LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc. (GLG), the world's largest membership for one-on-one professional learning, today launched the GLG Social Impact Fellowship (GLG.it/socialimpact) to give twelve promising nonprofit leaders access to one-on-one learning from 375,000 experts and thought leaders, without cost. These creative problem-solvers have already demonstrated that they are among the most promising and gifted social sector leaders and are ready to move beyond the advice and mentorship typically provided by board members and donors. GLG made the announcement from the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, a gathering of business, political, philanthropic, and intellectual leaders from around the world to discuss and confront the biggest global challenges.

These Fellows join GLG's community of leading investors, entrepreneurs, corporations, and consulting firms, who learn every day from academics, current and former C-suite executives, scientists, policy specialists, former public sector leaders, and other professional leaders. Fellows and their teams will work collaboratively with GLG research professionals to leverage the breadth and depth of this network to inform their strategic decisions and increase their impact. GLG's total in-kind donation to the Fellows and their organizations is estimated at $1.4 million.

"Our mission is to transform the way the world's top professionals share expertise, learn, and make decisions. This vital one-to-one learning has been available to top professionals across the private sector, and now we're making it available to the best and brightest innovators in the social sector, where the need for learning is particularly acute, and the opportunity for innovation especially rich," said GLG President and CEO Alexander Saint-Amand. "These curious and innovative Fellows, already having a big impact, are the future of the social sector. We're thrilled to partner with them as they scale their missions."

The 2014 Fellows were chosen from a diverse group of leading early-stage and growing nonprofits and social enterprises invited to apply and interview. The competitive selection process, which will occur annually, was based on organizations' missions and models and on applicants' articulation of how GLG's resources would help them increase efficacy and scale at key moments in their organizational growth.

The Fellows and their organizations tackle a range of social challenges around the world – from community health and entrepreneurship to extreme poverty in Africa and disaster response in the U.S. They are:

• Rachael Chong – Founder & CEO, Catchafire; New York, New York (U.S. skills-based volunteering)
• Aaron Fishman – Founder & Director, East Bali Cashews; Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia (cashew processing social enterprise)
• Christina Lewis Halpern – Founder & President, All Star Code; New York, New York (men of color in technology)
• Jake Harriman – Founder & CEO, Nuru International; Palo Alto, California (sustainable global development)
• Leila Janah – Founder & CEO, Samasource; San Francisco, California (global enterprise digital service jobs for underserved women and youth)
• Leticia Jauregui – Founder & Executive Director, Crea Comunidades de Emprendedores Sociales; Mexico City, Mexico (business support for marginalized women entrepreneurs in Mexico)
• Manmeet Kaur – Founder & Executive Director, City Health Works; New York, New York (community health services in East Harlem)
• Oliver Libby – Co-Founder & Board Chairman, The Resolution Project; New York, New York (global youth social entrepreneurship)
• Ben Powell – Founder & CEO, Agora Partnerships; Washington, District of Columbia (early-stage impact entrepreneurship in Latin America)
• Zack Rosenburg – Co-Founder & CEO, St. Bernard Project; Chalmette, Louisiana (U.S. long-term disaster recovery)
• Eugenie Teasley – Founder & Chief Executive, Spark+Mettle; Brighton, England (career support for marginalized youth in England)
• Andrew Yang – Founder & CEO, Venture for America; New York, New York (post-college entrepreneurship in U.S. cities)

Jen Field, GLG Director of Social Impact, oversees the Fellowship. She explained, "Our first class of Fellows is an incredibly diverse group of social sector all-stars. They are energetic, dynamic, and deeply curious leaders of innovative and growing organizations. They present big ideas, face critical inflection points, and demonstrate sincere commitments to continuous learning and improvement, personally and professionally. We couldn't be prouder to welcome them and to support them."

The Fellows are eager to learn from the world's leading professionals, from GLG, and from each other. "The scale of our organizational ambitions require not only resources and coordination, but meaningful expertise and experience," said Manmeet Kaur of City Health Works. "The GLG Fellowship will give us access to specific expertise just when we need it. We will be able to make smarter decisions faster, and make a bigger difference for people in need."

Zack Rosenburg of St. Bernard Project said, "I'm honored and excited to be among this elite class of GLG Fellows. The group's diversity and range of missions combined with the breadth of GLG's membership should lead to unexpected and inspiring exchanges and collaborations that will benefit the people we serve."

Saint-Amand added, "We hope that having GLG at the table will help these young social sector leaders scale their impact and change lives. I believe they will find immense value in GLG and its network. Our teaching members have a lot to offer curious professionals across fields, and we are proud to now include these innovators who are changing the world."

About GLG / Gerson Lehrman Group

GLG is transforming the way the world's top professionals share expertise and learn. GLG curates custom learning experiences among professionals and thought leaders across fields, within a rigorous compliance framework. GLG scales one-to-one learning through conversations, mentorships, small group convenings, surveys, and other interactions with its network of more than 375,000 experts. Global, technology-driven, and nimble, GLG is the world's largest membership for professional learning and expertise. Its 850 employees work in 21 offices in 12 countries. To find out more, visit www.GLG.it and follow @GLG.

About GLG Social Impact

GLG Social Impact connects social sector organizations with experts across industries and geographies for perspectives and expertise to accelerate the impact of their work, including through the GLG Social Impact Fellowship. GLG Social Impact partners with leading social sector organizations around the world, including The Clinton Development Initiative, Endeavor Global, The Bridgespan Group, and The Julliard School, among others. To find out more, visit www.GLGSocialImpact.com.

Further information about individual fellows can be found at www.GLGSocialImpact.com/fellows.

SOURCE GLG