The Aspen Institute and Institute Trustee Anne Welsh McNulty today announced the sixth annual John P. McNulty Prize finalists, a group of four extraordinary leaders who bring the spirit of innovation and excellence that characterized their success in the private sector to bear on some of the most intractable issues of our time.

From making financial services more available to underserved inner-city small businesses and rural communities, to improving the economic conditions of Indian farmers, to pioneering new methods of recycling plastic from the ocean, the 2013 Finalists are making a significant impact on their communities and across the globe.

“The remarkable accomplishments of these individuals and their organizations is a call to action to individuals across the private sector to step up, to bring their leadership abilities, their business acumen and resources to tackle the most difficult problems our world is facing” said Anne Welsh McNulty.

The John P. McNulty Prize of $100,000 is given annually to honor the visionary work of a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network of the Aspen Institute; each of the finalists receives $10,000. An international panel of judges including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, African diplomat Olara Otunnu, Indian parliamentarian and diplomat Shashi Tharoor, and international development expert, Brizio Biondi-Morra, will select this year’s winner. The winner will be announced November 6, 2013 in New York City.

The 2013 finalists are:

HOPE COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION, WILLIAM BYNUM
Mid-South, USA
Advisor to three presidents on community development, small business and financial services, BILL BYNUM founded HOPE to provide much-needed financial services to underbanked areas, building assets, improving savings and access to credit for economically-distressed Southerners.
www.hope-ec.org

ARAKU ORIGINALS LTD, MANOJ KUMAR
India
CEO of the Naandi Foundation, MANOJ KUMAR created ARAKU ORIGINALS, LTD to enable the inhabitants of the Araku Valley to change the economics of their coffee farms by harnessing the power of niche global markets to build economically and environmentally sustainable sources of income.
www.arakuoriginals.com

OCEAN PLASTIC PROJECT, ADAM LOWRY
San Francisco, CA
Co-founder and Chief Greenskeeper of Method Products, Inc, ADAM LOWRY adopted the OCEAN PLASTIC PROJECT from his experience in the Catto Fellowship. Through his company, Method, he’s pioneered a completely new technique and supply chain for harvesting, recycling and producing new plastic from the immense garbage patches polluting the Pacific.
www.methodhome.com/ocean-plastic

FUNDWELL, CHINWE ONYEAGORO
San Francisco, CA
Top management consultant and advisor to Fortune 1000 executives and the U.S. SBA, CHINWE ONYEAGORO noticed that qualified businesses in inner cities that should have access to affordable financing were being shut out of credit markets due to information inefficiencies, she co-founded FUNDWELL with Sharon E. Jones to connect under-served business owners with lenders locally and nationwide as well as improve their financial health.
www.thefundwell.com

Live video of the finalist announcement at 7:30pm MDT on July 30 will be available here: www.aspenleaders.org/live. Watch a background video on the 2013 finalists here: vimeo.com/71035024. Follow the event on Twitter at @AspenLeadersAct and #MyAspenAction. A discussion by the five previous winners of the prize will follow.

Previous winners of the McNulty Prize include Amit Bhatia (Aspire India – 2012), Dele Olojede (NEXT ­ 2011), John Danner (Rocketship Education ­ 2010), Patrick Awuah (Ashesi University ­ 2009), and Jordan Kassalow (VisionSpring ­ 2008).

About The John P. McNulty Prize
Founded by Anne McNulty in honor of her late husband John, the Prize aims to galvanize efforts to address the foremost social, economic and political challenges of our time by recognizing the very best in high impact leadership. Each year, the winner is selected by an international jury that has included Mary Robinson, Bill Gates, Sr., and Sir Richard Branson and recognizes exceptional leadership projects undertaken by the Fellows of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

The Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) is a growing, worldwide community of entrepreneurial leaders from business, government, and the nonprofit sector — currently, more than 1,600 "Fellows" from 46 countries — who share a commitment to enlightened leadership and to using their extraordinary creativity, energy, and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times. All share the common experience of participating in the Henry Crown Fellowship or one of the dozen Aspen Institute leadership initiatives it has inspired in the United States, Africa, Central America, India, China, and the Middle East.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org or follow on Twitter @AspenInstitute.

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