Alan Khazei
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| Alan Khazei | |
|---|---|
 Alan Khazei wearing a City Year jacket |
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| Born | May 28, 1961 Pittsburgh, PA |
| Residence | Brookline, MA |
| Education | Harvard University (A.B.); Harvard Law School |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation | social entrepreneur |
| Known for | CityYear founder; Service Nation founder; Save AmeriCorps Act; Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act; 2009 US Senate candidate |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Spouse(s) | Vanessa Kirsch |
| Children | 1 daughter and 1 son |
| Awards | One of "America's 25 Best Leaders, "US News and World Report (2006); one of "11 Bostonians Changing the World" (Boston Globe Magazine); Reebok Human Rights Award; Jefferson Award for Public Service; Caring Institute Award; William Jefferson Clinton Award; Jefferson Award for Public Service; Harvard Law School Association Outstanding Alumni Award. Honorary degrees from Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and Mount Ida College. Senate endorsements from General Wesley Clark, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the Boston Globe. |
| Website http://www.alanforsenate.com/ |
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Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston, Massachusetts based organization dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profits and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education. Previously, Khazei served as CEO of City Year, an AmeriCorps national service program engaging 17- to 24-year-olds in a year of service in one of 19 U.S. cities and in Johannesburg, South Africa. Khazei co-founded City Year with Michael Brown, his friend and roommate at Harvard College and Harvard Law School.[1] On September 24, 2009, he announced his candidacy in the Massachusetts special election to fill the Class 1 seat in the United States Senate made vacant by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy.[2] He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for US Senate in the special election primary, which took place on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. Khazei finished third in a field of four candidates.
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[edit] Upbringing, education, and family life
Alan Khazei is the son of a Muslim Iranian-American surgeon and a Catholic Italian-American nurse. He was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in the Boston area and in Bedford, New Hampshire. He graduated in 1979 from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, where he was president of his graduating class. He graduated from Harvard College with honors in 1983[3] and from Harvard Law School in 1987.[4] Khazei is married to Vanessa Kirsch, a social entrepreneur and graduate of Tufts University who has established several philanthropic organizations, most recently New Profit Inc., a group that provides grants to innovative social projects.[5] The couple live in Brookline, Massachusetts, with their two children, and belong to St. Mary Church. [6]
[edit] Work
[edit] City Year
In 1988 Khazei and his then–Harvard roommate Michael Brown founded City Year, a non-profit AmeriCorps organization that offers 17- to 24-year-olds the opportunity to engage in 10 months of full-time community service. Khazei and Brown envisioned that a year of national service could become a commonplace bridge between high school and college.[7]
Under his leadership, CityYear grew to employ 1,000 corps members in 16 cities across America as well as in Johannesburg, South Africa. CityYear has created 15,000 jobs. Participants have performed more than 20 million hours of service and worked to tutor and mentor two million children.[8]
President Bill Clinton was inspired by visiting CityYear to found the Americorps program, and Khazei worked with President Clinton to establish Americorps. More than 575,000 Americorps members have contributed upwards of 700 million hours of public service.[9]
President Barack Obama said of the CityYear program: "Who’s the next generation that is going to lead us and inspire us and build an America we can all be proud of? When I look out at all of the City Year corps members who have been giving so much of themselves for a cause that is so much larger than themselves, I think I have an answer to that question.” [10]
[edit] Save AmeriCorps campaign
In June 2003, AmeriCorps funding was cut by 80 percent. Khazei and other service leaders organized the "Save AmeriCorps" act, a grassroots campaign culminating in a 100 hour hearing in the Capitol. At this hearing, more than 700 AmeriCorps supporters testified.
