Champion of the Earth honoree and biomimicry pioneer Janine Benyus has transformed the way we think about innovation and design. Benyus challenges us to study nature's best ideas, then imitate its designs and processes to solve some of our greatest human challenges.

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Renowned primatologist, psychologist and ethologist Frans de Waal wants to convince us we're all basically apes, saying we'd be much happier if we paid attention to some of the basic principals of cooperative social behavior that even primates are sensitive to. Watching monkeys engage in peace-making, power relationships and reciprocity is a potent reminder of just how alike we are.

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What makes us happy? Societies flourish and people are most content when they are faced with fewer choices and more constraints argues psychologist Barry Schwartz. We are tortured by the idea of having it all - "Impossible!", he says.

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Environmental journalist Mark Lynas reports from his global tour of climate change hotspots - documenting the dramatic effects that even one degree of global warming may have around the world.

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Life as we know it will come to an end, says earth scientist Peter Ward in this talk from PopTech 2003. The big question is whether the planet will kill off our species (and millions of others) naturally, millions of years hence, or whether we'll accelerate our own demise by poisoning the climate first.

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Renowned ocean explorer Graham Hawkes creates a new generation of underwater craft. His winged Deep Flight submersibles give pilots the speed, agility and visibility to "fly" underwater and may help scientists learn more about the ocean and its inhabitants than ever before.

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Practicing "identity correction" ? the Yes Men target large corporations that put profits ahead of everything else. Getting inside the system, and impersonating business leaders, they smuggle stories out to the world to expose big business wrong-doing.

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Who says we should only dance on our feet and not on our shoulders, hands or backs? Why dance on the ground but not in the sky? Take a look as self-described 'action inventor' Elizabeth Streb dreams up new ways to set the human body in motion.

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Writer Suketu Mehta glimpses our possible urban future through the lens of the vastly contrasting lifestyles in Mumbai, the biggest, fastest, richest city in India, and with a population of 21 million, larger and more crowded than many nation states.

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Having spent two years living in squatter communities across four continents, urban ethnographer Robert Neuwirth finds people living lives of complexity, challenge, and surprising resiliency.

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Join polar scientist John Priscu ? and his autonomous robots - as he takes us miles below the Antarctic ice to search for living organisms that may have been cut off from the rest of the planet's ecosystem for millions of years.

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Get inspired by Richard Alley's optimistic view on global warming. This world-renowned paleoclimatologist does have some bad news about climate change, although he'll convince you that we not only have the tools to solve the problem, but we can make money doing it too.

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Four years ago, Frank Warren walked the streets of DC at night, handing out self-addressed postcards to strangers, soliciting their secrets. Watch as the creator of the wildly popular blog PostSecret reveals some of the hundreds of thousands of secrets shared by people from around the world in those four years...including a few of his own.

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Come along as the brilliantly acerbic David Rakoff takes the Pop!Tech audience on a hilarious journey through our nation's quest for culinary perfection and other cultural excesses.

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K. David Harrison discusses how language death leads to intellectual impoverishment in all fields of science and culture. Watch as he details efforts to sustain, value and revitalize linguistic diversity worldwide.

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After spending years in Africa fighting AIDS, TB and cholera with the W.H.O., Gary Slutkin returned to Chicago and had an epiphany: the violence plaguing his hometown exhibited all the signs of an infectious disease. Learn how he's applied epidemiological principles to reduce shootings and violent crime in inner-city Chicago neighborhoods by as much as 75%.

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Filmmaker Laura Waters Hinson went to Rwanda with a chilling question: is it possible to forgive the person who killed your family? Hear the stories of reconciliation she found while making "As We Forgive," which documents how confessed murderers and genocide survivors are partnering to rebuild Rwanda.

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Ecologist, author and lifelong fisherman Carl Safina is fighting to wake people up to the fact that fish are going the way of the buffalo. In this eye-opening Pop!Cast, Safina paints a grim portrait of the impact we're having on the Earth's oceans and what we need to do to turn the tide.

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Singer-songwriter Amos Lee's rich, soulful vocals have been heard everywhere from "The Tonight Show" to "Grey's Anatomy," as well as on tour with Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Norah Jones. Listen in as he croons a four song medley that takes the Pop!Tech audience to another place.

