to computer games and political campaigning.

We-think, which is due to be published in 2007, is the latest in a string of acclaimed books: Living on Thin Air, a guide to living and working in the new economy; Up the Down Escalator, an attack on the culture of public pessimism accompanying globalisation and In Search of Work, published in the 1980's, which was one of the first books to predict the rise of more flexible and networked forms of employment.

In 2005 Charles was ranked by Accenture, the management consultancy, as one of the top management thinkers in the world. A past winner of the prestigious David Watt prize for journalism, Charles was profiled by the New York Times in 2004 for generating one of the best ideas of the year, the rise of the activist amateur, outlined in his report The Pro-Am Revolution.
As well as advising a wide range of organisations on innovation including the BBC, Vodafone, Microsoft, Ericsson, Channel Four Television and the Royal Shakespeare Company, Charles has been an ideas generator in his own right. As an associate editor of the Independent he helped Helen Fielding devise Bridget Jones's diary. He wrote the first British report on the rise of social entrepreneurship, which has since become a global movement.

Charles has worked extensively as a senior adviser to the governments over the past decade, advising the 10 Downing St policy unit, the Department for Trade and Industry and the European Commission on the rise of the knowledge driven economy and the Internet, as well as the government of Shanghai. He is an advisor to the Department for Education's Innovation Unit on future strategies for more networked and personalised approaches to learning and education.

A visiting senior fellow at the British National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts, he is also a longstanding senior research associate with the influential London think-tank Demos and a visiting fellow at Oxford University's Said Business School. Charles spent ten years working for the Financial Times where he was Labour Editor, Industrial Editor and Tokyo Bureau Chief before becoming the paper's Features Editor. In 1994 he moved to the Independent as assistant editor in charge of features and became an independent author and advisor in 1996.

Charles's current research focuses on how mass, user driven innovation is reshaping organisations, with users increasingly co-creators of products and services. He is also exploring the emergence of China, India and Korea as sources of research and innovation, through a two-year, £350,000 research programme, the Atlas of Ideas, funded by the British government and a consortia of companies.  

Liam has led and created more than a dozen social businesses. Most recently, with Jamie Oliver, he grew Fifteen into a global brand, opening businesses in the UK, Holland and Australia. In March 2008, he started www.wavelength100.com . He is the co-author of There's No Business Like Social Business and one of the Cabinet Office's social enterprise ambassadors.

David has been working in the social economy for over 30 years, including inner city economic development, housing, community media and social enterprise. He is currently Program Manager of Enterprising Non-Profits, enp. Enp, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a collaboration of nine funders, including corporate, credit union, foundation, and government partners. Enp supports the development and growth of social enterprise by providing technical assistance grants; maintaining www.enterprisingnonprofits.ca as a major resource and marketplace, and collaborating on creating a supportive public policy environment for social enterprise across Canada.   David is a member of the BC Social Economy Roundtable and a member of the Policy Council of the Canadian Community Economic Development (CCEDNet).   David is the former CEO of Fast Track to Employment (FTE), the original developer of the Social Purchasing Portal, a tool to leverage private and public sector purchasing for social value.

Since 1999 Giovanna has worked in Villa Perla Service- Social Enterprise as Manager.  In 2007 she became President of the organisation. Her tasks are : áManaging and supporting the activities áImplementing development procedures/ responsible person of vocational programs áImplementing procedures to create new jobs for disadvantaged people áCoordination of staff, partner and disadvantaged workers She is also the Responsible person for vocational programs and for transnational programs. Since 2007 she has been Vice President of CRESS (regional consortium of social services)   On June 2006 was appointment project manager for APQ Balkan and Mediterranean area/EU Program for FILSE spa- Financial Agency for Economical Development of Liguria Region) Since 2004 she has been transnational coordinator for the Italian D.P. of Equal projects

Nigel Kershaw is CEO of Big Issue Invest and Chair of The Big Issue Co. Ltd. Big Issue Invest, part of The Big Issue group of companies, finances social enterprises who are finding business solutions that create social opportunity, transformation and environmental sustainability.Nigel is a Cabinet Office Social Enterprise Ambassador and in 2008 received the Good Director for Enterprise honour award from the Institute of Directors.

