Social EntrepreneurU is lead by founder Greg Van Kirk. He's a former Ashoka Leadership Group Member, is a two-time Ashoka Globalizer Fellow and World Economic Forum "Social Entrepreneur of the Year for 2012 (Latin America)." Greg is the principal designer of the award-winning MicroConsignment Model, now being applied globally.

 

Over the course of 20 years he’s founded, led and/or consulted for dozens organizations, teams and communities in the US, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Suriname, Brazil, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Egypt, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, South Africa, India and Thailand. 

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Greg has designed social entrepreneurial experiences, taught courses and led workshops for thousands of students and professionals. He also contributes time as “Social Entrepreneur in Residence” at universities and has taught social entrepreneurship at Columbia University, NYU, Miami University and University of Wisconsin.  He is a senior advisor for the Miami University Institute for Entrepreneurship.

 

Greg began working in rural small business development as a Guatemala Peace Corps volunteer in 2001. He worked in investment banking for five years before arriving in Guatemala. Two deals he led at UBS during this time won "Deal of the Year" honors from Structured Finance International magazine.