Rishi Jaitly
A graduate of Princeton University (A.B.), Rishi has extensive global public leadership experience across sectors at the intersection of technology, social change, and people.
In March 2011, Rishi became a Director at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He directs the foundation's investments in Detroit and works with leaders across the country to advance Knight Foundation's national mission of informed and engaged communities.
In 2010, Rishi co-founded Michigan Corps, a social network for local and global Michiganders committed to change in Michigan. Michigan Corps builds community abong Michiganders everywhere while launching innovative education and entrepreneurship projects across the state. After serving one year as CEO of Michigan Corps, Rishi is now the organization's Board Chair.
Michigan Corps' Founding Corps Members include: Google Chair and CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt; Emmy Award-winning Sportscaster Dick Enberg; CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta; Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jeffrey Eugenides; Former Digg CEO Jay Adelson; Skoll Foundation President Dr. Larry Brilliant; and Sun Microsystems Founder and Former CEO Scott McNealy.
Rishi's leadership as Founder of Michigan Corps was featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Associated Press, and numerous other local and national media. In January 2011, Michigan Corps was named a Semifinalist for the prestigious Echoing Green Fellowship for social entrepreneurs worldwide. To date, the Michigan Corps community has connected business entrepreneurs with mentors, helped students generate ideas for community change, built public policy capacity among social entrepreneurs, and set the stage for the arrival of several nationally-regarded innovators in Michigan. Rishi initiated and led Michigan Corps' launch of Kiva Detroit, a microlending effort for Detroiters that was heralded by former President Clinton and represents Kiva.org's first locally-organized effort in the United States.
From July 2009 through March 2010, Rishi was Director of Strategic Partnerships and Public Policy at College Summit, America's premier social change organization increasing college enrollment rates in high schools. College Summit, which activates networks of students to build college-going cultures within schools, was named U.S. Social Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2009 World Economic Forum conference in Davos. At College Summit, he brought together a coalition of cross-sector leaders, including the CEOs of PepsiCo, Google, Deloitte, and Princeton University, to ensure college proficiency is a success measure for the American K-12 education system.
Prior to joining College Summit, Rishi was a Google executive living in New Delhi, India where he was Head of Government Affairs and Public-Private Partnerships for the company across South Asia. There, he led philanthropic projects with partners like Ashoka India, conducted public policy advocacy, overturned Internet censorship in Pakistan and Bangladesh, mobilized India's top political parties to use the Internet for the first time, and led the development of Google's first ever election-transparency and citizen-empowerment product.
Previously, while based in Silicon Valley, Rishi supported Google's worldwide public policy advocacy efforts from Lansing to Paris, led Google.org's product development work with the United Nations, and supported communications for Google's CEO.
Earlier in his career, Rishi has served as Coordinator of Public Policy and Government Affairs at College Summit and Commissioner of the New Jersey State Commission on Higher Education. In November 2010, Rishi was appointed to Michigan Governor-elect Rick Snyder's bipartisan economic development transition team. In October 2011, Rishi was named by Crain's as one of Detroit's "Top 40 Leaders Under 40". He is also a recipient of Princeton University's Class of 1901 Medal and a former Trustee of Princeton University.
