Photo from U.S. Department of State.
In this special series, we’ll take a brief look at various different fearless inspirations from the past week or so. Whether it’s a fearless young change maker who is taking risks, a new publication that expresses bold and innovative ideas, or an organization that is promoting change and that is not afraid to fail forward—we want to shine a spotlight on them and their work in the hope that it will spark a new movement to Be Fearless.
As Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation wrote in a recent thought piece, “The old way of doing things is simply no longer effective in this new world. It’s time for us all to take risks on new ideas, approaches, and initiatives. It’s time for us to be bold, to act with urgency, and to resist the tendency to let caution be our guide. It’s time for us to Be Fearless.” Will you join us?
Feed the Future
When she is not directly assisting one of the most powerful diplomats in the world, she is spearheading efforts to move beyond the traditional giving of aid to developing countries to the implementation of sustainable social investments.
Cheryl Mills, the chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, learned some valuable lessons during her stint in the private sector previous to her current position. A former Deputy White House Counsel in the Clinton Administration, Cheryl is returning to government after spending time working for New York University and Oprah’s Oxygen Media.
Cheryl oversees the Feed the Future plan, a presidential initiative designed to ensure food security in struggling countries by increasing agricultural production and the incomes of both men and women in rural areas who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. The website for the initiative maintains that investments in inclusive agriculture-led growth encompass improving agricultural productivity, expanding markets and trade, and increasing the economic resilience of vulnerable rural communities.
Mills believes there are some private sector approaches to accomplishing food security that involve changing the way people get food products to market and giving them facilities where that food can be processed effectively. This means people don’t necessarily need to grow more--instead, they can save more.
The inherent risks of these private sector practices are not lost on Mills. She is quoted, “one of the things we try to do is to help people understand the choices, understand the benefits and opportunities and also … some of the risks and challenges."
Mills is also deeply involved in Haiti’s recovery efforts. She travels to the country about every three weeks, where she works on figuring out how to catalyze economic growth, private sector investments, and entrepreneurialism. Things are slowly getting better, she says. "There are fewer people living in tents, more people with access to quality health care, more kids who are in school, and for the first time in a long long time, Haiti is attracting private sector investments."
Cheryl’s efforts to bridge government policy goals and private sector solutions are a innovative approach to solving tough problems. Her belief in public-private partnerships as a viable solution is one that is being celebrated and embraced by leading foundations across the country also seeking transformative change.
Read more about Cheryl in Fast Company.