Roshan Paul

Social Entrepreneurship

Categories: Business, Career, Corporate Social Responsibility, Future of Work, Personal Growth, Technology

Roshan Paul has spent his life questioning the status quo, and built a career around connecting global citizens to solve social problems across boundaries. He co-founded Amani Institute in 2010 with these values in mind, and co-led the organization from an idea to an award-winning social enterprise with offices in Kenya, Brazil and India and projects in more than 30 other countries around the world. Amani Institute has, to date, helped nearly 10,000 people from 65 countries step into or accelerate their careers in social impact. It has also supported more than 250 organizations, from large global UN departments to small local businesses, and everything in between, to increase staff capacity, motivation, and impact. He stepped down as CEO in 2021, but remains an active Board member. Based on this work, he co-authored the Amazon #1 bestseller The New Reason to Work: How to Build a Career that will Change the World in November 2021.

The seeds of Amani Institute were cultivated while Roshan worked with Ashoka for a decade, where he designed and launched five new programs and managed two other global projects, supporting over 500 social entrepreneurs (‘Ashoka Fellows’) around the world. He is currently an adjunct professor at Lynn University and Minnesota College of Art and Design, and a strategy consultant for several foundations and other social impact organizations.

Raised in Bangalore, India, Roshan has a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Bachelor’s in International Political Economy from Davidson College (a degree he self-designed), and a certificate in Creative Leadership as a founding participant of THNK: The Amsterdam School for Creative Leadership. He has guest-lectured or spoken at conferences at over fifty universities and other institutions around the world, including Harvard, Dartmouth, the World Bank, and the White House. He has also conducted dozens of workshops at leading organizations from Vodafone to Oxfam, and Deloitte to UNICEF.

In addition to Amani Institute, Roshan also serves on the Board or Advisory Council of several innovative education organizations worldwide, including Design-a-thon Works (Netherlands), School of Future and Mithra Trust (both India), and Watson University and TechChange (both USA). He also served a term on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Future Council on Behavioral Science (2016- 2018), was awarded a Leadership in Education award by the World Education Congress in 2017, named one of the Asia Society’s “Asia 21 Young Leaders” in 2018, and both a BMW Foundation ‘Responsible Leader’ as well as one of the DO School’s Top 25 Influential Leaders in Purposeful Organizations in 2019.

He delivered the Commencement (graduation) speech at the University of San Diego in May 2015 and TEDx talks at TEDxAmsterdamEd and TEDxBangaloreSalon. His writing has been published in Forbes, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, MIT’s Innovations Journal, India Today, and the India Development Review. He has been interviewed or quoted in Fast Company, Vanity Fair, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and CNBC Africa, among others.

Roshan has studied and worked on every continent (bar Antarctica). He is the author of two other books, Such a Lot of World, a novel, and Your Work Begins at No, a collection of essays on social impact education, as well as a book chapter in the anthology Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America. He also created the ‘Acting Global’ project on Facebook and Instagram, which tells stories of people living and working beyond boundaries in a closing world.

The Future of Work: Beyond Technology
While most conversations about the future of work revolve around how emerging technologies will disrupt everything, at the end of the day, technology is merely a tool. There is a more powerful force driving the future of work, and that is the rise of purpose as a core reason to go to work. This talk will explore how leading with a higher purpose is the core driver of the future of work.

Why and How Companies Can Help Solve Social Problems and Make the World a Better Place
Historically, solving social problems has been the work of the nonprofit sector. Today, however, businesses and companies are being called to also play a role, driven by their customers, employees and even shareholders. As more companies do this, they find it is not just the right thing to do but also leads to greater profits. This talk will explore why it’s never been a better time for companies to play a role in leading social change.

The Landscape of Careers in Social Impact and How to Choose Between Them
It’s never been a better time to consider working to make a positive difference in the world. This talk will explore how the field of social impact has evolved over time, the plethora of career opportunities available today, and how each person can choose between these opportunities based on what fits their passions, skills, and current life-stage.

How to Become an Innovator
There is no skill more valued by managers and bosses than being able to creatively solve problems and innovate new ideas and solutions. But innovation is not something only gifted people like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk are born with. Rather, it relies on a set of behaviors and mindsets that anybody can master. This talk will show you how you can also master the essential skill of innovation.

How to Network Authentically
Having a global network is one of the biggest assets of the 21st century professional. And yet most people are filled with anxiety and a sense of distaste when it comes to networking. This talk will demystify what networking really is and show how anybody can improve their skills of networking in a way that feels authentic to them.

Owning Your Story
The use of storytelling as a professional skill that gives leaders and managers an edge has been in vogue for more than a decade now. The ability to build a narrative – both to inspire and inform your colleagues, customers and clients, but also to make sense of your own career trajectory – is one of the most helpful skills to master. This talk will show you how to become an effective storyteller, and thus, a better leader.

Aligning Who You Are and What You Do
As the famous Annie Dillard quote goes, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” If we spend most of our days at work, then happiness and fulfillment are most likely to come when we can align who we are – our values, purpose, beliefs and mental models – with our job. This talk will show you how to take a deeper look at what you believe about the world, what types of work fit those beliefs, and how to bring your skills together to pursue that purpose over the long-term.

Surviving Vs Thriving: How to Improve your Wellbeing and Manage Yourself for the Long Haul
A successful career does not happen in a few years; in fact, it can take a lifetime. This talk will show you how to pace yourself for the journey and develop the practices that can help you stay sane, grounded, optimistic and in sync with those around you over several decades.

Social Entrepreneurship: What it is, How it Evolved And Where it’s Going
One of the most popular fields of work in the first two decades of the 21st century has been social entrepreneurship. This talk will describe how the field evolved, the contributions it has made to social progress, where it is likely to go in the next decade, and how each person can enter the field and play a role in driving impact.

In my 17 years as Dean, this was one of the most powerful commencement addresses I heard
~ Dr. Paula Cordeiro, Dean of the School of Leadership and Education, University of San Diego

Your workshop was absolutely inspiring and illuminating, and I will be returning again and again throughout the course of my life and work to the wisdom you so generously shared! During your session, I had alums message me privately to tell me how amazing it was and how grateful they were that we invited you to speak.
~ Archana Rao, Director of Global Community Engagement, Global Citizen Year

I attended your excellent Masterclass. It pushed me beyond my acquired skepticism and opened up sense of possibility to new areas of social impact.
~ Dr. Eleanor Gorman, University of Cambridge

Roshan Paul

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