Nina Vasan - Do Good Well: Your Guide to Leadership, Action, and Social Innovation

Copyright 2013 by Nina Vasan and Jennifer Przybylo. All rights reserved.

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Cover design: Michael Cook

Illustrations: Richard Sheppard/Richard Sheppard Illustration (www.artstudios.com)

Interior design: Paula Goldstein/Blue Bungalow Design (www.bluebungalowdesign.com)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vasan, Nina, 1984

Do good well : your guide to leadership, action, and social innovation / Nina

Vasan and Jennifer Przybylo.

pages cm (The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-38294-3 (pbk.); 978-1-118-41738-6 (ebk); 978-1-118-42071-3 (ebk);

978-1-118-43422-2 (ebk)

1. Social movements. 2. Social action. I. Przybylo, Jennifer, 1984 II. Title.

HM881.V37 2013

303.484 dc23

For my family, who instilled in me a love of community.

And for my community, who has loved me like family.

Nina Vasan

For my mother and fatherthe most loving, supportive, and selfless parents anyone could ever ask for.

Jennifer Przybylo

Preface: The Spirit of Community

We met in May 2002 at the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards in Washington, DC, where we were honored to be included among America's Top Youth Volunteers. Nina, from Vienna, West Virginia, was lauded for launching American Cancer Society Teens, a nationwide network that empowered student volunteers of the American Cancer Society to recognize their potential as leaders and work together to develop creative solutions to improve health in their communities. Jennifer, from Lincolnwood, Illinois, was recognized for her innovative work to help shelter residents on their journey to secure employment and financial independence.

We found ourselves surrounded by inspiring students from around the country who had founded groundbreaking nonprofits, socially conscious businesses, activist movements, or had initiated other forms of lasting change in their communities. The diversity of backgrounds, interests, and experiences that could be found within this single group of students was impressive, and the potential for collaboration was evident. Though we brainstormed ideas to bring together these young leaders, no idea seemed quite right at the time.

Fast forward to 2004. Nina, now a sophomore in college, was invited by Jim and Pam Toole of the University of Minnesota's School of Social Work and College of Education and Human Development to speak at the National Service Learning Conference about her experiences as a young social entrepreneur. While there, she was asked by a publisher to develop the ideas from her talk into a how-to book on leadership for kids.

Nina loved the idea. Over the years, she'd received numerous e-mails from students, parents, schools, and organizationsall looking to make an impact but needing the guidance to do so. From the volume of these requests, it was clear no good resource was available despite the pressing need. She felt that Jennifer, then a college freshman, would feel similarly passionate about such a project, so Nina approached Jennifer with the idea.

As we talked over the potential of such a book, it became clear that the need extended well beyond the original demographic proposed; many of our classmates and friends also wanted to take meaningful, directed action but didn't know where or how to dive in. Convinced that a practical, fun, and honest guidebook to social change was needed for today's generation of students and young professionals, we set out to tackle this challenge.

So we started writing.

This book is a true labor of love many years in the making. Though it has taken many different shapes and gone through numerous revisions and edits, the vision has always remained the same: to design a practical, guide to help anyone with a desire to do good in this world not only do good, but do good well. We wanted a tool to answer the questions we had when we started, and address those we continue to ask today as we try to solve community problems. In our own work, we stumbled frequently, and often success was only found through trial and error. We realized an actual framework was a critical missing component of the equation to do good well, which led us to create a simple three-step method for social innovation that is grounded in both personal experience and academic research on innovation in business, nonprofits, community action, and leadership. Aware of our own need for engagement while learning, we aimed to make the style fun and interactive, like getting advice from a peer or mentor in real time, a book that not only inspires but also gives practical and even step-by-step instructions for turning idealistic aspirations into tangible, real-world solutions. The school supplies lover in us advocated for a book you could highlight, write notes in and personalize. Finally, understanding the need for versatility and a range of learning styles, we aimed for a resource you could use anywherein bed by yourself, in school with a class, or in the field with your team.