There is no shortage of visionaries in Bay Area
The impressive depth and breadth of innovation in the Bay Area was very apparent to the nominating committee for The Chronicle’s fourth annual Visionary of the Year award.
There was no shortage of terrific suggestions when the committee members met recently to propose and discuss candidates for the award. Profiles of the six finalists will be rolled out in the coming weeks, leading to the announcement of the winner at a gala in late March.
The first three winners have set a high bar of ingenuity, ambition and achievement. Evan Marwell (2015) has been making great strides in helping connect the nation’s schools with high-speed Internet through his nonprofit group, Education SuperHighway. Chase Adam (2016) has been employing technology developed by his nonprofit, Watsi, to connect donors with people needing lifesaving surgeries in impoverished corners of the world. Priscilla Chan (2017) has been pushing revolutionary approaches to health care and disease prevention and eradication through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Without giving away too many hints — you’ll have to wait for the profiles — the ventures of this year’s finalists present a similar blend of idealism and verve.
The nominating committee was composed of Bay Area residents with their own records of distinguished accomplishment. Here is what committee members had to say about the challenge and joy of trying to single out visionaries in a region filled with them. Libby Schaaf (mayor of Oakland): “It’s in our region’s culture to think deeply on how to improve the future for all residents, and particularly the most vulnerable. This diverse group of visionaries thinks with creativity and compassion for the greater good.” George and Charlotte Shultz (he includes U.S. secretary of state on his deep résumé of public service; she is San Francisco’s long-serving chief of protocol): “Visionaries are exceptional because they can envisage a piece of the future that most others don’t see. But there is more: True visionaries are able to turn their concepts into reality. As nominations for this respected award are considered, the focus should be on people who have demonstrated the unique ability to see issues in a sharply different way and transform their visionary ideas into vital realities. Just as people came here over a century and a half ago looking for gold, now the gold is high human talent. When you look for that kind of gold in the San Francisco Bay Area, you have a vast selection from which to mine.” Ron Conway (angel investor who has helped identify and launch myriad promising ventures): “The Bay Area is known for the innovation in technology industries that flourish here, and now it’s great to see the Visionary awards focusing on the innovation in philanthropy that is also making its mark on the Bay Area and is so important to our ecosystem.” Ken McNeely (president of AT&T California, a VisionSF sponsor): “The Bay Area has truly become the global capital for disruption and innovation. We are ground zero for visionary leadership, where intellect and imagination intersect and create dynamic change that benefits the public, private and social sectors. This is an opportunity to acknowledge some of these exceptional leaders and recognize the positive changes they’re bringing to our region — and the entire world — each and every day.” Steve Malnight (senior vice president, strategy and policy, for PG&e, a VisionSF sponsor): “After reflecting on the sheer volume of creative minds in the Bay Area who are thinking not just about how to do something better but how to make lives better, I come away with a renewed sense of optimism and hope for our future.” Charlotte Shultz (continued): “We’re so lucky to be home to some of the greatest visionaries history has ever known — men and women from so many diverse backgrounds whose imagination and talents help us all to do more and to do it better. I am inspired by these visionaries’ determination that will drive our region in the years to come, whether it is developing new industries, discovering cures for what ails us, or helping us to be the most generous and the most compassionate we can be.”