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Last year regenerative medicine expert Dr. Badylak shocked the medical world when two of his patients re-grew severed fingertips in just six weeks. Learn how he and his colleagues are applying this breakthrough solution to help Iraqi war veterans re-grow tissue and body parts lost in battle.

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An eminent roboticist and Ph.D. at MIT's Media Lab, Dobson is exploring "machine therapy" - a personal, societal and psychoanalytical study of machine design and its effects on peoples' everyday lives. Watch as she exhibits Screambody, Blendie and Omo, three fascinating robots that respond to - and influence - their users in provocative ways.

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Pioneering epidemiologist Dr. Lipkin is developing world-changing methods to rapidly identify and decode mystery pathogens. Listen as he explains how an increased understanding of "zoonotic diseases," coupled with advancements in diagnostic technology, is helping us to predict and prevent the next SARS or HIV/AIDS.

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The only author to ever win a Peabody, Polk and Pulitzer, Garrett has a distinct and extremely well-informed perspective on the failings of our global health system. Here she articulates some critical considerations for increasing the effectiveness of aid to Africa, narrowing the life expectancy gap between the developed and developing worlds, and preventing the spread of future pandemics.

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Dr. Parkinson is re-imagining the doctor/patient relationship, marrying a 21st century toolkit - think social networking, IM, video chat, SMS and PayPal - with old-fashioned, doctor-in-your-neighborhood, quality care. Pay a virtual visit to his Web 2.0 primary care practice, Hello Health, which offers a new way of keeping people well.

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Leading neuropsychiatrist Peter Whybrow recently authored "American Mania: When More Is Not Enough," a neurobiological look at the instinctual and social behaviors that balance a market economy. Pay attention as he explains how America's reward-driven culture is pushing the physiological limits of our evolutionary inheritance - making us sick in body and mind.

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Pop sociologist and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell has honed in on a profound new question: what separates extraordinary and average people? Discussing findings from his much-anticipated book "Outliers," Gladwell details how we're squandering human potential everywhere from the football field to the classroom - and what we can do to change it.

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Internet guru Clay Shirky has a unique ability to present the chaos of the Web in stunningly clear terms, as he does here, documenting what a "spontaneously, self-assembling, online philanthropic venture" tells us about the nature of human motivation. Listen as he explains the concept of "designing for generosity," and what we can learn about it from the Josh Groban Foundation, Napster and a top online mobile phone forum.

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You might think that genetically engineered agriculture and organic farming are diametrically opposed, but Pamela Ronald - chair of the Plant Genomics Program at UC Davis - argues the two go together like peanut butter and chocolate. In this informative Pop!Tech talk, Ronald describes how marrying organic farming techniques with G.E. crops holds the potential to help solve the impending global food crisis.

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Inventor, engineer and MacArthur Genius Grant-winner Dr. Saul Griffith thought he was an eco-prude, until he audited his total power consumption and learned he burns three times as much energy as the average European, and eight times as much as the average Carribeaner. Watch as he unveils Wattzon.com, a free online tool anyone can use to gain a deep understanding of their total energy footprint - and how to reduce their role in climate change.

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Chandler Burr is the New York Times' first-ever fragrance critic. His knowledge of the history, culture, emotion, economics, science and global geography of scent may be unrivaled. Come along with Chandler as he leads the Camden Opera House on an interactive, hyper-articulate and hilarious olfactory journey.

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The only conductor to ever lead the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Zander is a prophet of human potential and an unrivaled champion of joie de vivre.  Watch as he helps unlock the boundless potential of a 15 year old cellist and teaches the entire Pop!Tech audience what it means to live in a world of possibility.   

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Author of the striking book "The Big Sort: Why the clustering of like-minded America is tearing us apart,"  Bishop is ringing an alarm bell on the country's self-imposed "way-of-life segregation."  Here he details the increasing polarization of American communities and the corresponding impact on American culture, politics, economy and potential. 

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A signature program of the Pop!Tech Accelerator, Project Masiluleke, harnesses the power of mobile devices to help reverse South Africa's crippling HIV/AIDS and TB crises.  Partners from frog design, iTeach and the Praekelt Foundation discuss the program's breakthrough approach, which endeavors to connect millions to testing and care.

