Commencement Speaker

Hugh Evans

Hugh Evans is the Founder & CEO of the Global Poverty Project, an advocacy organization working to eradicate extreme poverty. His work speaks to anyone who has ever asked, "What difference can I make?" His resolute belief is that every individual can take meaningful action towards ending extreme poverty within a generation. His work involves creating opportunities for individuals to take action that will have monumental impact.

In 2012, Evans was listed as part of Forbes magazine's annual "30 Under 30" for social entrepreneurship. He founded the Oaktree Foundation in Australia, which has grown to become the largest youth-run aid organization in the country, providing education to over 40,000 young people around the world. It mobilized thousands of young people into putting pressure on political leaders, ultimately leading Australia to double its foreign aid budget, releasing $4.3 billion in funds to the world's poor.

In 2011, the Global Poverty Project, backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, leveraged $118 million in new funding for the eradication of polio—a crippling disease that keeps people in developing nations poor.