John Hope Bryant

John Bryant, American Philanthropist and Businessman, to Speak at President’s Lecture Series

 
 

On Monday, February 8, John Hope Bryant, a philanthropic entrepreneur, Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum, and vice chairman of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, is invited to deliver the second lecture in the lecture series launched by President Valdis Zatlers - “Lectures by World Leaders”.

The guest lecture will take place at the Big Hall of the University of Latvia at 10 a.m. The president invites everybody who is interested to attend. 

John Bryant will speak about changes in thinking and in the governing values, about positive leadership and the importance of understanding one’s own finance management in the time of economic recession. During the lecture John Bryant will discuss the following themes:

1. The current economic crisis is not a recession, it is a reset.

2. Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World.

3. Financial Literacy is the next civil right.

Operation HOPE Makes a 5-year Commitment to Assist in Haiti Long-Term Rebuilding

 

Announcement made to support Haiti from World Economic Forum

Davos, Switzerland - January 28, 2010 -  John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE (HOPE), as well as a Young Global Leader, announced today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland his organization's response to the crisis in Haiti. Operation HOPE's Global Initiatives have made this commitment in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative's (CGI) call for action in Haiti.

Airport skycap economist

Often while making my way through America's airports I am stopped by well meaning people who want to talk about Operation HOPE, Love Leadership, or their newest idea for a business (all good).  But when I travel from Los Angeles I am often stopped by the same focused brother, a young, African-American skycap, always with something serious and economic on his mind. 

This time he wanted to talk with me about the 5 young men who were let go at the counter because there was a decision made that TSA and technology could do their jobs.  His compelling question was this; "John, if they fire all the workers, who are also consumers, and replace them with computers and technology, who is going to be able to able to be a viable consumer to buy all this technology, computers, and well, plane tickets too?"  A very good question. 

Tyrese (Gibson) lays out his vision for "making smart sexy" at 5MK Los Angeles launch

 

Tyrese does an incredible job here, laying out a passionate and articulate vision for why kids need to "make (being) smart sexy" and a priority in their lives.  5MK (5 MILLION KIDS)is a national initiative, with the first leg launched on-the-ground in partnership with LAUSD and LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines in Los Angeles schools. 

Watch the video. Share it with family and friends, and then go to www.5mk.org and find your own way to make a 5MK Pledge, to help.

Onward with HOPE

John Hope Bryant

Operation HOPE Founder and Council Vice Chairman John Hope Bryant Issues Public Statement Following Meeting of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy

WASHINGTON - (BUSINESS WIRE) - John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE founder, chairman and chief executive officer, issues the following statement:

"I commend President Barack Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Financial Education, and the Obama Administration for calling a meeting of the non-partisan U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy (the Council) on November 3, 2009 at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. I would like to further encourage our elected officials to promote and advance financial literacy legislation that will help keep America competitive, and assist the American people, particularly our most under-served and at risk, in understanding and addressing financial matters.

Operation HOPE Founder and Council Vice Chairman John Hope Bryant Issues Public Statement Following Meeting of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy

WASHINGTON--John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE founder, chairman and chief executive officer, issues the following statement:

“I commend President Barack Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, Council Chairman and friend Charles Schwab, the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Financial Education, and the Obama Administration for calling a meeting of the non-partisan U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy (the Council) on November 3, 2009 at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. I would like to further encourage our elected officials to promote and advance financial literacy legislation that will help keep America competitive, and assist the American people, particularly our most under-served and at risk, in understanding and addressing financial matters.

The Council Committee on the Underserved, which I chair, along with committee members: Sharon Lechter, The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III and Ignacio Salazar, along with special advisor Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, reported the following benchmark achievements and initiatives at the meeting:

Report to President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy (for full report click here)

The Committee on the Underserved made significant progress in developing a robust strategy and implementing initiatives to increase financial literacy among low-wealth individuals and under-served communities. The Committee focused on: increasing access to financial services and financial education; educating youth in low-wealth schools and traditionally minority colleges and universities; promoting volunteerism; recognizing the states and cities active in the financial literacy field and working to increase that number; developing a plan to ensure future best practices in subprime lending; consulting with Federal agencies to enhance their efforts; and, improving collaboration within the private sector to promote financial literacy in such communities. The Committee on the Underserved has also supported the efforts of the Outreach and Youth Committees in overlapping areas of focus.

