2012 Palmer Award Recipients

Drum roll please as we announce this year's recipients of the Palmer Award!

The Stats

Name: Jordan Edelheit

Session: The Ohio State University 2011

Institution: The Ohio State University

The Vision

To create an event that would help share new perspectives while strengthening the Buckeye community  at The Ohio State University.

The Passion

After participating in an empowering TEDx event while on Semester at Sea, Jordan decided she wanted to host OSU's first ever TEDx event. It was an event Jordan hoped would "bring together thinkers and doers from a wide spectrum of departments and backgrounds around campus and put them in a room with hundreds of attentive students and see where inspiration could lead our new TEDx community." Jordan noted in her application that she feels as though she is on a life journey that she would not have imagined without her experience at LeaderShape and the family she gained there. She writes that although she may not be able to pay back all that she has been given, she can certainly pay it forward. 

The Impact

TEDxOhioStateUniversity was a success! Jordan and her team welcomed over 300 attendees, 10 speakers, and 3 performance groups and included livestream viewers from West Virginia to China. The momentum generated from the event has led to the planning of a second TEDxOhioStateUniversity as well as an effort of bringing the first TEDx event to a prison in North America.

The Stats
Name: Patrick Oathout
Session: The LeaderShape Institute in Boston 2011
Institution: Duke University

The Vision
To create a free mobile application that allows users to communicate with refugees and aid workers by submitting reports via SMS text messaging, email, a mobile application, a website, and Twitter hashtags.

The Passion
Patrick's desire to address the needs of refugees and aid workers around the world is what led to the development of a free mobile application called Uhuru. According to Patrick's application, "Uhuru allows resettled refugees to connect with one another using crowd mapping to advertise ventures in their local communities. U.S. domestic resettlement policy encourages entrepreneurship among refugee communities, and this application facilitates the way individuals market their activities."

In order to develop Uhuru, it was necessary for Patrick to do more research on the needs of refugees and how to create a mobile application. He traveled to Washington DC to learn more about USAID, researched the web on creating an app, and traveled to Amman, Jordan to beta-test the application with Iraqi, Syrian, and Palestinian refugees.

The Impact
Patrick share's that "Uhuru has expanded the capacity for social entrepreneurship into crowd sourcing.  Refugees can now advertise their entrepreneurial activity in a free, easy-to-use, interface that’s received many accolades." Additionally, through this work, Patrick has become more committed to supporting refugees and is teaching English to them while in Jordan. You can learn more about his teaching experience here.


Thanks to all of those who took the time to apply for the Palmer Award. It was a pleasure to read about all of the really generous and bold efforts you are all making. Each LeaderShape graduate working towards his or her goals helps us to get closer and closer to a just, caring, thriving world. Please don't stop!