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Christopher Hedrick

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Christopher "Chris" Hedrick[1] (born 1962) is an entrepreneur and expert in global health, international development, technology, and learning. He is Director of Business Development for the international NGO One Acre Fund. [2]

Kepler

From 2014 through 2016, Hedrick was CEO of Kepler,[3] a university program based in Kigali, Rwanda that blends technology-based learning, intense local seminars and education-to-employment support to offer U.S.-accredited degrees at very low cost.[4] Kepler's aim is to dramatically expand access to high quality college education across Africa.[5] Hedrick led growth of Kepler from a start up class of 50 students to over 400 students on two campuses, one in Kigali and the other a unique program in partnership with the UNHCR based at the Kiziba Refugee Camp in western Rwanda.[6]

Peace Corps

From 2007 through 2014, Hedrick led the U.S. Peace Corps efforts in malaria prevention across Africa[7][8] and was the Country Director for the Peace Corps in Senegal.[9][10] Hedrick grew Peace Corps/Senegal to become the largest Peace Corps program in the world at the conclusion of his tenure there.[11] Hedrick led the development of the Peace Corps/Senegal Food Security initiative which is the largest USAID-funded Peace Corps food security project in the world under the global Feed the Future program.[12] The Peace Corps program in Senegal under Hedrick's leadership was awarded the prestigious Learning Spotlight Award in 2010 for innovation in its training programs.[13] In 2012, he was awarded the Director's Distinguished Service Award, the agency's highest honor, for his work in creating and coordinating the Peace Corps Stomping Out Malaria in Africa initiative.[14] After partnering with Peace Corps Senegal in a major bed net distribution effort, the international NGO Malaria No More called Hedrick "part international diplomat, part community health worker, part development MacGyver" in its annual report.[15]

Intrepid Learning Solutions

From 1999 to 2007, Hedrick was the President and CEO of Intrepid Learning Solutions,[16] a Seattle, Washington-based learning services company which he co-founded with Dennis Heck. Under his leadership, Intrepid was named by Inc. magazine[17] as one of the fastest-growing companies in America.[18] Hedrick raised investments for Intrepid from venture capital companies Madrona Venture Group, FTV Capital, and Rustic Canyon Partners and from individuals including William H. Gates, Sr. While Hedrick was CEO, Intrepid signed a landmark contract to provide outsourced training services to the Boeing Company, landed other clients such as Microsoft, United Airlines, Autodesk, and Bank of America, and was named one of the Top 20 Learning Outsourcing Providers in the world.[19] In 2014, the training outsourcing arm of Intrepid was sold to Xerox to bolster its learning services division.[20]

Science and Technology Advisor to the Governor of Washington State

Previously, he served as the Science and Technology Policy advisor to Gary Locke, the Governor of Washington state, subsequently U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Ambassador to China. During his tenure as the governor's advisor, Washington was named as the state government that most effectively used information technology.[21] While serving as the Science and Technology Policy advisor, Hedrick also was named to lead the Washington State Year 2000 Office, appointed by the Governor to be the public face of the state's Y2K preparations.[22]

Gates Library Foundation

Prior to that he was the founding Director of Strategy and Operations for the Gates Library Foundation,[23] the predecessor organization to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hedrick organized and presented the original proposal to Bill Gates to create a $200 million private philanthropic initiative focused on expanding access to the Internet and providing training and technical assistance to public libraries serving low-income communities.

