Marc Freedman
CEO and Founder | Encore.org
San Francisco, CA, UNITED STATES
An award-winning social entrepreneur, frequent commentator in the national media, and the author of multiple books
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Biography
Marc Freedman is CEO and founder of Encore.org (formerly Civic Ventures). He spearheaded the creation of Experience Corps (now AARP Experience Corps), mobilizing Americans over 55 to improve the education of low-income children, and The Purpose Prize, an annual $100,000 award for social innovators in the second half of life.
Freedman has been described by The New York Times as “the voice of aging baby boomers who are eschewing retirement for…meaningful and sustaining work later in life.” He is the author of The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife, which The New York Times calls “an imaginative work with the potential to affect our individual lives and our collective future.” His earlier books include Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life, Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America, and The Kindness of Strangers.
Widely published and quoted in the national media, Freedman is a member of The Wall Street Journal's group "The Experts." He is also the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including an Ashoka Senior Fellowship. Fast Company magazine selected him three years in a row as one of the nation’s leading social entrepreneurs. In 2010, The NonProfit Times picked Freedman as one of the 50 most influential individuals in the nonprofit sector. That same year he and Encore.org received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University.
In 2012, AARP The Magazine named Freedman one of "The Influentials," the 50 people over 50 "affecting your life—and your future." A high honors graduate of Swarthmore College, Freedman has an M.B.A. from Yale University and was a Visiting Research Fellow of Kings College, University of London.
Industry Expertise (3)
Education/Learning
Research
Writing and Editing
Areas of Expertise (4)
Aging
Careers
Retirement
Baby Boomers
Accomplishments (6)
Founder of The Purpose Prize (personal)
The Purpose Prize is a $100,000 award for social innovators over age 60.
Founded Civic Ventures (professional)
Now called Encore.org
Nominated Leading Social Entrepreneur (personal)
Fast Company magazine selected him three years in a row as one of the nation’s leading social entrepreneurs
Top 50 Most Influential Nonprofit Individuals in Nonprofit Sector (professional)
2010-01-01
In 2010 The NonProfit Times picked Freedman as one of the 50 most influential individuals in the nonprofit sector.
Skoll Award (professional)
Marc and Encore.org (then known as Civic Ventures) received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University
AARP "Influential" (professional)
2012-01-01
In 2012 AARP The Magazine named Freedman one of "The Influentials," the 50 people over 50 "affecting your life – and your future."
Education (1)
Yale University: M.B.A.
Affiliations (5)
- Encore.org
- Civic Ventures
- Skoll Foundation
- The Purpose Prize
- The Wall Street Journal Group's "The Experts"
Links (7)
- Marc Freedman Speech The City Club of Cleveland
- Finding Meaning in an Encore Career
- AM Northwest: KATU: Reinventing Midlife and Beyond
- Interview with The Wall Street Journal: In Search of a Purpose
- Interview with The New York Times: Discovering Second Acts in Sustained Working Lives
- Podcast: The Diane Rehm Show – NPR
- Podcast: When did retirement stop meaning an endless vacation?
