Adam Braun is the Founder & Executive Director of Pencils of Promise.

As a college student traveling across the globe, Adam asked a small boy begging on the streets of India what he wanted most in the world. The answer: A pencil. The promise that came in handing out that first pencil led to the sharing of thousands while backpacking through 50+ countries, learning from locals about the need for a nonprofit that built schools based on a model of community ownership and empowerment.

Pencils of Promise was founded in October 2008 with a mere $25 in hopes of building one school in Laos. The movement that grew out of the PoP approach of nonprofit idealism and for-profit business accountability soon encouraged Adam to leave his job at Bain & Company and work exclusively on realizing the PoP dream. Today, that dream has manifested into more than 40 schools in Laos, Nicaragua and Guatemala. In creating a dedicated community of over 250,000 members, PoP has become a leader in social media engagement, sustainable development, youth empowerment and digital innovation.

Adam graduated magna cum laude from Brown University where he played varsity basketball, previously worked at leading consulting firm Bain & Company, and now spends his time developing on-the-ground programs and staff internationally, speaking across the country to expand PoP’s outreach, and working alongside staff at PoP’s global headquarters in New York City.

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