About Saul

Saul Garlick, 26, is the founder and Executive Director of ThinkImpact, an international non-profit organization that connects American students to rural villages in Africa to alleviate poverty through leadership and entrepreneurship. Garlick founded Think Impact in 2001 and has since grown it to be an internationally-recognized NGO endorsed by the likes of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and prominent global Ambassadors.

In addition to founding ThinkImpact, Garlick has served as managing editor of the SAIS Review and as founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Hopkins Donkey. He has worked on Capitol Hill for Rep. DeGette (D-CO) and as acting desk officer for Angola in the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Currently, Garlick sits on the Advisory Board for the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of the Pacific, the National Board of Directors of the College Democrats of America Alumni Association, and the Advisory Board of the Next America Project at CSIS. He also serves as ambassador to the United States for The Buffelshoek Trust, an organization committed to the construction of much-needed schools in rural South Africa.

Garlick is a regular speaker on college campuses nationwide, a blogger on the Huffington Post, and a contributor to Carnegie Council's Policy Innovations. He has received numerous awards including the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the William C. Foster Award, the Circles of Change Award, and the Fire Within Social Entrepreneurship Award. He received his BA with honors in 2006 from Johns Hopkins University and his MA in American foreign policy and International Economics at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in 2007.

Q & A with Saul

Why are you interested in taking a Thrust Fund loan?

This is like nothing I've ever heard of before, and I am energized by the implications of what it would mean for my social enterprise, my ability to grow personally, and what this framework can provide the social sector as a thought experiment. I think of it more as a "Thought Experience". What can an agreement between trusted individuals do for society and each other? Mutual respect and integrity will guide the process, and the entrepreneur’s energy and inspiration to achieve will guide the agenda once the doors have been opened. The potential social capital exchange could change the way we think about markets!

What would you do with the money?

This support will provide me the flexibility to spend additional resources on staff development, training materials and technology to take our Global Development Program to scale. What that means is a far more expansive recruitment program to ensure that we attract the best and brightest students, resources for Interns and Fellows to lead them to success in the communities where they are working and the staff in the main office to ensure that our technology and communications systems are functioning at the level expected of a world class organization. All this for a modest cash infusion. With just that our program will reach a point of sustainable growth.

What do you see yourself doing in 5, 10, or 20 years?

My plans are to navigate social enterprise for the next 5 to 10 years, building organizations and businesses that improve the market. I hope to take that knowledge and expertise to policy one day in the next 20 years.

What is your favorite part of starting a new enterprise?

I love navigating the chaos to find the path forward and making decisions that impact the enterprise's direction almost every single day. Building relationships, systems, ideas and funds all at the same time is consistent with my engine: fast-paced action, uncertainty and openness to opportunities. To experience that while learning constantly about the sector and possibilities is invigorating and cannot be replicated through any other experience.

Besides your current venture, what are you passionate about?

American Foreign Policy, History, Running, Reading, Skiing, Denver Broncos