Klaus Hertrampf, Managing Director of Lebenswelten and chairperson of the executive board Lebenswelten. He was born in DŸsseldorf , Germany in 1954. After a business education in the Daimler Benz Company, study ofPsychology at the Free University of Berlin (graduation as Psychologist in 1984). In 1983 Co-Founder of Lebenswelten. The Association Lebenswelten is a social enterprise and active in the job creation in our owncompanies in different branches (e.g. catering and party service, industrial manufacture, financial accounting services) and in the creation ofrehabilitation schemes for persons with mental health problems. Currently we are managing approximately 190 employees in four companies and different projects and approximately 200 persons in social and vocational rehabilitation.  

Annie Gunner Logan is the Director of Community Care Providers Scotland (CCPS), the association of voluntary organisations providing care services in Scottish communities. Annie is a member of the board of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR); a director of the UK drug treatment charity, Phoenix Futures: and a member of the board of the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with a Disability (EASPD).She serves on a number of Scottish Executive advisory and reference groups, including the National Social Work Services Forum. Annie has a Masters Degree in Social and Public Policy from the University of Edinburgh.

Lee Davis is a Co-Founder and CEO of NESsT. Prior to starting NESsT, Lee was a Research Fellow in the "New Directions in Grassroots Development" initiative of the Johns Hopkins University, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he authored the The NGO-Business Hybrid, an international study of nonprofit enterprise activities in 13 countries. At SAIS, Mr. Davis also served as a Professorial Lecturer in the graduate Program on Social Change and Development where he developed and co-taught the first graduate-level course on social enterprise. Lee has lived in Budapest, Hungary and worked on nonprofit sector development issues throughout Central and Eastern Europe since 1994. From 1996-97, he worked with the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) in Budapest as a Program Officer in the Public Participation Program, coordinating the project activities with partners in Bulgaria and Romania. From 1993-95, Mr. Davis worked with the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies Third Sector Project where he coordinated training, internship and publications programs with nonprofit support centers in the 7 participating countries. From 1991-93, he worked for CARE, the international relief and development agency, in its headquarters office in New York City, where he launched the organization's internal publications design unit. While at CARE, Lee also was an active participant in the International NGO Working Group on Education, working as a member of the international drafting team for the NGO treaty on education and sustainable development during preparations for the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and at NGO Global Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Prior to entering the nonprofit sector, Lee worked in marketing and corporate identity firms in the US, Europe and Japan producing corporate annual reports and publications for major corporate and educational clients, including Canadair, NationsBank (now Bank of America), Xerox Corporation and Yale University. In 1988, he was a recipient of the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Foundation fellowship to undertake a yearlong independent research and travel project in Switzerland and Japan. Mr. Davis holds an M.A. in Policy Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, Institute for Policy Studies, with a focus on the nonprofit sector and international development; and a B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Connecticut College, where he was the recipient of the Barbara E. Gurwitz Memorial Prize for excellence in community service. He was born in New York and currently lives in Santiago, Chile. 

Jim Fruchterman is a leading social entrepreneur through his deliberately nonprofit technology company, Benetech. Benetech develops technology serving people with disabilities and human rights and environmental groups. Fruchterman has received the 2006 MacArthur Fellowship and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and is the chair of the Social Enterprise Alliance

Robert Egger is the President of the DC Central Kitchen where unemployed men and women learn marketable culinary skills while donated food is converted into balanced meals. Since opening in 1989, the DCCK has distributed over 20 million meals and helped 700 men and women gain full-time employment.
Robert was the Co-Convener of the first Nonprofit Congress in 2006, the Founder of the V3 Campaign, the Chairperson of the DC MayorÕs Commission on Nutrition and serves on the Boards of the Food Systems Leadership Institute (based at UNC, Chapel Hill) and Street Sense, WashingtonÕs ÒhomelessÓ newspaper.
Robert has been on the Non Profit Times Ò50 Most Powerful and Influential Nonprofit LeadersÓ list in 2006, 2007, and 2008.He was the recipient of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan WashingtonÕs 2007 ÒLifetime AchievementÓ award and the 2004 James Beard Foundation ÒHumanitarian of the YearÓ award. He has also been named an Oprah Angel, a Washingtonian of the Year, a Point of Light and one of the Ten Most Caring People in America, by the Caring Institute. He is also a 14-gallon blood donor to the American Red Cross.

RobertÕs book on the non-profit sector, Begging for Change, received the 2005 McAdam Prize for ÒBest Nonprofit Management BookÓ by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.   Robert speaks nationally and internationally on hunger and homelessness, social enterprise, and nonprofit unity. For a complete list if speaking engagements, or to access RobertÕs op-ed, podcasts, videos or blogs, please go to www.robertegger.org