ABBY FALIK
Abby Falik is an award-winning entrepreneur working at the intersection of education, social innovation & wisdom traditions. By shaping narratives and catalyzing new models for impact, she is on a mission to unleash the generation of leaders our world needs now.
In 2010 Abby founded Global Citizen Year, a nonprofit using the power of a global immersion between high school and college to unlock curiosity, conviction, and courage in our next generation leaders.
Abby launched the organization after winning first place at Harvard Business School’s Pitch for Change competition. Under her leadership the organization raised and deployed over $65M in scholarships (including a breakthrough $12M investment from Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2021) and equipped thousands of diverse, emerging leaders to change the world — for good.
In 2022 she joined the Emerson Collective as an Entrepreneur in Residence where she is incubating new models to transform how young people learn, launch and lead.
A recognized expert on social innovation, leadership, and the future of education, Abby has been profiled by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Abby is a frequent speaker and has been featured at forums including the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Obama Foundation Summit, the Fast Company Innovation Festival, PopTech, and The Nantucket Project. In 2018, Abby was named one of America's Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers by The Business of Giving.
In 2022 she was named one of Goldman Sachs’ Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs for the fourth time, and in 2016 Fast Company named her one of the Most Creative People in Business. For her achievements as a social entrepreneur she has been recognized as an Ashoka Fellow, a MindTrust Fellow, and a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur.
She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of World Learning, Teach for All, and Harvard Business School, and on Fast Company’s Impact Council.
Abby received a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in International Comparative Education from Stanford University. She received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She lives in the bay area with her husband and two young sons.