Distinguished Groups:

Michael Edwards is widely recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on civil society, philanthropy, and social change. For the past thirty years, he has worked to strengthen the contributions of ordinary citizens to their communities as a grant giver, writer, advocate, organizer, and activist.

Michael graduated from Oxford University with a ""congratulatory"" first-class honors degree in geography, and was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of London for his work on housing the urban poor in Latin America. Dissatisfied with academic research, he entered the world of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 1982 and spent the next fifteen years as a senior manager in international relief and development NGOs, including Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, the Prasad Foundation, and Voluntary Service Overseas.

During this time, Michael became known for his innovative thinking about NGOs and development, and in 1998 he was invited to join the World Bank in Washing, D.C. as a senior adviser on civil society, where he led a program to improve the agency's engagement with a wide range of nongovernmental groups. Two years later, heh was appointed as director of the Ford Foundation's Governance and Civil Society Program in New York, overseeing grants totaling more than $900 million between 1999 and 2008, when he left to become a distinguished senior fellow at Demos, a Network for Ideas and Action, in New York; a senior visiting scholar at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service; and a senior visiting fellow at the Brook's World Poverty Institute at Manchester University in the UK.

Michael is the author of thirteen books and hundreds of articles and op-ed pieces, and his writings have changed the way we think about voluntary action and the transformation of society.

Inclusive Conversations

"What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but ...

Subtle Acts of Exclusion

This practical, accessible, nonjudgmental handbook is the first to help individuals and organizations recognize and preve...

The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety

This book is the first practical, hands-on guide that shows how leaders can build psychological safety in their organizat...

Diversity Beyond Lip Service

"La’Wana Harris has opened this coach’s eyes to the power of coaching practices to create new paths for diversity and inc...

7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change

Change is difficult but essential—Esther Derby offers seven guidelines for change by attraction, an approach that draws p...

Dig Your Heels In

Sought-after speaker and consultant Joan Kuhl arms young women with the tools they need to transform male-dominated corpo...

Compassionate Counterterrorism

Islamist terrorism is not about religion, says Leena Al Olaimy, an Arab Muslim, Dalai Lama Fellow, and social entrepreneu...

Networking for People Who Hate Networking

Most books for people who would rather get a root canal than face a roomful of strangers tell readers how to fight agains...

The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up

“This is a must-read for bosses and subordinates alike, as it exposes our flaws but teaches us how we can work together t...

Bedtime Stories for Managers

In forty-two succinct, surprising essays, legendary scholar Henry Mintzberg brings management down from the clouds and on...

The Critical Few

Without a deep understanding of your company’s culture, any change effort you undertake will fail. Bestselling author Jon...

The Law of Small Things

We are living in a time when dishonesty and duplicity are becoming commonplace. Each of us can fight this cultural corrup...

The Future of Packaging

Tom Szaky sets out to do the impossible – eliminate all waste. This book paints a future of a “circular economy” that rel...

Citizen Capitalism

Top Cornell law professor Lynn Stout and her coauthors Tamara Belinfanti and Sergio Gramitto offer a visionary but practi...

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

Veteran project manager and University of California professor Zachary Wong identifies the eight most common people probl...

Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go

The new edition of a bestselling classic, Help Them or Grow Watch Them Grow offers advice on talent retention for the mod...

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