Richard Branson

Founder, Virgin Group

It shouldn't just be left to politicians and community organizations to tackle the world's problems -- businesses should help, too. Although individually lots of businesses do great things, collectively they could be far more powerful and do much more good.

Lakshmi Puri

Assistant Secretary-General, UN

The discussions to shape the post-2015 global development agenda offer a real opportunity to drive lasting change for women's rights and equality. A strong global goal can push our societies to the tipping point of rejecting violence and discrimination against women and girls and unleash the potential of half the population for a more peaceful, just and prosperous world and a sustainable planet.

John-Manuel Andriote

Journalist and author, 'Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America'

When we have new generations who didn't watch their friends die horrific deaths from AIDS now dismissing condom use as "political correctness," and serious writers claiming that "hedonism" is what drives reckless sexual behavior, it's time for a reality check.

Steve Mariotti

Founder, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 2013 Young Entrepreneur Showcase. I had the chance catch up with one of the world's leading youth entrepreneurship teachers, Maria Jimenez, who helped bring these students through this exciting program.

Dr. Oran Hesterman and Michel Nischan

There is no need more basic than food, and there is no legislation with a bigger impact on our nation's nutrition than the Farm Bill.

Margaret A. Hacskaylo

Founder/Executive Director, District Alliance for Safe Housing

I think we owe it to them, to survivors of violence -- really, to ourselves and our country -- to make it easier to breathe knowing that we can justifiably expect safety, resources and the right to live freely and independently. Everyone deserves that much.

Georgia Frances King

Brooklyn-based arts journalist

On the outskirts of North Braddock, there sits an abandoned 1900s Lutheran church. Braddock Tiles aims to build an artisan micro-factory inside the church's walls to manufacture 20,000 honeycomb-shaped tiles that will restore the church's arches with a cacophony of candy-colored inlays.

Kevin Swan

Founder, A Life Story Foundation

On the most difficult stretches, I could feel the breath from every one of the men carrying me. Which made me wonder: if my body was tired, what did their bodies feel like? How did they have the capacity, the energy, the drive to continue to lift my chair over and over again?

Matthew Cooke

Writer-director, How To Make Money Selling Drugs

Drug war supporters think Americans might tear apart the fabric of society if we were legally allowed to consume whatever plants or chemicals we chose. This is not based in fact.

HRH The Prince of Wales

HRH The Prince of Wales

People do not thrive without the support of a community so, in my view, if the hope is that people prosper, find happiness and feel that all important sense of satisfaction and belonging, then we have to maintain the fabric of community and not let it become threadbare.

Kevin Powell

Public speaker and activist; author, 'Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and the Ghost of Dr. King: Blogs and Essays'

You ultimately must do what you feel is best for your body, your soul, your mind, your conscience. For me, veganism is an extension of my activism and life of public service helping others to be self-empowered and self-aware.

Adrian Grenier

Actor, filmmaker and entrepreneur

For too long we've exclusively emphasized punishment for non-violent offenders over treatment and rehabilitation. The current system is unbalanced, unsustainable, and unnecessarily cruel. It's time to legalize or at the very least, decriminalize all drugs.

Mark Moore

Founder and CEO, MANA Nutrition

Since I spend my days at a company that makes products to fight malnutrition, I could not help but notice that Theo Jansen was born just after one of the most noted and awful famines of modern times.

G(irls)20

Empowering Girls and Women Globally

Fashion goes beyond glossy magazine pages; if used well, it introduces girls to policy issues, entrepreneurship, and science - some key skills for the modern female pioneer.

Beth Finkelstein

Executive Director, New York Center for Children

Abuse, poverty, and violence can feel like insurmountable obstacles in our communities. Focusing our attention on the professionals on the front lines can increase their capacity to help the children affected by trauma.

Randi Weingarten

President, American Federation of Teachers

Skyrocketing costs have put postsecondary education out of reach for many people, which threatens to exacerbate America's already vast economic divide. Congress must act to ensure that runaway costs don't rob them of their dreams.

Rita Cosby

TV Host, veteran correspondent

As journalists, it's critical we stand vigilant on the freedoms we have as we remember those whose sons and daughters, mothers and fathers have forever sacrificed loved ones to keep freedom of speech alive and well for all of us.