John Wood, who quit his senior executive position with Microsoft to found a non-profit organization that establishes schools and libraries in the developing world, will speak at the University of Colorado at 麻豆影院's Leeds School of Business on campus March 14.
Wood's free public presentation will be at 5 p.m. in room 155 of the Fleming Law Building, where the Leeds School is temporarily housed. He is an alumnus of the CU-麻豆影院 business school and received his MBA from Northwestern University.
Wood is founder and chief executive officer of Room to Read, which partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries and other facilities.
He founded Room to Read after visiting several schools during a trek through Nepal, where he was struck by the warmth and enthusiasm of the students and teachers and saddened by the shocking lack of resources, including schools with only a few books for the entire student body. Wood quit his job at Microsoft and established the nonprofit to address the issue.
Last year Wood published "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World," chronicling his efforts, through Harper Collins.
Room to Read seeks to enhance the education of children, giving them the opportunity to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries and future generations. Wood has applied corporate business practices to the nonprofit and set a goal of providing educational access to 10 million children in the developing world.
In recognition of his efforts, he was selected as the second recipient of the Draper Richards Fellowship and has twice been chosen for the Skoll Foundation award for social entrepreneurship.
Wood has led Room to Read to three consecutive selections for the prestigious Social Capitalist recognition by Fast Company magazine and the Monitor Group. In 2004, he was named one of Time magazine's "Asian Heroes" -- the only non-Asian ever selected to receive the award.