Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Acumen Fund Fellows graduation for the Class of 2010.  The fellows have just returned from nine month stints with various Acumen investees ranging from 1298, an ambulance service in India, to Western Seed, a company focused on improving crop yields in Kenya.  Their experiences were as diverse as the countries they went to, but one thing was certainly universal: each fellow faced hurdles that forced them to make tough decisions and, in some cases, stand up for what they believe in.  I firmly believe that challenge is where leadership is born.  At the graduation, Jacqueline Novogratz said to the fellows, “You look different than you did when you joined us a year ago; you stand taller and you look more confident.”  She was right; the newest alumni of the fellowship program looked like leaders, plain and simple. Read more »