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Journalist, author and former pirate radio DJ Matt Mason argues that if you can't stop the pirates ? and you can't ? you should figure out how to out-compete them (like Apple did).  Mason is an ardent believer that where there's piracy, there's market failure ? and a big opportunity for organizations smart enough to understand that "you should talk to marketing before you talk to legal."

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The legendary Stefan Sagmeister calls Bantjes "one of the most innovative typographers working today," but on the Pop!Tech stage she eclipsed that lofty praise, marrying poignant personal stories with visually stunning design.  Prepare to be wowed as Marian holds forth on the infinity of inspiration and the inherent wonder in cathedrals, neurons, love letters...and cake. 

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Rapidly-rising, uncategorizeable cellist Rufus Cappadocia joins forces with a group of incredible Haitian drummers for one of the most rousing performances of Pop!Tech '08.

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Agricultural impresario Cary Fowler is kind of a latter-day Superman: his mission is to protect life on Earth, and he even operates out of an arctic fortress. While Dr. Fowler can't fly or leap tall buildings, his work has captured the world's imagination, and he's safeguarding mankind's future with a practical solution: seeds.

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A decade of e-mailing, IM'ing and social networking is beginning to undo 40 million years of touching as a primary human modality. Nina Jablonski ? acclaimed primatologist, evolutionary biologist and Penn State anthropology department head ? explores this change, man's role as the only "self-decorating ape," and how our underappreciated skin holds the key to our humanity.

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Watch pioneering marine ecologist and Scripps Institution professor Enric Sala build a time machine to the 16th century ? exposing a pristine coral reef few human eyes have ever glimpsed. He also explains how 99.9% of the world's coral reef research has been flawed and posits tourism as a way to save these endangered, natural wonders.

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With roots in folk and country-blues, Kelly Joe Phelps serves up music the Washington Post says is brimming with "poignancy, passion and spirituality." Live on the Pop!Tech stage, the distinctive singer-songwriter coaxes satin-smooth melodies from his guitar, while his raw, honest voice delivers heartfelt lyrics.

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Jonathan Harris is redefining the idea of what it means to tell a story. Take a ride through an arctic whale hunt and plunge headfirst into the feelings Harris finds running rampant in cyberspace as he describes what he calls "storytelling platforms."

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Zainab Salbi, co-founder and president of Women for Women International, gives a voice to what she calls the "backline" of war-the often unheard and ignored experiences of women and their efforts to survive the terrifying consequences of the frontline.

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Through a series of chemical reactions and a re-imagining of intellectual property practices, Jay Keasling and his partners at One World Health expect to have effective, affordable malaria pills in the hands of African children in a few years. Inspired? There's more. Watch as Keasling describes the boundless possibilities of metabolic engineering and non-profit biotechnology.

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Bill Shannon dances - on four legs. Born with a bilateral hip deformity, this ingenious performance artist's work will challenge your notions of disability.

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Five-time Grammy award-winner John Legend will move you and motivate you. He weaves stories from his Show Me Campaign-a movement he launched to help eradicate extreme global poverty-in between each soulful song.

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The cofounder of Kiva.org, the first peer-to-peer microloan website, demonstrates how the Internet can facilitate meaningful, positive connections between lenders and entrepreneurs in the developing world and even help us all become microfinanciers.

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Activist Van Jones is tackling two of our biggest problems-urban poverty and environmental peril-with a fresh, dynamic plan. His vision for providing America's poor with "green jobs instead of jails" touts a Green Revolution that includes everyone.

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Simply put, Victoria Hale's organization has saved thousands of lives. Join the founder of OneWorld Health-the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the US-as she shares her vision of bringing an end to what she calls the "diseases of poverty."

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Artist Chris Jordan brings the enormous scale of our mass consumption into high-resolution. He shares Running the Numbers, composite photographs of discarded cell phones, computers, aluminum cans and other modern detritus, urging us to consider the consequences of our consumer culture while insisting that each of us has the power to make a difference.

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Christian Nold thinks we should pay more attention to how our environment shapes our emotional and physiological states. His work with Bio Mapping-which measures people's responses to their environment and connects those feelings to their physical location-suggests that a map of emotional landscapes represents a powerful tool for analyzing the relationship between place and broader social issues.

