President's Lecture Series

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President's Lecture Series
Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Speaker

Adam Braun
Entrepreneur, Author and Philanthropist, Founder & CEO of Pencils of Promise

Adam Braun is the founder of Pencils of Promise, which has broken ground on more than 300 schools around the world.

Braun began working summers at hedge funds when he was 16, sprinting down the path to a successful Wall Street career. But while visiting India, he met a boy begging on the streets. When Braun asked what he most wanted, the boy answered, "A pencil."

That request inspired Pencils of Promise, the organization Braun would leave Bain & Co. several years later to launch. Pencils of Promise builds schools, trains teachers and provides scholarships across the globe.

Braun, who graduated from Brown University, has received the Jefferson Award for public service and spoken at the White House, the United Nations and the Clinton Global Initiative. He has been named to Wired Magazine's "50 People Who Are Changing the World."

His book, The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change, reached No. 1 on The New York Times' best-seller list.