MacArthur’s 100 & Change Competition Interview with Cecilia Conrad, Bev Postma and Sherrie Westin

MacArthur’s 100 & Change Competition Interview with Cecilia Conrad, Bev Postma and Sherrie Westin

As regular listeners of the show know, we’ve had the distinct pleasure of covering the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change competition over the past year or so including getting to hear from each of the eight semi-finalists. The winner was announced in December, and I thought it’d be worth recapping this extraordinary enterprise starting with the woman who oversaw the whole thing.

The Business of Giving Visits the Offices of Sesame Workshop

The Business of Giving Visits the Offices of Sesame Workshop

“I’ve often said to people – if you know well the CEO of the company, know who that person is, you can predict the corporate culture. Conversely, if you don’t know the CEO at all but you know the corporate culture, you can predict pretty clearly what the attributes and values of the CEO are because, over time, the CEO and culture get very closely aligned. Whatever attributes and values the CEO has and expresses and brings and says “this is what’s important to me,” that’s what the company begins to absorb and take on and deliver on. “

Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President of Global Impact and Philanthropy for Sesame Workshop, and Sarah Smith, the Senior Director of Education at the International Rescue Committee, Joins Denver Frederick

Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President of Global Impact and Philanthropy for Sesame Workshop, and Sarah Smith, the Senior Director of Education at the International Rescue Committee, Joins Denver Frederick

“…these characters have this ability to engage children in every place on earth… when we bring in our characters, and you see Elmo, and these children light up, and the thought that you’re going to reach them with quality, proven educational content!  But at the same time, we bring a joy and a hope, and that’s really important in these settings.”