Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei has a 22-year record of public service and is a leading non-profit entrepreneur. Noted for his activism with the international movement for a world free of nuclear weapons, Khazei was a founding signatory of the Global Zero campaign and participated in its inaugural conference in December 2008 in Paris, France. Council for a Livable World endorsed Khazei in his unsuccessful bid for the former Senate seat of Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts’ 2010 special Senate election. .
In 1988, Khazei co-founded City Year, a non-profit program modeled after the Peace Corps that works to engage young Americans in a year of service within the United States. To date, more than 12,500 Americans have served their communities through City Year. The program’s success inspired President Bill Clinton to fashion AmeriCorps after this model.
In addition to City Year, Khazei is also founder and CEO of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based organization dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profits and citizens to enact legislation on issues ranging from chronic poverty to failing schools.
He also offers a unique perspective on the pertinent and controversial issue of Iran’s nuclear aspirations. The son of an Iranian father, Khazei has an extensive understanding of Iran’s history and culture and deep knowledge of U.S.-Iranian relations.
President George H.W. Bush appointed Khazei to the Commission on National and Community Service, on which he served as Vice-President until 1993. Khazei was named one of “America’s 25 Best Leaders” by US News and World Report in 2006, and the Boston Globe Magazine named him one of “11 Bostonians Changing the World.” He is also a recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award, Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Caring Institute Award, the Boston Bar Association Award, the Harvard Law School Association Outstanding Alumni Award, and the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur Award. Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and Mount Ida College all have granted Khazei honorary doctorates.
Khazei is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
