Anamaria Schindler Returns to Ashoka: A New Leader to Take on Today’s Biggest Challenges

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is excited to welcome Anamaria Schindler back to our Leadership Team! As a longtime entrepreneur within Ashoka and in the larger social sector, Schindler is an ideal leader to help integrate and steward our efforts to reach an Everyone a Changemaker™ world. 

Schindler will be responsible for articulating a stronger shared vision for social change among each of our many initiatives all around the world. In her prior work and leadership with Ashoka, Schindler was instrumental in creating this shared vision approach, which integrates each team’s goals into fulfilling our larger mission.

“Today, Ashoka’s challenge is to transform our vision in action,” said Schindler. “Everyone a Changemaker™ is already a reality happening in parts of the world. We need to be sharp and strong in demonstrating that Ashoka’s programs in global social entrepreneurship, Full Economic Citizenship, Youth Venture, and Changemakers, among many others, are the impact-driven initiatives that allow people to take part in our vision.”

In her new role, Schindler will lead a new strategy to champion South America as a region that embraces and cultivates Changemakers. Ashoka has long maintained a strong and vibrant presence in the Americas, where we have elected over 1,000 Ashoka Fellows and launched many programs to build a framework for social entrepreneurs.

In close collaboration with Armando Laborde, country representative and executive director of Ashoka Mexico and Central America, Schindler will spearhead the search for a team of leading entrepreneurs to help oversee a new strategy for South America. Furthermore, she will oversee efforts to bring the Empathy Initiative, one of our newest and most exciting programs, to the region. 

Dialogue and empathy have long been central to Schindler’s values and her life: “Succeeding in mastering empathy is the heart of Ashoka impact in the future,” she said.

Schindler is eager to embark on this new task with Laborde to support South America, where she grew up and still lives. “Strategy, action plan, building teams of teams, results, impact for change are at the core of our collaborative entrepreneurial journey ahead.”

Formerly co-president of Ashoka (alongside our current president, Diana Wells), Schindler is returning after having launched and guided the Arapyaú Institute, a Brazilian social impact investment venture. She first joined our team in 1996 to start a joint venture between Ashoka and McKinsey&Company, pioneering a relationship between the business sectors and citizen sectors that is now a hallmark of our mission.

We are very lucky to have Schindler back in the Leadership Team and guiding our work to empower all individuals to create powerful solutions to our world’s most pressing social problems.

Video recorded and edited by Flávio Bassi