Greg Van Kirk is an Ashoka Lemelson Fellow and the-co founder of The New Development Solutions Group. This includes Community Enterprise Solutions, Social Entrepreneur Corps and NDS Consulting. These are all ventures whose mission is to design and implement innovative responses to long-standing development challenges.
Greg also works part time as "Social Entrepreneur in Residence" at NYU. He and his team are now focused on expanding the reach of their innovative "MicroConsignment Model" globally.
Greg began working in rural small business development as a Peace Corps volunteer in 2001. He has served as an economic development consultant for organizations such as USAID, Chemonics, Columbia University, Vision Spring, Soros Foundation, Church World Service, OneRoof, Fundacion Solar, Fundacion Paraguaya, IDB and Water4People. He has completed successful consulting engagements in Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Senegal, The Gambia, South Africa, Paraguay, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Greg worked in investment banking for five years before arriving in Guatemala. Two deals he led at UBS during this time won "Deal of the Year" honors from "Structured Finance International" magazine.
Greg is a graduate of Miami University (Ohio).
Especially when I look back on it, I mean the Peace Corps was instrumental, critical, indispensable for what I do today on so many different levels. First and foremost, it got me out there. It was a means to put me in a place where I had some at least basic support system and had at least a basic ...(Full transcript available to logged in subscribers.).
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