Brian Elliot (born 1981) is an American social entrepreneur and speaker on technology, innovation, and social impact. Elliot co-founded

Camp Kesem Kesem is a national 501(c)(3) organization that supports children who are affected by a parent's cancer. It provides year-round programs and services to support these children, ages 6–18, at no cost to families. It has a presence at more than 130 ...

, and he is the founder of Friendfactor, an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights nonprofit that helps straight supporters become visible, vocal, and active allies in their communities. Friendfactor created a widely used online advocacy tool that was deployed in the historic campaign for marriage equality in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 2011.

Background

Elliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his first grant at the age of 13 to start a program called the Achievement Forest. He later gained national recognition for starting a program in high school called DeafLink, which connected hearing high school students with deaf middle schoolers. Elliot received his B.A. in public policy at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he continued helping build and lead social ventures. He was the student co-founder of Camp Kesem, a free college student run summer camp for children whose parents have or had cancer. He became a founding board member of Camp Kesem National, which replicated the Camp Kesem model at over 40 colleges and universities across the United States. Elliot began his career in management consulting and then received his M.B.A and M.P.A from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

where he was both a Zuckerman Fellow and a George Fellow. In 2009, he started Friendfactor, an

rights nonprofit that helps straight supporters become visible, vocal, and active allies in their communities. Friendfactor created and launched an innovative online advocacy tool that engaged thousands of New Yorkers to contact their state representatives in support of their gay friends’ equal rights.

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer and global health advocate. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ...

launched the online tool at an event in New York City.

Awards and honors

Elliot’s work to start Friendfactor was named one of the Top 10 Inspiring Acts of 2010 by Yahoo! News. He was also named a 30 under 30 Civic Leader by Splashlife, a 36 Under 36 Leader by the Jewish Week, and he was a recipient of the SXSW Dewey Winburne Community Service Award in 2012. Elliot was named the 2010 Harvard Business School Social Entrepreneurship Fellow and was honored by Auburn Seminary in 2011 as a millennial leader. He was named a PopTech Fellow in 2010.

Publications

Elliot has been published on topic of entrepreneurship and international development in the Harvard Business School case study entitled “Endeavor: Creating a Movement for High-Impact Entrepreneurship.” He has also co-authored the first piece in Harvard Business Review to address transgender issues in the workplace, in an article entitled, “When Steve Becomes Stephanie.”

Public Speaking

Elliot is a frequent speaker and panelist on topics involving social innovation, technology, digital media, and authentic leadership. He has been a keynote speaker at the Millennial Impact Conference, the Reaching Out MBA Conference, and the JFNA Leadership Conference. Elliot has also spoken at the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference, the PopTech 2010 Conference as a Social Innovation Fellow, the Schusterman NetWORKS Gathering, Unreasonable@State, and the Founder Institute.

References

External links

Friendfactor website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Brian Living people 1981 births Harvard Kennedy School alumni Harvard Business School alumni Stanford University alumni