Sherry Lansing, Sidney Poitier, David Gergen, Gov. Marc Racicot, Cokie Roberts, and Gloria Steinem among Diverse Jury to Select Five Social Innovators Over 60 to Win $100,000 Each

SAN FRANCISCO — Civic Ventures, a nonprofit think tank and program incubator focused on helping society achieve the greatest return on experience, today announced the 21 judges who will determine the winners of the first-ever Purpose Prize, a major new initiative to invest in social innovators over 60 who are taking bold steps to help solve some of society's biggest problems. Some of the judges include actor Sidney Poitier, Harvard professor and former Presidential advisor David Gergen, journalist Cokie Roberts, author Gloria Steinem, and business entrepreneur Jeffrey Taylor.

The distinguished jury will select five winners from a pool of more than 1,200 nominations – from every state and focused on a multitude of societal challenges. Civic Ventures will name 15 finalists in June, each of whom will win at least $10,000. On September 7, five of those 15 finalists will be selected as $100,000 winners.

"It's thrilling to watch those over 60 – and the 77 million boomers just behind them – define this new stage of life between midlife and true old age as a time that includes meaningful work contributing to the greater good," said jury Chair Sherry Lansing, CEO of the Sherry Lansing Foundation and former Chair of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group. "The 1,200 Purpose Prize nominees represent the tip of the innovative iceberg. When they haven't found the right opportunities to use their experience or the right organizations to solve problems, they've wasted no time creating them."

Funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and The John Templeton Foundation, The Purpose Prize is designed to demonstrate that investment in the work of social entrepreneurs in the second half of life will yield important returns for society – and to challenge the notion that social innovation and entrepreneurship are the province of the young.

"The Purpose Prize is the opposite of a lifetime achievement award," says Marc Freedman, founder and President of Civic Ventures. "Instead it's a critical investment in what these creative individuals will do next to solve important problems in their communities and in the nation. And there is no better example of this type of creativity, commitment and passion than our judges themselves."

The judges – well-known leaders in business, politics, religion, the arts, journalism and the nonprofit sector – include:

• Bob Buford, Chair, The Leadership Network; Founding Chair of the Board of Governors of The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management; former Chair of the Board and CEO of Buford Television, Inc.; author of Game Plan: Winning Strategies for the Second Half of Your Life
• Fred Davie, Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Community Partnerships and President Elect, Public/Private Ventures
• David Gergen, Professor of Public Service and Director of the Center for Public Leadership at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Jennie Chin Hansen, Senior Fellow, UCSF Center for Health Professions; Chair, AARP Foundation; President-Elect, AARP; former CEO, On Lok, Inc.
• Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author; Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School; former editor, Harvard Business Review
• Wendy Kopp, President and Founder, Teach for America
• Sherry Lansing, CEO, The Sherry Lansing Foundation and former Chairman, Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group
• Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, author; Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor of Education at Harvard University
• Monica Lozano, Senior Vice President of Impremedia LLC; publisher and CEO of La Opinión Newspaper
• Mario Morino, Founder and Chair, Venture Philanthropy Partners
• James Phills, Director of the Center for Social Innovation and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University
• Sidney Poitier, actor; director; producer; author
• Marc Racicot, President, American Insurance Association; former Governor of Montana; former Chair, Republican National Committee
• Rey Ramsey, CEO, One Economy Corporation; former Chair of the Board, Habitat for Humanity International
• Cokie Roberts, political commentator, ABC News; Senior News Analyst, NPR
• General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Retired), former Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
• Alan Solomont, Chair and CEO, Solomont Bailis Ventures
• Gloria Steinem, author; co-founder, Ms. Magazine; Women's Action Alliance; the National Women's Political Caucus; Voters for Choice; Choice USA; the Ms. Foundation for Women; Women's Media Center
• Jeffrey C. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, Eons, Inc.; founder and former CEO, Monster.com
• Thomas J. Tierney, Chair and cofounder, The Bridgespan Group; former CEO, Bain & Company
• Harris Wofford, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania; former CEO, the Corporation for National and Community Service

About Civic Ventures

Civic Ventures is a think tank and program incubator, working to help society achieve the greatest return on experience. To learn more, visit www.civicventures.org or www.leadwithexperience.org.

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