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From his extensive experiences working with the poor of the developing world, Paul Polak has learned a lot about effective market-based approaches to alleviating poverty. He argues that in order to be successful, solutions must be simple, inexpensive, easy to reproduce, and most important, respond to the expressed needs of the people they are meant to benefit.

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A machine that builds itself? Adrian Bowyer, leading researcher at the University of Bath, shows us that this seemingly fantastic idea is not far from becoming reality. The self-replicating rapid prototyper, or "RepRap," could have dramatic effects on people in developing countries.

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The creator of FOUND magazine digs up some of his best finds, ranging from unusual "To do" lists to surprising flyers and discarded notes.

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What can we glean about underlying thought structures from the way we ask someone to "pass the guacamole"? Preeminent psychologist and best-selling author Steven Pinker examines how the words we use, from swears to simple requests at the dinner table, reflect how we think.

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Dr. Louann Brizendine, founder of the Women's Mood and Hormone Clinic and author of the bestselling book, The Female Brain, tells us why the brain is not a unisex organ. She offers compelling insight into how these differences explain distinct emotional and behavioral patterns between genders.

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Provocateur Daniel Pink has built a career on his keen insights into business, technology and the economy. Engaging, enlightening and funny, the best-selling author heralds a new job market-one that devalues the logical and rule-based in favor of the artistic, empathic and inventive.

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Canadian-born cellist Zoë Keating layers the sounds of her cello with live electronic sampling, as if she were an entire string ensemble condensed into one woman. Watch and listen to her infuse the Camden Opera House with wave after wave of beautiful and diverse rhythms.

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Toy designer Caleb Chung-famous for creating 1998's hot toy of the year, "Furby" - provides a playful peak into his wild creative process. He reveals that his recipe for success is to blend the uniquely human qualities of artistry and empathy with the science of technology.

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Most of us wouldn't see anything remarkable about a cell phone battery, a dishwasher switch and the light from a crosswalk signal. But Sheila Kennedy reveals how the combination of these common items can create something groundbreaking: portable, durable, reliable lighting for the third world.

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Why haven't we rallied our collective power to solve global warning? Join best-selling author Dan Gilbert as he explores our capricious reaction to different threats-from tooth decay to anthrax to climate change.

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In this busy, hectic world, speed often trumps quality of life. Best-selling author and Slow Movement purveyor Carl Honoré urges us to slow down and alter our culture of speed and its negative effect on our happiness.

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In a stirring performance, slam poet and visual artist Vanessa German imagines the things she could accomplish if her hands were two shooting stars or a raucous jazz quintet.

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Expert on race, ethics and philosophy, Kwame Anthony Appiah takes to task the myths of Western culture and civilization, explaining the "Golden Nugget" theory and its five major errors. Get ready for his deconstruction of a monolith.

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Anthropologist and Tibetan studies expert Losang Rabgey shows how technology is being used to open up Tibet to the world, as well as connect lives across the region, in ways true to their various experiences.

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Many consider Jason Moran, 32, the foremost jazz pianist of his generation, with seven albums under the Blue Note label since 1999. Here's a sample of how he experiments with new methods and ideas to cook up his own flavor of jazz.

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Strategist and expert on national security affairs Tom Barnett takes command and focuses in on the role of the United States in a geopolitical world of "core" and "gap" states. As you were, soldier.

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Richard Dawkins believes science's ability to admit ignorance is one of its greatest strengths. On the flip side, he proposes that faith remains arrogant and all too certain of its validity without any rational set of proofs.

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Self-proclaimed word geek Erin McKean, editor-in-chief of U.S. Dictionaries for Oxford University Press, is on a mission to debunk common misconceptions and elevate the use-and cool factor-of dictionaries. And what's this about dictionaries being "the vodka of literature"?

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Dr. Craig Venter's contributions to human genome research have made him one of the 21st century's leading biologists. He introduces potential opportunities for using recombinant DNA and synthesized cells to help solve the world's energy problems.

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Five educators, demonstrating leadership in technology and education, were awarded Pop!Tech Fellowships presented by Sun Microsystems and Curriki, a new open-source-focused educational foundation. Check out their discussion about the future of technology and education.

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Artist, photographer and inventor Clifford Ross demonstrates some of the magnificent images from his invention, the R2. It's the highest-resolution 360-degree high-definition camera array ever built. He's using it to shoot his current project-the vast, undisturbed wetlands ecosystem of Brazil's famed Pantanal.

