Lorne Needle : Interview for the John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Lorne Needle, a John Gardner Fellow in 1987, shares his memories of a career in public service and the mentorship John W. Gardner provided. Needle begins by describing his early years in Los Angeles and a subsequent move to Connecticut for his father’s job at IBM. He recalls his decision to return to California for college and how he chose Stanford. Needle recalls first becoming engaged in his high school community and how thankful he was to attend Stanford with support from a scholarship from IBM. While initially unsure about what to major in, Needle eventually decided to major in public policy. While an undergraduate student, Needle became involved with the Public Service Center, now the Haas Center for Public Service. Through the Public Service Center, he spent much of his undergraduate career launching and working with the East Palo Alto Stanford Academy [EPASA]. Needle recalls his initial reluctance at working with children, but how he eventually fell in love with it and was grateful for the support of the Public Service Center. Needle also shares memories of some of the people active at the Public Service Center in its early years, including Catherine Milton. Needle describes his awe at meeting John W. Gardner for the first time at an event held by the Center. Later, with Milton’s encouragement, Needle decided to apply for the John Gardner Fellowship Program. Needle goes on to describe his fellowship year at Public/Private Ventures working to build youth programs in Philadelphia. He recalls his initial boredom and fear in the position before finding his footing and, as Needle describes it, “learning leadership.” He went on to work for the South Baltimore Youth Center and the Maryland Low Income Housing Coalition. Needle recalls visiting Gardner in Washington, DC, during these years to seek Gardner’s advice. Despite Gardner’s fear of losing him to Wall Street and the business world, Needle returned to Stanford to attend the Graduate School of Business. Needle recalls his relationship with Gardner, who had moved back to California, during these years and the mentorship he provided. He describes how important it was to him to use his business school education to help people and benefit the community. Needle goes on to speak about the early planning of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities and his personal involvement as a consultant for the center. He describes his continued involvement with the Haas Center, EPASA, and the John Gardner Fellowship. He concludes the interview with thoughts on Gardner’s character and the importance of his legacy.
Description
Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
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Extent | 1 audio file; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Date created | August 30, 2017 |
Language | English |
Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
Interviewee | Needle, Lorne | |
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Creator | Needle, Lorne | |
Interviewer | Feder, Abby | |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
Subject | Gardner, John W. (John William), 1912-2002 |
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Subject | Civil Society > United States |
Subject | John Gardner Public Service Fellowship |
Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
Biographical profile | Lorne Needle has worked in youth development, prevention and health, workforce development, education and school-linked services, and other vital sectors. He was a community organizer and policy advocate for affordable housing in Maryland; directed San Francisco Peer Resources; launched and led community programs in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area; and taught at Stanford University on youth development programs and policy. Needle holds a BA in Public Policy and an MBA from Stanford, and lives in Redwood Shores with his wife, Audra, who teaches second grade. He is currently a member of the advisory committee for Stanford’s Public Policy program. As an undergraduate Needle founded the East Palo Alto Stanford Academy program, and was awarded the Dean’s Award for Community Service and the Dinkelspiel Award by Stanford University.In 1987-88, Needle was selected as a John Gardner Public Service Fellow at Public/Private Ventures in Philadelphia. Serving under then Executive Vice President Gary Walker, Lorne helped launch a national model workforce development program, the Philadelphia Youth Service Corps. Needle currently is the Global Lead of Scalable Learning and Partnerships in Google’s People Operations organization, building world class educational products and programs for learners across the globe. As Chief Community Investment Officer at United Way of the Bay Area, Needle led United Way’s programs and partnerships in the Bay Area, as well as its policy advocacy.Needle was appointed by the mayor to chair the Youth Council of the San Francisco Workforce Investment board, and to the Citizens Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Families. He served on the founding steering committee for the Contra Costa Safety Net Task Force and for San Mateo’s Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council and its “Big Lift” campaign for early childhood education. |
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Transcript |
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Finding Aid | |
Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/wt992kr9121 |
Location | SC1355 |
Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project
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