Remembering Howard Paster, Longtime Supporter of Ashoka

Howard Paster, longtime friend of Ashoka, passed away last weekend. Howard was a key member of Ashoka’s “Tip the World” internal marketing firm and a long-time supporter of our work, and he will be deeply missed.

In 2008, Howard wrote a prescient article portraying his hope for the world in 2013:

“The concept that all people, whatever their circumstances, wherever they live, should contribute to the rapid change evident in all aspects of the 21st Century life is gathering momentum throughout the world.
 
From Shanghai to Santiago, from Toronto to Jeddah, from Cape Town to St. Petersburg, the notion that everyone can be a changemaker has taken root. Whether in education, environmental protection, the production and delivery of food, communications, or any other area of human endeavor, the pace of change is evident everywhere.
 
But while society has gone through substantial and rapid change before, as in the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th Century, there is no precedent for the speed and scope by which life is being altered. What is remarkable to many economists and sociologists, and increasingly befuddling to politicians, is the extent to which everyone can help drive this breath-taking change in how people live, work, learn, play, and communicate.
 
Even more intriguing is the ability to trace the roots of this democratization of change and influence to the organization Ashoka.”

Excerpt from the 2013 Ashoka article

For more about Paster’s life and many accomplishments, The New York Times has published an obituary. Howard was a wise partner in strengthening our vision. We are forever grateful for his friendship.