Jeffrey C. Walker to Speak at Naropa University's 2013 Spring Commencement

NPower founder brings collaboration, venture capital, and management skills to social enterprise

BOULDER, Colo. (April 29, 2013)--Naropa University welcomes philanthropist and NPower founder, Jeffrey C. Walker, as the keynote speaker for the university's 2013 spring commencement. Named one of the top five most generous on Wall Street by Co.Exist/Catchafire, Walker integrates business strategies with nonprofit work, emphasizing collaboration and community as a catalyst for continued altruism. Naropa University's commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. in Macky Auditorium at the University of Colorado.

Jeffrey C. Walker is an active philanthropist whose areas of focus include global health, scaling social enterprises, mind development, education, creativity, and bringing music to youth. Walker has served on the board of numerous nonprofits, including Millennium Promise, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and Berklee School of Music, and is the founder of NPower, a charity that provides technology and training to inner-city youth and finds them jobs, as well as providing technology back office for more than five hundred nonprofits. He is also the co-author, with Jennifer McCrea and Karl Weber, ofThe Generosity Network: New Transformational Tools for Successful Fundraising (Random House), a guide to the art of activating resources for nonprofits, and is designed to energize and empower nonprofit leaders, managers, donors, board members, and other supporters. The book will be published in September 2013.

Before focusing his attention on philanthropy, Walker was a leader in private equity. In 1984 Walker co-founded JPMorgan Partners--JPMorgan & Chase Co.'s global private equity group--which was included in the Private Equity Hall of Fame by the Private Equity Analyst Publication, and later served as Chairman and CEO of CCMP Capital, the successor to JPMorgan Partners. Walker also received the 1998 Award for Excellence in Growth Capital Investing from the University of Michigan Business School.

This spring Naropa University will graduate more than 300 students from more than a dozen undergraduate and a dozen graduate degree programs including BA in Religious Studies, MFA in Writing and Poetics, and MA in Environmental Leadership. The commencement will also feature a faculty address by environmental leadership professor Jeanine Canty, PhD, and student addresses by BA Writing & Literature student, Lina Papastergiou and Master of Divinity student, Brett Campbell.

Naropa University welcomes participants with disabilities. Please contact Tashi Browder at tashi@naropa.edu or at 303-546-3562 to inquire about accessibility and discuss disability accommodations needed to participate fully in this event.

Naropa University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education.  This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students to know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology, and religious studies.

 

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