This campaign led to half of the AmeriCorps funding being restored in 2003 and to all of the previous funding plus a $100 million increase appropriated for 2004. As a result of the increased funding, the AmeriCorps program was able to engage 25,000 more corps members.[11]
[edit] ServiceNation
Khazei was recently recognized as one of NonProfit Times' 2008 "Executives of the Year" for his work in organizing ServiceNation, a summit event held in New York City on September 11, 2008 that featured then-presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain alongside over 700 other national service leaders.[12] At the summit, Obama and McCain together pledged to expand national service in an event that was broadcast on national television. Reaching an estimated 100 million Americans through its 200 non-profit member groups, ServiceNation played a leading role in the drafting and April 2009 enactment of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which authorizes the greatest expansion of national service in America since President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps.[13] The ServiceNation coalition continues to advocate legislation promoting national service, such as that proposed by Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and David Paterson of New York to created cabinet-level positions for service and volunteering.[5]
Khazei penned an article featured on The Huffington Post in April praising President Obama's signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, emphasizing the importance of "Big Citizenship over Big Government" and calling for a "New Patriotism" that looks to entrepreneurs and innovators in both the private and social sectors, forming new partnerships among government, the private sector, and the non-profit sector, all while taking advantage of modern technological advances that empower citizens and make government more effective and efficient.[14] Previously, Khazei had written an article for The Huffington Post on the importance of national service "not as a Democratic idea or a Republican idea... but as an American idea"[15] and another arguing for a renewed emphasis on ideas in political races to replace the current emphasis on fund-raising alone.[16]
[edit] Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
Alan Khazei worked with Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which will create 250,000 full and part-time service jobs.[17]
[edit] Other work
In 2003, Khazei helped organize the "Save AmeriCorps" campaign that testified before Congress for more than 100 straight hours and succeeded in persuading Congress to restore funding for the AmeriCorps program, of which Khazei's organization CityYear is a part. [5] He served from 1990 to 1992 as Vice-Chair of the Commission on National and Community Service upon appointment by President George H. W. Bush.[18]
Khazei has served on the Boards of City Year, Citizen Schools, the Harvard Alumni Association, the Mass Service Alliance, New Profit, Inc., Serve Next, Share Our Strength, and Teach For America. He has also served on the Advisory Boards of The Ad Council, America's Promise, the Leadership Council of Boston Medical Center, the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the Partnership for Public Service. [19]
[edit] Awards and recognitions
In 2006, US News and World Report named Khazei one of "America's 25 Best Leaders" and the Boston Globe Magazine named him as one of "11 Bostonians Changing the World". He is a recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award, the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Caring Institute Award, the William Jefferson Clinton Award, the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and the Harvard Law School Association Outstanding Alumni Award. He has received honorary degrees from Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and Mount Ida College.[13]
[edit] United States Senate campaign
Khazei ran to fill the United States Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He sought the Democratic Party's nomination for this seat in the Democratic primary on December 8, 2009. He lost to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Khazei's campaign was the only campaign among the candidates for the Democratic primary that accepted donations only from private citizens. The campaign did not accept donations from political action committees and lobbyists.
[edit] Positions on key issues
Alan Khazei supports deficit-neutral health care reform with a strong public option and measures to increase patient safety. [20] He also wants to lower medical costs through medical malpractice reform. He supports Roe v. Wade and believes in ensuring that women have full access to reproductive health care. However, he has stated that he would vote for a health care reform bill that includes the Stupak–Pitts Amendment, and would work later to change this amendment.[21]
Khazei supports an economic stimulus plan that focuses on job creation. He released a six-point plan to create more than 100,000 jobs in the state of Massachusetts. The plan includes a 15% tax credit for hiring, support for small businesses, investment in clean energy technologies, support for the Kerry-Boxer clean energy legislation which will create 40,000 Massachusetts jobs, and full funding for the Kennedy Serve America Act.[22]
Khazei also believes in investing in clean energy solutions to stop climate change. He has proposed tripling the US's investment in clean energy research.[23]
Khazei believes that public education is "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." He calls for a pragmatic approach to improving education by strengthening programs proven to work, including public charter schools and higher salaries for teachers. He also wants to ensure that college is "affordable and accessible" for every student who wishes to attend.[24]
Khazei opposes increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan. In November, he gave a talk at Harvard University entitled "A New Approach to Afghanistan," in which he presented his recommendations for American policy in Afghanistan.[25]
He thinks that casino gambling should not be legalized in Massachusetts. He has stated that gambling costs taxpayers $3 due to increased bankruptcies for every $1 earned in revenues.[26]
Khazei believes the United States should continue to fully support Israel in combating terrorism and in ensuring the security of the state of Israel. [27]
Khazei believes in full equality for members of the LBGTQ community. He supports repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, working for equal rights for same-sex couples, and passing a fully inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act that includes protection for gender identity expression [28]
Khazei believes that stem-cell research should receive federal funding.[29]
He opposes the death penalty.[30]
[edit] Senate endorsements
Khazei has accumulated a number of high-profile endorsements for his campaign.