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As co-founder and editor of WorldChanging.com, Alex Steffen sees the biggest barriers to building a sustainable planet as political, not technological. Here, he offers an actionable task list of challenges, ideas, products and services to help dematerialize the world.

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Neema Mgana is a social entrepreneur, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Pop!Tech Fellow. She gives us an insider's view into work she started last year with Architecture for Humanity in a Pop!Tech match-up. Together, they're creating a community-based health center in the rural Singida region of Tanzania.

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Author, journalist and contributing editor at Wired magazine Bruce Sterling understands why people get confused about new technology concepts. In what he sees as a culture war of web semantics, Bruce gets the audience's attention with a unique call for a new vocabulary to better describe experiences with technology.

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Wired editor-at-large Kevin Kelly explores the nature of technology through technology's eyes. And, watch out!-Kevin thinks we'll soon be dwarfed by the collective intelligence of all the technology we're creating.

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Author, futurist, activist and visionary, the inimitable Stewart Brand puts a lens to the next 30 years of the green movement. He sees increasing urbanization, new cities full of young people, the expansion of environmentalism and more.

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For many, vocalist Yungchen Lhamo has become the voice of Tibet. Yungchen's powerful a cappella vocals fill the Camden Opera House as she weaves rich narrative with spirit to share her life's journey.

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With a voice that could move a mountain, orator Eloma Simpson Barnes practically channels Martin Luther King, Jr., as she performs one of his speeches. She emulates King's cadence, intonation and enunciation in this inspirational reminder to stand up for what you believe in.

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You say you want a revolution? Ivan Marovic's got one for you-a nonviolent one, that is. This Serbian activist is connecting the virtual world to the real world with a video game to promote nonviolent strategies. It's an interactive approach that teaches in a way books and films can't.

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Follow explorer Ben Saunders' solo, unsupported journey across the frozen Arctic Ocean and grasp the true limits of human potential. At 26, he's the youngest person to ski to the North Pole and only the fourth in history to accomplish the feat. He's also witness to climate change at work.

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Malcolm Gladwell takes the lessons of psychology and sociology and applies them to business in ways we've never thought of before. Here, he deep-dives into the world of office chair invention and soft drink taste tests to answer the question, "Can we believe what people tell us?"

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb is not afraid to say "I don't know." In fact, he's proud of his ignorance. A mathematician, philosopher and hedge-fund manager all in one iconoclastic package, Taleb demonstrates the wisdom in admitting the limitations of our knowledge.

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Get a glimpse into the future of Africa from this astounding roundtable of African leaders. Internet entrepreneurs, peace activists, government officials, technology experts-even a Nobel Peace Prize nominee-share their visions for taking the lessons of Pop!Tech home.

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If you think this is the first time humans have grappled with climate change, you weren't paying attention in archeology class. Join world-famous archeologist Brian Fagan as he travels back in time to teach us a lesson that ancient civilizations learned the hard way: adapt or die.

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Blaine Brownell is an architect obsessed with sustainable building materials. He introduces a wonderful world of products made from repurposed materials and provides a glimpse of what a post-fossil fuel world might look like.

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Since being detained and interrogated by the FBI as a suspected terrorist, Hasan Elahi has documented his every move in maps and images on the web. He walks us through his "little" self-surveillance experiment, where he's found that the more public his personal information, the more protected he is.

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Hear how executive director of SELF, Robert Freling, is lighting up the developing world and empowering self-sufficiency by delivering solar power to more than 2 billion people on the planet living without electricity.

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The creative force behind The Sims series believes a complex way of understanding the world can be gained through very simple rules. Will Wright unveils his next game, Spore, where players are creators who build-and react to-ever-more complexity within their environments.

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Musician, producer and artist Brian Eno shows how simple things can give rise to complex things-in art and life. See how he uses Darwin's ecological model of the world as a roadmap for human culture now and in the future.

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The Mexican acoustic guitar duo sensation Rodrigo y Gabriela put fast fingers to strings for a performance that will put you on your feet and keep you moving. There's no better way to say it: they rock!

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You may know Tom Friedman as a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and author, but a fashionista?! Well, sort of. Tom purports that green is the new red, white and blue, and that our current energy crisis is like no other.

