November 2008   |   CLICK TO VIEW THIS MESSAGE IN A BROWSER

Special Announcement

VisionSpring Wins Prestigious $100,000 Aspen Institute Prize

On November 6th, Dr. Jordan Kassalow, Founder of VisionSpring, was selected as the inaugural winner of the John P. McNulty Prize at the Aspen Institute's 25th Annual Awards Dinner at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Meant to celebrate the spirit and memory of Institute trustee John P. McNulty, the $100,000 prize supports extraordinary young leaders making creative, effective, and lasting contributions to their communities and will be given annually to an Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) Fellow.

Kassalow, along with four other finalists, was reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges consisting of Virgin Group chairman and philanthropist Sir Richard Branson; Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland; and Olara Otunnu, the President of LBL Foundation for Children and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. 

“The simple elegance of Jordan's solution to a basic human need—a franchise model to deliver eyeglasses which can extend the productive work life of the poor in remote rural areas—is unique and inspiring,” said Anne Welsh McNulty, an Institute trustee and the co-founder and managing partner of JBK Partners. “I think my husband, John, would have been very excited by the creative and sustainable business model of VisionSpring, by the number of women entrepreneurs VisionSpring has helped empower, and by Jordan's energy and persistence in dramatically expanding this project to multiple countries across three continents.”

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Watch Interview with Dr. Jordan Kassalow