Social Entrepreneurship as a Catalyst for Change
Join us for an engaging discussion on the challenges and opportunities in social entrepreneurship and impact investing. This session will explore how social enterprises navigate the "Valley of Death," the critical gap between charity and venture capital, and the unique role of venture philanthropy in driving impact. We'll highlight the barriers women entrepreneurs face, the role of universities in shaping future changemakers, and how local business leaders can engage as mentors. Don’t miss this chance to learn how social entrepreneurship is helping to shape the future!

Brigit Helms is the Executive Director of Miller Center for Global Impact at Santa Clara University, where she holds the Howard & Alida Charney Professorship for Science, Technology, and Society. Miller Center is a leader in accelerating social enterprises to end global poverty. For over 30 years, Helms has created and delivered solutions to social and environmental challenges in 55 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She has held leadership roles at DAI, the Multilateral Investment Fund (now IDB Lab), McKinsey & Company, and the World Bank Group, where she was a founding executive at CGAP, a center of excellence for financial inclusion. Helms is the author of Access for All: Building Inclusive Economic Systems and serves on the boards of the AlphaMundi Foundation and BRAC USA. She earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in development and agricultural economics from Stanford University, an M.A. in Latin American studies from Johns Hopkins, and a B.S. in political science from Santa Clara University.

Code for 20% off for April 8, 6 pm game = ROTARY Click here to order  The SJ Giants will share a portion of the proceeds with our Foundation. Go Giants!
(Except picture President-Elect Matt Braker tossing that first pitch on July 4th)

To continue delivering programs that are engaging and entertaining, the Program Committee needs your feedback. Please take two minutes to click on the following link to complete our Quarterly Member Survey. You’ll have a chance to rate the topics and speakers we featured during January-March 2025 and to tell us about the topics and speakers you’re interested in for future programs. Here’s the QR code to the survey: 

Firesides are a great way to get to know members in a purely social setting.

We're looking for members to open their homes or plan an activity for a small group of people. You can choose to include spouses/significant others and children - it's really up to you.

Possible activities include:
Karaoke night
Happy hour
Potluck
Games night
Piano sing along

If interested, please email Jeanne Serpa. 

Will you be the next Rotary Poet of the Year?  

District 5170 supports Rotary International’s global search for the 2025 Rotary Poet of the Year. Everyone can enter, so let’s put pen to paper or press those keys. Individual or club submissions are welcome.

If the winner is in our district, they will receive their award from me at the District Conference on May 31^st. scheduled to be held at San Jose State University. If the winner attends The Rotary International Convention in Calgary in June 2025 it will be formally awarded by Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick.

There are two categories from which to choose: Open and The Magic of Rotary

Raise Rotary awareness. Share with your friends. Every Rotarian, Rotaractor, Interactor, Rotakid, Rotary friends and relatives are eligible to enter the contest. Have a club poetry night - make this is an opportunity for friendship and fellowship.

Enter here: https://www.rotarypoetry.org

Good Luck!

Jill Duerig
D-5170 Governor, 2024-25
 

Rotarians and guests were greeted in the Joe Levitt Lobby of the Rotary Summit Center by members of the Unhoused Impact Committee, chaired by BRENDA SWINEY.  Upon entering the banquet room, all were treated to the sounds of JEFF POHLE at the piano. 

Sponsored by Rod Diridon and Heather Lerner.

I have been lucky to call San Jose home for over 40 years.  My journey began in Wisconsin, where we packed up an old Chevy van after college and set off on an adventure across the country. I fell in love (with California!) and never looked back. Willow Glen became home, where my family grew, and my two wonderful boys—now in Los Angeles—were raised.
In 2000, I launched ArtHouse Kids, an afterschool program in my backyard art studio which grew over the years. Fast forward to 2021, we founded ArtHouse Studio, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting equity, mental wellness, and community connection through art. With partnerships spanning Silicon Valley’s leading companies, and program partners that tackle the youth mental health in the schools, we've had the joy of reaching over 73,000 students!
I’m passionate about the power of giving back, yoga, music, dance, hiking, cycling, the SJ Sharks and the future of transportation. I’m excited to connect and contribute with Rotary! 
 

Sponsored by Pam Foley and Chappie Jones

Dev Davis served as Councilmember for District 6 in San José from 2016 to 2024, where she made significant contributions in areas such as transportation, environment, and neighborhood services. As Chair of the Transportation and Environment Committee and a Caltrain board member, Davis spearheaded key initiatives that improved public infrastructure and the city’s environmental sustainability, including the the electrification of Caltrain from San Francisco to San Jose.
Before her time in public office, Davis spent 12 years as an education researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), where she worked on policies aimed at improving educational outcomes. Her extensive foundation in both the public and private sectors, coupled with her educational background in economics and public policy, gives her a unique perspective on the intersection of government and business.
Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degrees in public policy and education policy and organization from Stanford University. She is deeply committed to her local community and has served in various leadership roles, including as Chair of the City of San José’s Early Care and Education Committee, President of the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, and Public Relations Chair for the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Playground Committee. She also served on several regional boards, including the Caltrain Joint Powers Board, the San José/Santa Clara Treatment Plant Advisory Committee, and the VTA Board.
Davis resides in the North Willow Glen neighborhood of San José with her husband Chris, and their four pets. She has two grown children.
 

Leslee's Gordon House (GH) encounters last week:

I overheard a couple of men talking outside my office window. One mentioned that he worked on the GH rebuild, and it turned out to be Dave Sheets, master woodworker. He’s pictured in one of the photos from the Mercury News story on the entry wall. I invited them in – Dave said his son did the work on the banisters and that the original house had an attic, but not the second story, so they had to build the staircase.

On Saturday, I was at the office prepping for the Gala. I was in the kitchen to get some water when a woman looked in the window, saw me and said, “we had our wedding reception in this house 50 years ago today” (the house was still on McKee in east SJ). Of course, I invited them in. They’d cut their wedding cake in what's now the boardroom. They'd traveled from WA for their anniversary and were so happy to be back in the house and to take photos. The husband’s family owned the property, which was then known as the Cory House, from 1964-1983; he said my office had been the den; the admin office was the master bedroom; the kitchen was where the deck is, and there was another bedroom south of the current kitchen.  

So serendipitous to have both encounters in the same week and to run into the couple on a Saturday!