Jonah Wittkamper Explained

Jonah Wittkamper is a biologist,[1] technologist, startup founder[2] and social entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder and President of the NEXUS, a movement to help wealthy families engage in charity and impact investing.[3] In 2020, he founded the Amazon Investor Coalition to advance forest friendly economic development and the rule of law.[4] [5] [6] In addition, in 2017, he created the Healthy Democracy Coalition, a network of philanthropists dedicated to bridging political divides.

Wittkamper works to unite young social and philanthropic leaders to influence the public sector, including the United Nations,[7] [8] [9] [10] the White House[11] [12] and the United States Congress.[13] [14] [15] Earlier in his career, he co-founded the Global Youth Action Network, a global association of youth organizations that merged with TakingITGlobal and grew to become one of the largest communities of young social change leaders on the internet.[16] In 2007, he joined Distributive Networks and helped to build the text messaging technology of the 2008 Obama campaign[17] and in 2015 he served as an advisor to the Council on Foundations' Evolution of Philanthropy Initiative.[18] He has worked as the United States Director of Search for Common Ground[19] and is the founder and owner of EZinTouch.com, a contact management platform. He is an alumnus of Williams College, Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) and Camp Rising Sun.

Prior to NEXUS

Before co-founding NEXUS, Wittkamper served in various roles that focused on impacting and inspiring youth leaders across the world. Beginning in 2000, Wittkamper co-founded the Global Youth Action Network (GYAN).[20] Through the help of Wittkamper, GYAN reinforced the participation of youth in global decision-making. Wittkamper served as the Chief Technology Officer and opened the South American Regional Office, which he ran until 2006.[21] Soon, GYAN merged with TakingITGlobal, as mentioned previously. TakingITGlobal quickly became the largest Internet site dedicated to the empowerment of young leaders, receiving almost 2 million hits every day.

Family

Jonah Wittkamper is the grandson of Will Wittkamper, a former steward of Koinonia Farm. This is the inter-racial Christian intentional community in Americus, Georgia, that inspired the creation of Habitat for Humanity.[22] The Wittkamper family is profiled in the book Class of 65.[23] Wittkamper is also a grand-nephew of George S. Vest, former Director General of the US Foreign Service.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Root herbivory: in vitro Interactions between roots and aphids grown in aseptic coculture. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant. 10 December 2014. 4.
  2. Web site: Helping to Launch Those who Launch Companies. 12 December 2014. Newsday. 1.
  3. Web site: Millennial Investors Unite. Private Wealth Magazine. 29 July 2014.
  4. Web site: Saving the Amazon One Investment Strategy at a Time. Initiative 20x20. 1 September 2021.
  5. Web site: Amazon Investor Coalition is investing in forest-friendly economic development across Latin America. 8 March 2021 . LatamList. 1 September 2021.
  6. Web site: Investing in Amazon Rainforest Conservation. 21 April 2020 . Mongabay. 1 September 2021.
  7. Web site: UN Galvanizes Philanthropy. 12 August 2011 . Vanity Fair. 29 July 2014.
  8. Web site: Millennials Transform Charitable Giving Into Philanthropic Action. The Huffington Post. 24 July 2015 . 12 December 2016.
  9. Web site: Young Philanthropists And Social Entrepreneurs From 70 Countries Mobilize At The U.N. To Solve Global Challenges. Forbes.com. 12 December 2016.
  10. Web site: Nexus: Minds and Money Meet, Pushing the World Forward. The Huffington Post. 24 July 2015 . 12 December 2016.
  11. News: Including the young and rich - White House hosts 'Next Generation'. New York Times. 18 April 2014 . 29 July 2014. Johnson . Jamie .
  12. Web site: At Nexus, a Peek Into the Minds of Young, Wealthy Donors. Chronicle of Philanthropy. 12 December 2014.
  13. News: Engaging Disaffected Millennials. Wall Street Journal. 10 December 2014 . 12 December 2014. Killian . Linda .
  14. News: When Will We See A Millennial Congress?. The Daily Beast. 26 December 2014 . 12 December 2016. Killian . Linda .
  15. Web site: Millennials Bring a Bipartisan Message to Congress. 4 December 2014 . Non-Profit Quarterly. 12 December 2016.
  16. Tapscott, Don and Williams, Anothy D. (2006). Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, p. 50. Penguin Books Ltd., London. .
  17. Web site: Startups get a lift from election '08. Fortune. 29 July 2014.
  18. Web site: Evolution of American Philanthropy. Council on Foundations. 5 May 2020.
  19. Web site: Nexus Summit Inspires Next Generation of Billionaires to Give Back. Forbes.com.
  20. Web site: Team. 2021-06-20. NEXUS. en-US.
  21. Web site: Team. 2021-06-20. NEXUS. en-US.
  22. News: Growing Up at Koinonia. Christianitytoday.com . Christianity Today.
  23. News: How a white student stood by his black classmates during the Civil Rights era. Washington Post.