Baltimore, MD: Benita Singh, a widely acclaimed young social entrepreneur, has joined the Board of the International Youth Foundation (IYF), a global organization focused on preparing young people to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens.

Recently profiled on the cover of Newsweek as one of 15 people “who make America Great,” Singh, now 24, was selected in 2005 as an awardee of YouthActionNet, an initiative of the International Youth Foundation and Nokia that invests in the power and promise of young people to create positive change. After a life-changing month working in rural Guatemala as a 20-year-old Yale student, Singh co-founded Mercado (“market”) Global, which connects economically disadvantaged women’s co-operatives to the US market, while mobilizing students in the United States to promote socially-responsible consumerism in their communities.

“I seek to bring together a wide array of organizations, companies, and foundations that are dedicated to the same values of advancing economic development abroad and empowering women,” says Singh. “If we are going to successfully promote fair trade, then we must leverage the power and influence of corporations to achieve the greatest possible economic and social impact.”

Singh received the “Leadership in Innovative Ideas” award from the Social Enterprise Alliance (2005), and was named among the “World’s Best Emerging Social Entrepreneurs” by the Echoing Green Foundation in 2004. “Benita is a real social entrepreneur who represents the best in a rising tide of global youth leaders who are solving problems in their communities,” said David Bell, the IYF Board Chair and Chair of the Financial Times Group. “She will be an enormous addition to the Board, bringing with her a passion for empowering women as well as practical experience in promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship in underserved communities.”

Singh has recently joined the American India Foundation, and will be their Vice President of Marketing for the League of Artisans Program, whose mission is to create livelihoods for underprivileged artisans, and thus improve their economic conditions.

The IYF Board is made up of an internationally diverse group of business, government and civil society leaders who are deeply committed to address the challenges facing today’s young people. Current IYF Board members:

• Sir David Bell, Chair (United Kingdom), Chairman, Financial Times Group
• Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (Jordan), Founder, Jordan River Foundation
• Sari M. Baldauf (Finland), former Executive Vice President of Nokia Corporation
  
• Douglas L. Becker, Vice Chair, (United States), Chairman and CEO of Laureate Education Inc.
• Enrique Iglesias (Uruguay-Spain), Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Secretariat and former President of the Inter-American Development Bank
• Rick R. Little (United States), CEO of the ImagineNations Group and founder and former President of IYF
• Helio Mattar (Brazil), Founder and President of the Akatu Institute for conscious Consumption
  
• Penina Mlama (Tanzania) Executive Director of the Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE)
  
• William S. Reese (United States), President and CEO of IYF
  
• Adam Smith (Australia), CEO of Education Foundation
  
• Peter Woicke (United States) Former Managing Director of World Bank and CEO of the International Finance Corporation
  
• Richard Schubert (United States), Chairman Emeritus, Vice President of Leader Institute and former President of Bethlehem Steel Company
  

About the International Youth Foundation (IYF)
Currently operating in 70 countries and territories, the International Youth Foundation is dedicated to preparing young people worldwide to be healthy, productive, and engaged citizens. Established in 1990, IYF works with companies, foundations, governments, and civil society organizations to strengthen and scale up proven programs that are making a positive and lasting difference in young lives. Together with its partners around the world, IYF concentrates on four key areas of activities: education, employability, health, and leadership and engagement.

About YouthActionNet
Launched in 2001 by the International Youth Foundation and Nokia, YouthActionNet is a program that invests in the power and promise of young people to create positive change. To date, nearly 100 young change makers have received awards. Through its awards program, dynamic website, advocacy, training, and networking opportunities, YouthActionNet offers young leaders ideas, resources and connections to like minds around the world. To learn more about YouthActionNet, please go to www.youthactionnet.org.

Contact:
Jim Peirce, Vice President, Planning and Communications
Tel.: +1-410-951-1606
Email: jim@iyfnet.org