Babson Names President and CEO of UNICEF USA, Caryl M. Stern, and Co-Founder and CEO of Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg, as 2018 Commencement Speakers

WELLESLEY, Mass., April 5, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President and CEO of UNICEF USA, Caryl M. Stern, and Co-Founder and CEO of Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg, will be honored at this year's commencement ceremonies on the Wellesley campus on Saturday, May 19, 2018.

Stern will be receiving an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree and will be giving the commencement address at the undergraduate ceremony at 10 a.m. Rottenberg will be receiving an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree and will be giving the commencement address at the graduate ceremony at 3:00 p.m.

"We are honored to welcome Caryl Stern and Linda Rottenberg to Babson for our 2018 commencement ceremonies," says President Kerry Healey. "As we look ahead to our second century, Babson is focused on supporting women-led entrepreneurship and driving social impact. Caryl and Linda are innovative leaders who embody Babson's vision for the future and will inspire our graduates to harness the transformative power of entrepreneurship and create positive change in the world."

Caryl M. Stern

Caryl M. Stern is an activist, author, executive, public speaker, mother of three and grandmother of two. A dynamic change-maker, Stern has dedicated her career to helping others through education, compassion, advocacy and rolling up her sleeves. Since 2007, she has served as President and CEO of UNICEF USA, an organization that supports UNICEF's lifesaving work to put children first.

Under Stern's leadership, UNICEF USA has nearly doubled its fundraising revenue, secured multi-million dollar commitments in support of the world's children and launched UNICEF Kid Power, the world's first Wearable-for-Goodtm that empowers kids to get active and save lives. Stern has traveled to more than 30 countries in support of UNICEF's work and has spearheaded the USA response to the organization's emergency relief efforts in support of children affected by disasters, including the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 East Africa drought, the Ebola and Zika epidemics and the ongoing global refugee and migrant crisis.

A sought-after public speaker on the topics of Kids helping Kids, children and philanthropy, anti-bullying and international development, Stern was invited to present at the White House's inaugural summit on The United State of Women and has been named one of "20 Most Influential Moms" by Family Circle, "25 Moms We Love" by Working Mother Magazine and "Ten Women to Watch" by Jewish Women International, and one of 25 "Women Changing the World in 2017" by People Magazine.

Stern serves on the Board of Directors of The Container Store and the We Are Family Foundation, the Advisory Board to the WNBA and the Advisory Council of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Prior to joining the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Stern was an executive at the Anti-Defamation League, the founding director of its A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, and the Dean of Students at Polytechnic University.

Linda Rottenberg

"Innovator for the 21st Century" (TIME), "Silicon Valley Visionary," "America's Best Leader" (U.S. News), and "The Entrepreneur Whisperer" (ABC, FOX, NPR) are among the designations given to Linda Rottenberg. The subject of four Harvard Business School cases, for over a decade Linda was known by another name, la Chica Loca ("the Crazy Girl"), for insisting that high-impact entrepreneurs exist in emerging and developing markets.

As co-founder and CEO of Endeavor Global, Inc., Linda has led the global entrepreneurship movement for two decades. With offices spanning the globe, Endeavor rigorously selects, mentors and scales the most promising, high-impact entrepreneurs in 30 countries and a number of underserved U.S. cities. Today, Endeavor Entrepreneurs -- 1700 selected from over 55,000 candidates -- generate over $15BN in annual revenues and produce more than 1.5 million jobs.

Linda Rottenberg oversees Endeavor Catalyst LP Funds with over $115M AUM, which co-invest in Endeavor Entrepreneurs. She serves as board director of the preeminent bandwidth infrastructure company (NYSE: ZAYO); pioneering software developer (NYSE: GLOB); and leading digital food-ordering platform (OLO). Her book, CRAZY IS A COMPLIMENT: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else Zags, became an instant NYT bestseller.

A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, Linda lives in Brooklyn with her husband, author/journalist Bruce Feiler, and identical twin daughters, Tybee and Eden.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds^®. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action^® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

SOURCE Babson College