Talking about the Bottom Line at Chicago Ideas Week

In October, Vera CEO and Co-Founder Zak Kaufman attended Chicago Ideas Week as a Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellow. Throughout the week, the four Fellows had opportunities to engage with leaders in business, politics, and philanthropy. Highlights included lunch with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, workshopping with other BHSI Fellows to help tackle organizational challenges, and discussing […]

Vera’s Fellowship Program: Reflections on Technology, Social Impact, and Personal Growth

With applications open for the 2014-2015 Vera Fellowship program, we sat down with Jill Shah, a current Fellow in Vera’s Mumbai office, to provide potential applicants with insight into her Fellowship experience. Born in Mumbai and raised in northern New Jersey, Jill attended Northwestern University, where she discovered her deep passion for global health and […]

Sanergy and Captricity: Appropriate Technology for Challenging Environments

About 2.3 million people, or 60 percent of Nairobi’s population, live in slums, and most have little to no access to formal sanitation services. Stagnant rivulets of human waste that trickle past homes and alongside narrow dirt roads in the tightly packed neighborhoods are as common as the diarrheal diseases they carry with them. Sanergy, […]