The Caltech Y Social Activism Speaker Series, NetImpact and the Alumni Association present JIM FRUCHTERMAN CEO of Benetech and Caltech Alum Raising the Floor: Ensuring Technology Fully Serves All of Humanity! Thursday, January 15th, 2009 7:30 - 9:00 PM LOCATION CHANGED: Noyes 153 (building 72 map)

To paraphrase William Gibson, technology is here, it's just unevenly distributed. What happens when the market fails to meet the needs of disadvantaged communities and the social sector? Social entrepreneurship can bridge the gap between what's possible and what's highly profitable, helping make sure that the benefits of technology are more broadly distributed. Jim Fruchterman will share how his nonprofit tech company, Benetech, manages to lead in providing technology that serves the needs of the disability, human rights and environmental movement. He'll describe how the tech community can help raise the floor for people around the globe, ensuring that everybody on the planet has access to technology and the information they need for education, employment, health and social inclusion.

BIO: A technology entrepreneur and engineer, Jim Fruchterman has been a rocket scientist, founded two of the foremost optical character recognition companies, and developed a successful line of reading machines for the blind. He is now a leading social entrepreneur through his deliberately nonprofit technology company, Benetech. Benetech concentrates on applying technology to challenging problems facing our society, including literacy for people with disabilities and human rights monitoring and analysis. Fruchterman has won numerous awards for his work, including the 2006 MacArthur Fellowship and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2004 and 2006. He was named a Schwab Social Entrepreneur of 2003, which has included attending and speaking five times at the World Economic Forums in Davos, Switzerland. Fruchterman believes that technology is the ultimate leveler, allowing disadvantaged people achieve more equality in society.

For more information about Benetech, please visit: http://www.benetech.org

Reception after event sponsored by the GSC & SASS