Microsoft

The Gates Library Foundation grew out of a program called Libraries Online[24] that Hedrick created and managed[25] at Microsoft. At Microsoft, Hedrick was a prominent advocate of bridging the "digital divide."[26] He managed Microsoft's relationships with the United Negro College Fund and with the University of Washington and the state community college system, where he developed and managed a software donation that was the largest in industry history at that time. This donation was announced at a joint event between President Bill Clinton and Microsoft CEO Bill Gates which Hedrick proposed and managed.[27]

Earlier career

He has also been a senior administrator at the Peace Corps, where he worked for Carol Bellamy;[28] served in the administration of Washington Governor Booth Gardner; was elected to the Olympia, Washington School Board; and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal. He worked for Congressman Don Bonker in Washington, D.C., directed his Olympia, Washington district office and managed Bonker's last two successful re-election campaigns,

Hedrick was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and graduated with honors and distinction from Stanford University. He is a graduate of Olympia High School and in 2013 was inducted into the Olympia High School Hall of Fame.[29]

Non-profit Leadership

Until he moved back to Senegal, he was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Evergreen State College,[30] board member and Treasurer for the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH),[31] the largest recipient of Gates Foundation funding for global health, and the Chairman of the Board of the Digital Learning Commons.[32] He currently serves on the Board of Directors of LINGOs, a non-profit that promotes sustainable global development by helping to build the capacity of the people delivering programs around the world.[33]

Family

Hedrick has six sons and is married to Jennifer Beaston Hedrick, who was the Peace Corps Rwanda country director from 2014 through 2016. She is the former Chief Operating Officer for Tostan and currently serves on its board of directors. They live in Bozeman, Montana.

Notes

  1. ^ "Chris Hedrick Twitter page". Twitter. January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  2. ^ "One Acre Fund". www.oneacrefund.org. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  3. ^ "Kepler web site". Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  4. ^ "Video: Kepler: A new model for university education worldwide". Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  5. ^ "Kepler Twitter page". Twitter. April 21, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  6. ^ "Kepler Partnership with UN Refugee Agency for Refugee Higher Education in Rwanda". UNHCR. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "Peace Corps news release on "Stomping Out Malaria" training". Peacecorps.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  8. ^ "Peace Corps news release "Peace Corps and President's Malaria Initiative Announce Malaria Partnership"". Peacecorps.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  9. ^ "Peace Corps Senegal Facts". Peacecorps.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  10. ^ "Peace Corps Senegal Web Site". Pcsenegal.org. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  11. ^ "Serving in the Peace Corps". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  12. ^ "Peace Corps/Senegal Food Security program". Pcsenegal.org. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  13. ^ "Learning 2010 Conference Learning Spotlight Award video". Learning2010.com. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  14. ^ Peace Corps Stomping Out Malaria in Africa http://stompoutmalaria.org Peace Corps Stomping Out Malaria in Africa. Retrieved March 17, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/52407988/Malaria-No-More-Stakeholder-Report-2010 Malaria No More Stakeholder Report 2010
  16. ^ "Intrepid Learning Solutions". Intrepidls.com. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  17. ^ "Inc. Magazine". Inc.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  18. ^ "2007 Inc. Magazine rankings". Inc.com. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  19. ^ Intrepid Learning press releases Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ \title=Xerox acquires Intrepid Learning Solutions learning services business http://news.xerox.com/news/Xerox-Acquires-Intrepid-Learning-Solutions-learning-services \title=Xerox acquires Intrepid Learning Solutions learning services business. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)/
  21. ^ Center for Digital Government and Progress and Freedom Foundation Digital State Award Archived 2008-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Washington State Releases New Y2K Report
  23. ^ "NY Times article on Gates Library Foundation launch". New York Times. June 24, 1997. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  24. ^ "NY Times article on Libraries Online". New York Times. October 9, 1996. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  25. ^ "Microsoft has hired Hedrick to run the program". New York Times. October 9, 1996. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  26. ^ "A Nation Ponders its Growing Digital Divide". New York Times. October 21, 1996. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  27. ^ Microsoft announces $10 million software, technical assistance grant for Washington State Community Colleges
  28. ^ Hedrick gets Senior Job with the Peace Corps[dead link]
  29. ^ Olympia High inducts three into school's Hall of Fame[permanent dead link]
  30. ^ Evergreen State College Trustees Archived September 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) Archived December 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "Digital Learning Commons". Learningcommons.org. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  33. ^ LINGOs
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