Bay Area innovators continue to inspire

Welcome to the San Francisco Chronicle’s fourth annual VisionSF special section. We continue to be amazed and inspired by the ingenuity, ambition and idealism of the visionaries among us.

The six finalists for the 2018 award follow in the fine tradition of our first three winners: Evan Marwell, whose nonprofit Education Super Highway continues to progress toward its bold goal of providing high-speed internet access to the nation’s public schools; Chase Adam, whose nonprofit Watsi has been connecting donors with people needing health care in impoverished countries and Priscilla Chan, who through her foundation has been funding and guiding a wide array of innovative education and health endeavors from the Primary School in East Palo Alto to pioneering research at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus.

This year’s field similarly represents the confluence of creativity and perseverance toward a better world. The visions range from opening financing opportunities We continue to be amazed and inspired by the ingenuity, ambition and idealism of the visionaries among us. for business endeavors that could not otherwise attain conventional lending (Premal Shah) to building a volunteer network of physicians to reach underserved communities (Dr. Laurie Green) to quickly and effectively setting up a system to help wildfire victims (Naomi Fuchs) to providing a “free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere” (Sal Khan) to connecting Dreamers with the resources to fulfill their academic dreams (Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca) to promoting understanding and cooperation among people of diverse faiths (Bishop William Swing).

It was an honor and a pleasure to share their stories with you.

The Chronicle is extremely grateful to our distinguished nominating committee (Emmett Carson, Ron Conway, Steve Malnight, Ken McNeely, Libby Schaaf and George and Charlotte Shultz) for helping us identify these outstanding visionaries. We also thank our sponsors, PG&E and AT&T, for their support of a program that celebrates the spirit and wideranging impact distinguishes the San Francisco Bay Area’s imprint

MICHAEL SHORT / SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Page Editor John Diaz speaks at The Chronicle’s Visionary of the Year ceremony at the War Memorial Veterans Building in late March.