David “Dai” Ellis

David ‘Dai’ Ellis co-founded Generation Rwanda. He currently serves as CEO of the Bostonbased Excel Academy charter school network, where he is responsible for leading Excel’s expansion. Excel is building a leading network of high-performing charter schools in Boston and eventually beyond.

Before joining Excel, Mr. Ellis spearheaded the Clinton Foundation’s work on improving the marketplace for HIV/AIDS and malaria drugs, diagnostics, and other essential health products. While at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) he built an expert in-house technical team of former pharmaceutical industry chemists and sourcing specialists; this team helped CHAI develop proprietary new chemistry and support its partner manufacturers in lowering the price of HIV/AIDS treatment by more than 50 percent.

Prior to his work at CHAI, Mr. Ellis worked at McKinsey & Co. serving clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He later joined the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at Columbia University under Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. His work at Columbia took him to Rwanda, where he worked as the advisor to the Director of the National AIDS Commission and helped to launch a national HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment program. Mr. Ellis received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his A.B. in Biochemistry from Harvard University.

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This book makes an all too rare and important point:  One of the distinguishing characteristics of social entrepreneurs is the way their actions and their example pave the way for peace.  Kaufman gives us multiple examples here to demonstrate that the kind of empathetic leadership exhibited by these social entrepreneurs builds an alternative to conflict and contributes to the stability and security of societies.”

Dr. Diana Wells, President, Ashoka

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