Empathy:
Social Visionaries Putting Creativity into Action
Edited by Robert Rimm
The word “empathy” evokes human feeling at the one-to-one level, demonstrated by heartfelt care in thought and action. We typically ascribe such behavior to close friends and family, yet a wide group of passionate social visionaries have transcended the inner circle’s confines to create organizations that directly benefit hundreds of thousands of lives, young and old. Their motivation—their raison d’être—centers entirely upon empathy for young people, for fellow citizens, for those in need within our society.
These highly accomplished and resourceful individuals have founded and/or head key nonprofit and educational organizations with indelible impact. How have they achieved their far-reaching goals? What techniques have they utilized? How have their backgrounds prepared them for the rigors of today's world? How do their organizations survive—indeed thrive—in today’s economy when dollars can be scarcer to come by than fat-free bacon?
This revealing and inspiring book—available in paperback, e-book and audio formats with a new volume published biennially—comprises 22 chapters, each highlighting one of today’s most imaginative and resourceful social innovators.
Interviews, biweekly podcasts and other supporting resources will directly aid other organizations as they seek to make their own impact within neighborhoods, regions and throughout the world.
Royalties from Empathy go directly to each organization featured within the book.
News and Updates
Kailash Satyarthi shares stories with children at the Ray of Hope exhibition in Delhi
Five rare wooden masks highlight of Vishnu exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Writing On The Wall: Real Food Challenge campaign is a great opportunity for Ohio University
Roots of Empathy class teaches student compassion through interaction with baby
Featured Leaders and Organizations
Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Peace Prize recipient): Founder of the Global March Against Child Labor, the single largest civil-society network for exploited children
Listen to our Innovate interview with Kailash.
Contact the Global March Against Child Labor.
Carolyn Miles: President and CEO of Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization that promotes children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries.
Listen to our Innovate interview with Carolyn.
Contact Save the Children.
Clive Gillinson: Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall, a legendary hall whose mission is to present extraordinary music and musicians on its three stages, bringing the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience
Listen to our Innovate interview with Clive.
Contact Carnegie Hall.
Benjamin Pierce: President of Vanguard Charitable, a national nonprofit donor-advised funds provider that has facilitated a total charitable impact of $4.8 billion since its founding in 1997
Listen to our Innovate interview with Benjamin.
Contact Vanguard Charitable.
Dan Weiss: President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the United States and one of the most visited art museums in the world, former President of Haverford College, a private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania
Listen to our Innovate interview with Dan.
Contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Linda Rottenberg: Cofounder and CEO of Endeavor Global, an international nonprofit making great strides in catalyzing long-term economic growth by collaborating with and accelerating the impact of the best "High-Impact Entrepreneurs" around the world
Listen to our Innovate interview with Linda.
Contact Endeavor Global.
Timothy Rub: Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the largest art museums in the United States
Listen to our Innovate interview with Timothy.
Contact the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Rupert Scofield: Cofounder, President and CEO of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), whose mission is to provide financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so that they can create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living
Listen to our Innovate interview with Rupert.
Contact FINCA.
James Thornton: Founder and CEO of ClientEarth, an organization of legal experts pushing environmental issues to the forefront of the European Union agenda through advocacy, policy research and civil litigation
Listen to our Innovate interview with James.
Contact ClientEarth.
Andreas Merkl: CEO of Ocean Conservancy, whose mission is the development of new solutions for a changing ocean and education to empower citizens to take action on behalf of the ocean
Listen to our Innovate interview with Andreas.
Contact Ocean Conservancy.
Patrick Struebi: Founder and CEO of Fairtrade South America, the largest fair-trade, small-scale farmer organization in Latin America
Listen to our Innovate interview with Patrick.
Contact Fairtrasa.
Jake Shapiro: Founder and CEO of PRX (Public Radio Exchange), an award-winning public media company with a mission to harness technology to bring significant stories to millions of people
Listen to our Innovate interview with Jake.
Contact PRX.
Ángel Cabrera: President of George Mason University, the largest public research university in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Listen to our Innovate interview with Ángel.
Contact George Mason University.
David Castro: Founder and CEO of the Institute for Leadership Education, Advancement and Development, whose programming integrates a bundle of proven leadership skills and knowledge, and strives to change the fundamental systems dynamics at work in challenged communities
Listen to our Innovate interview with David.
Contact I-LEAD.
Mary Gordon: Founder and President of Roots of Empathy, an award-winning charitable organization that offers empathy-based programming for children
Listen to our Innovate interview with Mary.
Contact Roots of Empathy
Leonard Haas: Board Chairman of the Wyncote Foundation, which provides grants in arts and culture, education, the environment, health and human services, preservation, public media and journalism
Listen to our Innovate interview with Leonard.
Contact the Wyncote Foundation.
Andreas Heinecke: Founder and CEO of Dialogue Social Enterprise, an exhibition and workshop to explore the unseen. Dialogue in the Dark and thousands of blind guides and trainers have found employment through the program.
Listen to our Innovate interview with Andreas.
Contact Dialogue Social Enterprise.
Sunny Kim and David Schwartz: Directors of the Real Food Challenge, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to shift $1 billion of existing university food budgets away from industrial farms and junk food and toward local, community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane food sources—“real food”—by 2020
Listen to our Innovate Under 30 interview with David and Sunny.
Contact the Real Food Challenge.
Dennis Lennartsson: CEO and Founder of the European Sign Language Center, which uses an online platform that serves, connects and expands the number of sign language users globally
Listen to our Innovate interview with Dennis.
Contact the European Sign Language Center.
John Marks: Founder and President of Search for Common Ground, an international NGO dedicated to transforming how the world deals with conflict
Listen to our Innovate interview with John.
Contact the Search for Common Ground.
Sylvia Rimm: Author, Professor and Director of the Family Achievement Clinic, which specializes in working with capable children who are not performing to their abilities in school
Listen to our Innovate interview with Sylvia.
Contact the Family Achievement Clinic.
Elizabeth Sawin: Cofounder and Co-Director of Climate Interactive, a nonprofit with a mission to help people see what works in addressing climate change and related issues like energy, water, food and disaster-risk reduction
Listen to our Innovate interview with Elizabeth.
Contact Climate Interactive.
Sophia Sunwoo: CEO of The Water Collective, which is revolutionizing the water access problem by providing solutions that last through community involvement and economic empowerment
Listen to our Innovate Under 30 interview with Sophia.
Contact The Water Collective.
Chris Underhill: Founder and Director of Basic Needs, an international charity that works to bring about lasting change in the lives of mentally ill people around the world
Listen to our Innovate interview with Chris.
Contact Basic Needs.
