Heather Franzese Named Asia 21 Young Leader by Asia Society
Shaping a brighter future for the Asia-Pacific region by confronting its most vexing challenges today.
San Francisco, July 14, 2015 /3BL Media/ — Heather Franzese, Executive Director of Good World Solutions, has been named by Asia Society part of the Class of 2015 Asia 21 Young Leaders, the preeminent network of young leaders from across the Asia Pacific, representing the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
A Purpose Economy 100 (PE100) global changemaker, Heather Franzese has been working for 15 years to improve the lives of vulnerable workers in global supply chains. Her award-winning social enterprise Good World Solutions has leveraged mobile technology to give voice to factory workers and real-time data to leading clothing and electronics companies. Since 2010, the organization’s Labor Link platform has reached over 270,000 workers in 16 countries, including China, India, and Bangladesh.
“We define leadership as anticipating future needs to drive the workplace of tomorrow, a factory where workers are respected and where worker well-being also drives productivity. By giving voice to workers and real-time data to companies, we build socially responsible supply chains in the world’s leading manufacturing countries.”
Heather will attend the special 10th anniversary Asia 21 Summit in Hong Kong, December 1-4. The summit will celebrate the achievements of the first decade, explore innovative ways to leverage the Asia 21 network for greater impact, and form special Asia 21 Task Forces to address critical issues facing the region.
Asia 21 Young Leaders are selected through a highly competitive process based on outstanding achievement, commitment to public service, and a proven ability to make the world a better place. The 32 young leaders who make up the Asia 21 Class of 2015 represent 22 countries and are divided almost evenly between men and women. Fifty percent work in the private sector, 44 percent in the nonprofit sector, and 6 percent in the public sector.
“The new class of Asia 21 Young Leaders is a remarkable group. We are excited to introduce these leaders of the Asia-Pacific region to the Asia 21 Network, where they will find mentors, potential collaborators, and, we hope, new friends,” said Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran. “We welcome this passionate group to the Asia 21 family, and look forward to the contributions they make to the public good in the coming years.”
Heather joins a powerful network of Asia 21 alumni - proven leaders from across the region representing a variety of professional backgrounds, who will serve as mentors and potential collaborators. The Asia 21 network includes rising political figures – Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV (Philippines); Minister of Culture and Primary and Secondary Education Anies Baswedan (Indonesia); Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (United States); Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin (Malaysia) – prominent media personalities – NDTV journalist Barkha Dutt (India); Herald Corporation Chairman Ryan Hong (South Korea); Zebra Media Founder and CEO Scarlett Li (China); and Moby Group Chairman Saad Mohseni (Afghanistan) – award-winning journalists and filmmakers –Maziar Bahari (Iran); Nitin Das (India); Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Pakistan) – and private sector leaders – Saratoga Investment Sedaya President Sandiaga Uno (Indonesia); Executive Director at YTL Singapore Pte Ltd. Ruth Yeoh (Malaysia); Inle Princess Resort Managing Director Yin Myo Su (Myanmar); and Head of Asia Capital Markets & Financing at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Soofian Zuberi (Pakistan).
For more information about Asia 21 and complete profiles of the 2015 Class of Asia 21 Young Leaders, visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21.
About Good World Solutions
Good World Solutions builds socially responsible supply chains by activating technology that gives voice to the global workforce. The Labor Link platform leverages the rapid spread of mobile phones to establish an anonymous two-way communication channel for workers to report on real factory conditions, and for companies to receive unfiltered data directly from their workers, 365 days a year. With Labor Link, company decision-makers are equipped with actionable, yet affordable data to effectively pinpoint high-risk issues and improve worker outcomes. Since 2010, Labor Link has reached more than 270,000 workers in the supply chains of major apparel and electronic companies in 16 countries, including China, India, and Bangladesh.
About Asia Society
Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, non-profit institution with headquarters in New York, major centers in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, D.C.
