SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of its VisionSF program, the San Francisco Chronicle named Founder and CEO of Watsi, Chase Adam as its second annual Visionary of the Year. Adam received the award at an awards ceremony held in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 29.
The San Francisco Chronicle is Northern California’s largest circulation newspaper. The Chronicle, along with founding partner Saint Mary’s College of California’s School of Economics and Business Administration established the awards program last year to honor visionary leaders who have made a difference in the Bay Area and beyond. The program was also made possible by presenting sponsor City National Bank.
Adam was among eight finalists for the Visionary award. Finalists included:
- Rose Broome, founder of HandUp, a crowd funding website for homeless people and neighbors in need
- Luisa Buada, CEO of Ravenswood Family Health Center, who puts high-quality health clinics in low-income communities
- Ken and Caretha Coleman, who push for more women and minority hiring in Silicon Valley
- Vitka Eisen, leader of HealthRIGHT 360, a substance abuse and mental health treatment facility
- Freada Kapor Klein, a philanthropist who champions workplace diversity
- Jennifer Pahlka, founder and executive director of Code for America, a national nonprofit organization striving to transform local government leveraging technology
- Paul Tasner, co-founder and CEO of PulpWorks, which creates eco-friendly packaging
“We had eight amazing nominees with an impressive array of innovations: from health care to education to product packaging,” said John Diaz, The Chronicle’s editorial page editor who chaired the nominating committee. “Any one of the eight would have been a worthy winner. Adam stood out for combining his idealism, practicality and technological savvy to a critical global issue.”
SV Angel founder Ron Conway nominated Adam, the youngest finalist for the award, due to his groundbreaking work in providing a global funding platform for medical treatments for impoverished people in developing countries.
On his nomination of Adam, Conway stated, “He’s the Mark Zuckerberg of nonprofit leaders. We need to honor these social entrepreneurs the way we honor company builders.”
“It is an honor to be recognized for this prestigious award and to be among such an elite group of individuals all striving to make the world a better place,” said Adam, “In the future, I hope Watsi and the technology behind it can stand as a model that governments, companies or nongovernmental organizations can adopt to streamline their health funding processes and someday establish a universal health care system.”
As the winner of the Visionary of the Year title, Chase will receive a $25,000 grant to fund his work with Watsi. In addition, a $10,000 scholarship in honor of Adam will be established for a deserving graduate student at the Saint Mary’s School of Economics and Business Administration in Moraga.
To see photos from the Visionary of the Year awards ceremony and learn more about Chase Adam and his groundbreaking work, please visit the VisionSF site on SFGATE.
About The San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfchronicle.com) is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst Corporation in 2000, The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. With name-brand voices and a keen editorial eye, the Chronicle is an authority that still surprises. Follow us on Twitter @SFChronicle.
About Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation's largest diversified media and information companies. Its major interests include ownership of 15 daily and 36 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union; hundreds of magazines around the world, including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, ELLE and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations, which reach a combined 18 percent of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, HISTORY and ESPN; significant holdings in automotive, electronic and medical/pharmaceutical business information companies; a 50 percent stake in global ratings agency Fitch Group; Internet and marketing services businesses; television production; newspaper features distribution; and real estate. Follow us on Twitter @HearstCorp.
About Saint Mary’s College of California
The Saint Mary's College of California experience inspires learning that lasts a lifetime. For more than 150 years, the College has provided students with a rigorous education that engages their intellect and spirit, and awakens a desire to transform society. Guided by the Christian Brothers, the Catholic Church's oldest order dedicated exclusively to teaching, the College enrolls more than 4,200 students in undergraduate and graduate liberal arts and business programs. The School of Economics and Business Administration at Saint Mary’s College offers more than ten AACSB-accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in various locations across the Bay Area. For more information visit Saint Mary's College at stmarys-ca.edu.
About City National Bank
With $35.6 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through 75 offices, including 16 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville and Atlanta. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $59.4 billion in client investment assets.
City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 38 other countries.
For more information about City National, visit the company’s website at cnb.com.
