Short Talk 1C: The Role of National Service and Volunteers in Advancing Social Change
Session Designer
Shirley Sagawa, sagawa/jospin
Session Description
While we struggle to address complex social problems at a time of economic challenge, a critical and cost-effective part of the solution is poised and ready, argues Shirley Sagawa in her new book, The American Way to Change. Volunteering is on the rise, and there is every reason to believe that more people would serve if only they were asked. Unfortunately, service — by volunteers and national service participants — is often left out of the public problem solving tool box. It is time to get serious about solving the problems that are holding us back as a nation by making it possible for ordinary citizens to play a part. Sagawa will offer suggestions of how we can manage this important labor force effectively and what grantmakers can do to help leverage the true potential of volunteers.
Speakers
![[photo]](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/832035549b6b14ed853a7ca27f60ed78.png?d=https://proposalspace.com/images/no_photo.png&r=PG&s=50 "Shirley Sagawa, Sagawa/Jospin")
Shirley Sagawa, Sagawa/Jospin
Title
Speaker Biography
Shirley Sagawa is co-founder of the sagawa/jospin consulting firm, was named a "Woman to Watch in the 21st Century," by Newsweek magazine, and one of the "Most Influential Working Mothers in America" by Working Mother magazine. A national expert on children's policy and philanthropy, she has been called a "founding mother of the modern service movement" in the United States. She is currently a fellow with the Center for American Progress.
Her book, with Deb Jospin, The Charismatic Organization, (Jossey-Bass 2008) offers breakthrough insights into building strong, effective, and well-resourced nonprofit organizations. Her previousbook, Common Interest, Common Good: Creating Value through Business and Social Sector Partnerships (Harvard Business School Press) describes how business and social sector organizations can collaborate for mutual gain.
Sagawa has served as a presidential appointee in both the first Bush and Clinton Administrations. As deputy chief of staff to First Lady Hillary Clinton, she advised the First Lady on domestic policy and led the planning for White House Conferences on Philanthropy, Partnerships in Philanthropy, and Teenagers. She was instrumental to the drafting and passage of legislation creating the Corporation for National Service and AmeriCorps. After Senate-confirmation as the Corporation’s first chief operating and policy officer, she led the development of new service programs for adults and students, including AmeriCorps, and directed strategic planning for this new government corporation.
She has also managed successful collaborations in the private sector, including the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of national education associations. With advanced degrees in law and public policy, she began her career as the Chief Counsel for Youth Policy for the Senate Labor Committee, specializing in education, children’s and youth issues, and subsequently served as senior counsel to the National Women’s Law Center and on many nonprofit boards.
Sagawa is a graduate of Smith College, the London School of Economics and Harvard Law School, where she served on the Harvard Law Review.