In November, the Boston Globe endorsed Khazei for Senate. The Globe wrote: "With high hopes, the Globe endorses Alan Khazei, the prime mover behind national-service policies, as Massachusetts’ best chance to produce another great senator."[31]
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City has endorsed Khazei's Senate campaign. Mayor Bloomberg said: "Alan is someone I have worked closely with, he is an entrepreneur and an educational reformer. Massachusetts has big shoes to fill and the country needs someone with a track record and bold, specific ideas to move the country forward, and Alan is that guy."[32]
General Wesley Clark, a four-star US general and the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, has also endorsed Khazei for Senate. [33] General Wesley Clark wrote: "Alan Khazei is a unique and worthy successor to Ted Kennedy. I strongly encourage my fellow patriots and concerned citizens in Massachusetts to support the best our country has to offer and vote for Alan Khazei on December 8th.” [34]
While she hasn't given an official endorsement of Alan Khazei due to the sensitivity of the Kennedy name in the Senate election, Caroline Kennedy has come out in support of Khazei's bid, attending one of his fundraisers and saying he would make an "amazing" Senator. [35]
But Caroline Kennedy's daughter, Rose Schlossberg, a Harvard University student, signed up to volunteer for Khazei after hearing a speech he made on the war in Afghanistan. It was unclear whether Schlossberg followed through on the commitment.[36]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.cityyear.org
- ^ Moskowitz, Eric (September 25, 2009). "Khazei enters race for Kennedy Senate seat". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/25/khazei_enters_race_for_kennedy_senate_seat/. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ http://www.bethechangeinc.org/who_we_are#AlanStaff
- ^ http://fastcompany.com/node/38937/print
- ^ a b c http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v21/i14/14003001.htm
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/24/my_dinner_with_alan/
- ^ http://www.fastcompany.com/node/38937/print
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/about-alan
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/about-alan
- ^ www.cityyear.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=15231
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/about-alan
- ^ http://www.nptimes.com/08Dec/npt-081201-1.html
- ^ a b http://www.californiawomen.org/alan-khazei/
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-khazei/a-new-patriotism_b_189290.html
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-khazei/the-service-solution_b_130095.html
- ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-khazei/enough-with-the-money-pri_b_45234.html
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/learn-more
- ^ http://echoinggreen.org/fellows/alan-khazei
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/about-alan
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/47
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/257
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/239
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/48
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/45
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/189
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/96
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/117
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/223
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/259
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/pages/260
- ^ http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/11/29/for_democrats___alan_khazei_for_senate/
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/11/bloomberg_said.html
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/11/general_wesley.html
- ^ http://www.alanforsenate.com/page/s/clarkendorsement
- ^ http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1209/Caroline_Kennedy_Khazei_win_would_be_amazing.html
- ^ Van Sack, Jessica (December 7, 2009). "Ted Kennedy’s kin quietly show pols support". Boston Herald. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1217106. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
