Biographical profile |
Sally Osberg has led entrepreneurial organizations and been an agent for social change throughout her career. As President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation from 2001 to 2018, she partnered with Founder and Chairman Jeff Skoll, leading the organization to identify and support innovators pioneering scalable solutions to global challenges.
A high-profile proponent of thought leadership, research, and alliances that advance the work of social entrepreneurs solving the world’s most pressing problems, Osberg has more than thirty years of leadership experience, with expertise in organizational development, strategic positioning, and innovative public programming. Her publications include co- authoring Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works (with Roger Martin, 2015); seminal articles, including “Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition” (with Roger Martin) in Stanford Social Innovation Review (2007); and book chapters on “Building the Field of Social Entrepreneurship in Philanthropy in the 21st Century” and “Wayfinding Without a Compass--Philanthropy’s Changing Landscape and Its Implications for Social Entrepreneurs in Social Entrepreneurship, New Models of Sustainable Social Change” (2006).
Osberg is a frequent speaker on the field, including TEDWomen, the Commonwealth Club of California, Stanford University’s Very Impactful People series, and the University of Southern California Center for Philanthropy and Public Policy’s Distinguished Speaker Series.Prior to joining the Skoll Foundation, Osberg was founding Executive Director of the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, which was recognized by the 2001 National Award for Museum Service. A member of the first American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley class, she got to know John Gardner and introduced him to Jeff Skoll, with impactful results.
Osberg earned her MA in literature from the Claremont Graduate School and her BA in English from Scripps College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Osberg has received the John Gardner Leadership Award from the American Leadership Forum, been inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, and been named by the San Jose Mercury News as one of the “Millennium 100” for her role in shaping and leading Silicon Valley.
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