Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka; Everyone a Changemaker, was honored with the Global Treasure Award at the 2025 Skoll World Forum held on April 3, 2025. The award recognizes individuals whose lifelong contributions have reshaped the world for the better. Past honorees include Desmond Tutu, Malala Yousafzai, and the Dalai Lama.
He was honored with the award in recognition of his lifelong devotion to advancing systems-level change and mobilizing generations of changemakers worldwide.
Drayton founded Ashoka in 1980 based on the belief that the most potent force for social good is a social entrepreneur: a person driven by an innovative idea capable of tackling deeply rooted societal problems. Under his leadership, Ashoka has grown into a global network of nearly 3,000 Fellows in more than 90 countries. These changemakers are redefining fields like education, health, human rights, and environmental protection—pursuing system-changing solutions that shift mindsets, policies, and structures.
Ashoka’s mission is to support social entrepreneurs and inspire a cultural transformation toward what Drayton calls an “Everyone a Changemaker” world—one where empathy, teamwork, and creative problem-solving are core competencies for all. The organization works with youth, educators, and institutions to instill these values and enable young people to lead change in their communities.
Drayton’s journey as a changemaker began early. While still a student at Harvard and later Yale Law School, he launched multiple interdisciplinary initiatives, including the Ashoka Table, a social science forum at Harvard. He later worked at McKinsey & Company and served as Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he was instrumental in launching emissions trading, a policy tool that laid the groundwork for global climate frameworks like the Kyoto Protocol.
In 1981, while still working part-time at McKinsey, he founded Ashoka and Save EPA, dedicating himself fully to Ashoka after being named a MacArthur Fellow in 1984. Today, he remains Chairman and CEO of Ashoka and serves as chair of initiatives including Youth Venture, Community Greens, and Get America Working!
He has received numerous other prestigious awards in recognition of his groundbreaking work in social entrepreneurship. In 2011, he was honored with the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, one of Spain’s highest distinctions. He has received honorary doctorates from leading institutions, including Yale University, New York University, and Babson College.
Drayton was also the recipient of the Richard E. Neustadt Award for Public Policy (2012) he was named among America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report and Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership. His global influence was further recognized with the Goi Peace Award (2007) for promoting a culture of peace through social innovation.
