Konstanze Frischen is a member of the global leadership group of Ashoka, a global organization that invests in transformative ideas for social change. A social anthropologist by background, she has co-led Ashoka’s emergence and growth in Western Europe. She has been a writer for CNN and a writer/editor for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, as well as a board member for GLS Bank, Germany’s leading ethical financial institution. Michael Zakaras is the director of Ashoka US and co-founder of Ashoka’s “All America” initiative which pushes the boundaries of social entrepreneurship beyond the traditional coastal circles. Michael has previously worked for Ashoka in Ireland and Central Europe, and before that in the California wine industry. He writes regularly about social entrepreneurship for Forbes, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and more.
Frischen and Zakaras do an excellent job of illustrating solutions that are simpler than we think and playing out in communities across the country. While the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to physically isolate, it showed the way communities in crisis find a path to solutions together, and this book is an excellent, timely example of what those solutions can grow into given time and attention. * Philanthropy News Digest *