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As leader of the Imaging Science Team on the Cassini mission to Saturn, Carolyn Porco brings to the Pop!Tech stage breathtaking images and stories of exploration and discovery that, by her own admission, make grown men cry.

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Twenty minutes may not really be enough time to fully understand the implications of the so-called Fab Lab, invented by the director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. But it's a mind-blowing place to start!

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Dr. Serena Koenig, director of Haiti programs for Partners in Health, isn't afraid to ask the searing questions, especially about global inequalities in health care. With a simple philosophy-equal lives deserve equal treatment-she addresses the dilemma head-on.

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Don't miss the "it" moment from Pop!Tech 2005, as the world's first non-fictional bionic man maneuvers his prosthetic arm using only his mind. Jesse Sullivan and his doctor, Todd Kuiken, move every heart in the room with indomitable spirit and astonishing bionics.

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The stars and stripes forever? Futurist and author Juan Enriquez isn't sure of that. He cites a long history of borders, countries and flags that have changed, and warns the United States isn't immune.

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Hop on board. Writer, composer, musician and comedian extraordinaire Reggie Watts leads a musical trip that'll get (and keep) you movin'.

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Zinhle Thabethe has faced the prospect of her own death. Her personal stories about survival and family loss reflect a nation's epidemic in a sobering and inspirational wake-up call.

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Prepare to be moved ... "Sinikithemba" is Zulu for "give us hope" or "we give hope." This group of HIV-positive Zulu men and women who provide support to persons with HIV/AIDS at McCord Hospital in Durban shake down the house.

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A foremost interpreter of religion and culture says we're missing a rest-of-world perspective about faith. Martin Marty invites a broader definition of religion as well as a closer look at its meaning for the majority of the world.

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What does the future of entertainment look like? Ask a ninja! Entertainer, tech geek and co-creator of AskaNinja.com, Kent Nichols, delivers his rules for phenomenal success in the Participation Economy.

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What happens when material things become free? Long Tail author and Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson examines new models of wealth distribution and claims we're moving from economies of scarcity to an age of abundance.

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As artistic director of the New York-based performance and media ensemble The Builders Association, Marianne Weems shows us how she puts technology at center stage to extend the boundaries of contemporary theater.

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Profound respect for collective wisdom and traditional skills permeate Bunker Roy's tale of how his Barefoot College empowers local people to improve their communities by demystifying technology and recognizing the dignity of labor.

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Blending the line between art and engineering, this Dutch visual artist creates "life" in the form of "animals" that walk the beach in the Netherlands, and, to the delight of Pop!Techers, the stage and streets of Camden, Maine

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Code Monkey get up. Code Monkey go to job. Code Monkey have boring meeting. With boring manager Rob. Want more from singer/songwriter and Pop!Tech balladeer Jonathan Coulton? Download podcast, Monkey.

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute director Marcia McNutt takes us on an amazing, otherworldly tour of the deep seas, the incomprehensible life still undiscovered there, and the full power and potential of our oceans.

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Lester Brown, preeminent environmentalist and head of the Earth Policy Institute, warns that society is too dependent on fossil fuels, and consumption habits must change to maintain a healthy social, economic and environmental balance in the world.

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Part mad scientist, part artist, chef Homaro Cantu pushes the traditional limits of known taste, texture and technique in a stunning futuristic fashion. With lab partner Ben Roche, Homaro slices and dices technology to reinvent the way people eat.

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Robert Freling has set his sights on the ambitious goal of providing clean, sustainable solar energy to the world's two billion people who currently go without. As the executive director of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), he works toward his goal with projects that range from powering schools and health clinics to providing access to clean water through solar-powered pumps.

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Renewable bamboo, coconut waste and sawdust aren't usually used as fuels for factories, but in the northeast Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, ecological expert Stefano Merlin is pushing local factories to do just that. Leading a major fuel-switching initiative that blends social and environmental responsibilities with emission reductions, Merlin hopes that his most recent work will create what he calls in this address "a long-term biomass supply for the future."

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Ecologist and leading biodiversity conservationist Dr. Sarah Otterstrom illustrates the power of collaboration to combat climate change. Through partnerships, employment generation and environmental education for communities in western Nicaragua, Otterstrom finds ways to sequester carbon and return pastureland to native forest, creating an environment that benefits wildlife and people alike.