In addition the Committee has co-hosted and participated in a number of outreach events and policy discussions, including roundtables, town hall meetings, promoted and encouraged legislation and listening sessions around the country. The Committee Chairman has participated in Congressional briefings and is tracking legislation related to financial education.

 
Specifically, the Committee on the Under-Served issued a report on “The Future of Financial Literacy and Responsible Mortgage Subprime Lending,” worked closely with the U.S. Small Business Administration to frame and launch its new and necessary SBA Office of Entrepreneurship Education, crafted and created the Council Financial Literacy Corps, and helped to directly inspire at least one federal legislative proposal to advance financial literacy in American life post-crisis.

Approximately 17 financial literacy bills proposed now making their way through the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, including HR 1325 by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee which was directly inspired by the work of the Council and Operation HOPE’s Banking on Our Future, College Edition and its partnership with the White House Initiative on HBCUs, along with House Resolution 65 by Congresswoman Diane E. Watson, will make the promise of financial literacy real in the lives of every American. A special thank you to the members of Congress and the U.S. Senate, individuals such as U.S. Senator Murray, for making financial literacy a legislative priority.

Special to the Huffington Post: The Dawning Of The Post-Crisis Entrepreneurship Generation, Here And All Around The World

   
From civil rights to silver rights.

In my new book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World, I submit that there are two things in the world, love and fear, and that what we don't love what we fear. Further, I submit that the reason our world is so screwed up today is that most of our so-called leaders have led by fear.

I go on to say that close relatives of fear are shorter-ism, laziness, greed, a focus on me and not we, and asking the question, "what do I get," versus "what do I have to give."

One could say that this current crisis has morphed from a global financial crisis, into an economic crisis, a liquidity crisis, and today it is a global crisis of confidence, and in this environment the ultimate prosperity killer is fear.

Financial Literacy Takes Center Stage as Operation HOPE Founder John Hope Bryant Delivers “Silver Rights” Keynote for Central Bank of Brazil in South America

 

Brazil’s Central Bank addresses governance, transparency and technology of services and products

(Los Angeles– November 17, 2009) – Joining over 100 top government, civil society and private sector leaders focused on Brazil’s national microfinance agenda, Operation HOPE Chairman and CEO, John Hope Bryant, traveled to the city of Salvador to give the keynote address at the Forum Banco Central on Financial Inclusion, November 17.

“Operation HOPE’s mission is the eradication of poverty through 'silver rights', and microfinance stands as one of the most promising tools in the fight to bring ‘silver rights’—access to resources and financial parity, to the underserved," said Bryant, best-selling book author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: the New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World, and vice chair of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy.

Welcome to beautiful Salvador, Brazil

Bamboo beautifully covers the entrance to the airport here in Salvador, Brazil, in Bahia State. 3 million people in Salvador and 14 million in the state, with a significant Latin-African influence everywhere.

My driver tells me that public schools are not so good, but the public university is the best, while alternatively private schools are excellent and private universities lag behind the public university significantly. The result is that most students in the public university, which has much higher standards for entrance, actually come from private schools here.

A beautiful country, Brazil.

Operation HOPE's Banking on Our Future financial literacy program hits yet another milestone

Isn't this cool?  It is former President Bill Clinton in a Banking on Our Future classroom at the initial launch of Banking on Our Future, Harlem, originally in partnership with Citi, Deutsche Bank (originally Bankers Trust), Operation HOPE and the Clinton Foundation, where we teach a course in dignity, financial literacy and in some schools,  course in entrepreneurship (Operation HOPE, South Africa) and a bank account for children.

Today I am pleased to report that Operation HOPE has educated more than 440,000 young people, ages 8-18, through Banking on Our Future, and we have more than 4,000 active HOPE Corps members today and more than 9,000 HOPE Corps volunteers since the founding of Operation HOPE in 1992.