Cheryl Dorsey, President

An accomplished social entrepreneur with expertise in health care, labor issues and public policy, Cheryl Dorsey was named President of Echoing Green in May 2002. She is the first Echoing Green Fellow to lead this global nonprofit, which has awarded more than $27 million in start-up capital to over 450 social entrepreneurs worldwide since 1987.

Dorsey received her education at Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges where she earned a degree in history and science in 1985. In 1992, while training to be a pediatrician at Harvard Medical School, she received an Echoing Green Fellowship. With it, she launched the Family Van, a community-based mobile health unit that provides basic health care and outreach services to at-risk residents of inner-city Boston neighborhoods.

As a public policy innovator, Cheryl served as a White House Fellow from 1997-1998, serving as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, advising the Clinton Administration on health care and other issues. She was later named Special Assistant to the Director of the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Labor Department, where she helped develop family-friendly workplace policies and spearheaded the labor secretary’s pay equity initiative.

Cheryl serves on the board of the Coro New York Leadership Center, City Year (national), DonorsChoose.org, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), and Freelancers Insurance Company, Inc., a for-profit insurance company and subsidiary of Working Today. She also serves as an advisory board member of the Action Tank for Social Entrepreneurs, America Forward, and the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation. Dorsey is a 2006 Henry Crown Fellow through the Aspen Institute, a 2007 Prime Mover Fellow through the Hunt Alternatives Fund, and a member of the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Visiting Committee.

Cheryl has received numerous awards and honors for her commitment to public service, including the Pfizer Roerig History of Medicine Award, the Robert Kennedy Distinguished Public Service Award and the Manuel C. Carballo Memorial Prize. She holds a B.A. in History and Science from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, an M.D. from the Harvard Medical School and an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. She writes and speaks widely on minority affairs, social justice, social entrepreneurship, and maternal and child health issues.

Why do you do what you do?

wdydwyd sign: Champion Change!

We are at a moment in history where we truly have all of the resources we need to take on and solve some of our toughest social problems. We also have a cadre of committed social change agents, such as the Echoing Green Fellows, who are fully dedicated to leading the charge to end poverty, homelessness, educational inequity, global warming, etc. They are leading a quiet revolution, a revolution for positive social change and I truly believe that in my lifetime, we'll see the end of some of these terrible afflictions that rob people of equal opportunity and hope.

What drew you to work at Echoing Green?

I've been a member of the Echoing Green community for many years. In 1991, while a graduate student at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, an advisor told me about a new fellowship program called the Echoing Green Public Service Fellowship. At the time I was working with my mentor, Dr. Nancy E. Oriol, to start a new community-based health program called The Family Van. I went to the informational meeting for that new fellowship program and, intrigued, applied to Echoing Green for support in starting my organization. Getting the Echoing Green Fellowship, becoming a part of a community of like-minded social change agents, and receiving the advice and counsel of Echoing Green staff and fellows really changed my life. I've always been so grateful for that transformative experience—when I had the chance to continue working with Echoing Green as staff, I did not hesitate. I am honored everyday to work with an extraordinary community of social entrepreneurs who are truly moving the needle on some of our toughest social problems.

What book are you currently reading?

Maria Shriver's Just Who Will You Be?. It's a short book and a quick read. But it packs quite a punch for anyone and everyone who is still "seeking"—seeking answers, seeking direction, seeking some clarity in their lives. The idea for the book came out of a high school graduation speech she gave. Those in attendance told Maria what struck them about the speech was the question she posed. It wasn't, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Rather it was, "Who will you be? Who is the person you want to be? Who are you?" For all those who search for lives of meaning, these are really the questions that count. It plays out in interesting ways, in particuar, for those attracted to careers in social change. Its about trying to live out your values through your work in a way that has integrity, impact, and balance. At the end of the book, Maria shares ten pledges she's made to herself—actions (internal and external) that she uses to help keep her focused and centered on who she wants to be. She then provides readers with workbook space to complete their own pledges. I like that she provides the reflection space for this kind of self-awareness. It's also acknowledgement that this journey is just that—a journey and a process.

What do you do for fun in your free time?

For anyone who knows me, this is an easy question. It's all about my dog Josie. Any activity in which I can incorporate her is great fun! She's adorable, sweet, ridiculous and wacky, all at the same time. My one wish is to work in a dog-friendly building so that I could bring her to work. (In lieu of that, we all make due at the Echoing Green offices by admiring adorable two-legged and four-legged creatures posted on our cute baby picture pin-up board and our cute pets pin-up board—a nice collection of dogs and cats and even drosophila)!

When was your last Be Bold moment?

A few weeks ago, I gave a speech at a leadership development conference. I was prepared to provide mostly concrete strategies and tools learned from working with the Echoing Green community. However, it became apparent to me pretty quickly that my audience was looking for not the nuts and bolts of the topic but the soul of it. How do you fail and get back up again? How do you struggle with dignity but continue to pursue your dreams? Being vulnerable and truthful about my own journey gave the audience permission to open up and have an honest and meaningful conversation about theirs. It was a tremendously moving experience for me and taught me so much about trust, support and the power of having faith in your vision.

In the next month, I plan to…

Plan a vacation. The Echoing Green team is one of the hardest-working teams with whom I've ever had the pleasure to work. They are so committed to the success of the Echoing Green fellows that they sometimes forget about their own needs. We preach work-life balance in the fellowship yet often don't abide by our own entreaties. I am guilty as charged too. The work we all do is really a marathon and not a sprint. Self-care, nurturing other parts of our lives outside of work, and not taking everything so seriously all of the time are important things to remember. Hopefully, I will be doing all of those things this summer!!