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Ken Banks is the founder of kiwanja.net, which helps local, national and international non-profits put mobiles to work through innovative offerings like FrontlineSMS ? free software enabling coordinated, many-to-many, two-way text messaging.  Learn how Ken's solutions are being used to improve communications in a variety of critical situations, including human rights and election monitoring, disaster relief coordination and much more. 

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Kushal Chakrabarti's Vittana Foundation underwrites need-based scholarships and loans for high-achieving students in the developing world ? eliminating barriers to education and providing a path to meaningful, productive employment. Vittana builds on the success of microlending ventures like Kiva.org, delivering rich, Web-based, person-to-person microfinance in partnership with an international network of MFI and educational institutions.

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Heather Fleming is the founder of Catapult Design, which helps foundations and non-profits apply design thinking to global development. Here Fleming discusses some of the breakthrough design projects she's working on, including a low-cost wind turbine capable of generating enough electricity to charge a cell phone or power LED lighting in Guatemala, where 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

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Brian McCarthy is Founder and CEO of PFNC, a manufacturer and provider of affordable housing. The company converts surplus U.S. shipping containers into residences for the 1.1 million laborers who work in Maquiladoras, México. PFNC utilizes recycled and other affordable building materials to deliver deeded homes for under $10,000 per unit ? providing residents with improved safety and sanitation, while also enabling wealth creation.

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N. Taylor Thompson and Nathan Sigworth are co-founders of PharmaSecure, a for-profit start up with a breakthrough solution to the $50+ billion, global pharmaceutical counterfeiting racket ? which kills millions each year. Learn more about their work, which is focused on the 5 billion people living in low and middle-income countries particularly susceptible to fake or sub-standard pharmaceuticals.

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Bhutan's recent transition from an absolute monarchy to democracy has created unfathomable new choices and opportunities for the Bhutanese ? and exposed the daunting challenges that lie ahead for the world's youngest democracy. Tshewang Dendup plans to help his compatriots seize this historic moment by providing them with hands-on training in business and computer skills, journalism/filmmaking and hospitality. Bhutan Broadcasting Service

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Tevis Howard founded KOMAZA to help end extreme poverty for rural Kenyan families living in arid landscapes. The organization partners with poor families to plant high-profit commercial tree farms that generate life-changing income and help preserve indigenous biodiversity.

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Priti is Co-Director of Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), a team of lawyers and scientists working to strengthen patent systems and encourage innovation in new medicines, while expanding broad access to the best and latest treatments. Learn more about how the organization strengthens patent examination and selectively exposes unmerited pharmaceutical patents ? which drive up the cost of essential drugs and prevent them from reaching poor patients in need.

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Melanie Edwards launched Mobile Metrix to identify and serve the world's one billion "invisible" people. The market research and distribution company connects those at the base of the pyramid to critical products and services ? including pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, voting registration and job training. Mobile Metrix also develops, administers and analyzes surveys for corporations, governments, NGOs, foundations and local communities.

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Erik Hersman is an innovator and technologist focused on advancing the use of technology as an empowerment tool in the developing world. He is a co-founder of Ushahidi ? a free, open source, Web / mobile-based platform capable of crowd-sourcing, sharing and mapping crisis information in near real time ? and he also runs afrigadget.com and whiteafrican.com, two prominent online communities generating creative solutions to Africa's development challenges.

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Abby Falik is the founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year (GCY), which aims to institutionalize a global service "gap year" for young Americans between high school and college ? fundamentally transforming how they understand and act on their responsibilities as global citizens. In partnership with universities and NGOs, GCY will train, support, and engage a diverse nationwide corps before, during and after their service term.

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Chip Ransler and Manoj Sinha are key principals behind Husk Power Systems (HPS), a for-profit company that's created a proprietary technology to cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity. The organization utilizes this technology in the production and operation of 35-100 kW mini power plants that deliver pay-for-use electricity ? and dramatically improved lives ? to inhabitants of un-electrified villages in India's "Rice Belt."

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Eric Dawson launched Peace Games in the early 90s to address sky-rocketing youth homicide rates. Peace Games has already reached 40,000 children and families in five states and is focused on changing school cultures ? teaching students the conflict resolution and peacemaking skills critical to create a safe learning environment.

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