Former President Clinton announces Global Citizen winners
September 24, 2013 | 06:57 PM
Michael Bloomberg, Bunker Roy, Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez
Former President Bill Clinton today announced that three people who have been active in food, health and rural issues will receive the 7th annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards this year. The awards will be presented Wednesday during the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be honored for public leadership because he implemented “ambitious public health strategies, including the successful ban on smoking in restaurants and bars,” Clinton said.
In the announcement Clinton did not mention Bloomberg’s attempts to restrict the foods that can be purchased with food stamps or a proposed ban on sales of large soft drinks, both measures which have failed.
Bunker Roy, the founder of The Barefoot College based in India, will be honored for civil society leadership because he found an organization that has helped communities in remote, rural areas improve their infrastructure for power and water as part of an integrated solution to alleviating global poverty.
The model, which has been used in 40 countries, includes a belief that sophisticated technology should be used in rural areas, but should be controlled by the local communities.
Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez will be honored for public sector leadership because she is the founder and CEO of Hot Bread Kitchen, a New York nonprofit bakery often referred to as the “United Nations of Bread.”
Since 2008, she has blended business with a workforce development program focused on low-income women and created a nationally recognized brand that is sold in more than 50 outlets, including Whole Foods and Dean and Deluca.
