Safia Minney, MBE, is an award-winning social entrepreneur and internationally recognized for the company she founded, People Tree, the pioneer of sustainable fashion. She led the business as global CEO for 20+ years in Japan and the UK. Safia has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as an Outstanding Social Entrepreneur and is a leading influencer in sustainability, anti-modern slavery and fair trade.
Born and raised in Montauk, New York, Sean Barrett is a lifelong fisherman, environmental conservationist, and restaurateur. He founded the Dock to Dish movement in 2012, inspired by his work with the Community Supported Fishery (CSF) program of New York State and is an expert on advances in America’s fishing industry. Sean’s vision and leadership in harvesting seafood through cooperatives are transforming the way Americans eat.
Globally, it is estimated that 1.3 billion people live with some form of distance or near vision impairment. Prejudice about blindness is widespread; blind people do not have equal access to education and the labor market. Social entrepreneur Andreas Heinecke was determined to do something about it. He founded Dialogue in the Dark—in which blind people lead the audience in small groups through a set of real-life scenarios in total darkness to share this experience.
India has the largest blind population in the world. Eight million people are totally blind, 55 million are visually impaired and 80% are either preventable or curable. The Sankara Eye Foundation brings quality and timely eye care to the doorsteps of rural India through its award-winning Gift of Vision outreach program.
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? Does evolution have an address? Are we are immortal? Was the universe created? What is love?
The Templeton Foundation is optimistic about the power of science and other discovery-oriented disciplines to advance our understanding of life’s greatest questions.
Michael Brune, the Sierra Club’s executive director since 2010, is one of today’s most inspiring and effective environmental leaders. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, he led Rainforest Action Network. Under his leadership, the Sierra Club has grown to more than three million supporters and is at the forefront of the drive to move beyond fossil fuels to 100% clean, renewable energy, while also protecting America’s remaining wild places.