The Allan P. Kirby Lecture Series in Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship brings leading voices in free enterprise and entrepreneurship to Wilkes University. Open to students and the community, these forums give students and the community insight into the creative process and drive of the entrepreneur.
Latest Lecture
Conquering Chaos: Building Teams to Make Your Passion a Reality
What's most important in your life? Spend an evening with Jake Wood to learn how to build the team needed to make your passion a reality.
About Jake Wood
- Co-founder and executive chairman of Team Rubicon
- CEO of Groundswell
- Author of Once a Warrior and Take Command
An award-winning entrepreneur, two-time author, and recognized expert on topics of
leadership, organizational culture and crisis management. Wood recently founded
Groundswell, a revolutionary venture-backed financial technology company that is looking
to disrupt philanthropy and employee compensation by making personal charitable
foundations as common as 401(k)s. Groundswell believes that everyone should be able
to
give like Gates, get taxed like Buffett and get recognized like Rockefeller.
Wood is also the founder and Executive Chairman of Team Rubicon - the fastest growing
and most innovative disaster response organization in the world. Since 2010, Team
Rubicon has grown to over 150,000 volunteers and responded to nearly 1,000 crises
around the world and the United States. Under Wood's leadership, Team Rubicon
developed a reputation for its corporate culture, and was named one of the top nonprofits
to work for in America five times.
Prior to Team Rubicon, Wood served as a Marine Corps scout-sniper with combat tours
in
Iraq and Afghanistan and was a varsity football player for the Wisconsin Badgers.
He is the
author of Once A Warrior, a memoir detailing his time in war and disaster zones around the
world that legendary journalist Tom Brokaw said was "the book America needs right
now."
History of the Allan P. Kirby Lecture Series
- Terry Jones
- Founder of Travelocity, Founding Chairman of Kayak.com
- Jake Wood
- Co-Founder and CEO of Team Rubicon
- Steve Forbes
- Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media
- Lt. Col. Allen West
- Retired U.S. Army Colonel and Former Congressman
- Michael Reagan
- Son of President Ronald Reagan, Fox News channel commentator, New York Times Bestselling Author and syndicated columnist
- Mary Fisher
- Author, artist, advocate and social entrepreneur
- Cynthia Montgomery
- Timken Professor of Business Administration, Director of Research at Harvard Business School, author of “The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs”
- Jack Uldrich
- Renowned global futurist and author of "Why Future Trends Will Demand Unlearning"
- Jonah Goldberg
- Bestselling author and widely syndicated columnist
- Linda Rottenberg
- CEO and Co-founder of Endeavor
- Andrew Ross Sorkin
- Co-Host of CNBC's Squawk Box,
- Gary Hirshberg
- President and CEO of Stonyfield Farm and Chairman of Climate Counts
- Tom Szaky
- Founder and CEO of Terracycle Inc.
- Dinesh D'Souza
- Author and Political Analyst
- Lawrence W. Reed
- President of the Foundation for Economic Education
- Walter Williams
- Economic/Political Commentator
- Cal Thomas
- Syndicated Political Commentator
- Kristopher B. Jones
- Former President and CEO of Pepperjam
- Ken Schmidt
- Former Director of Communications of Harley-Davidson Motor Co.
- Martin Eberhard
- Founder/Former CEO - Tesla Motors
- J.C. Watts
- Former Congressman
- Lillian Vernon
- Founder of Lillian Vernon Companies
- Robert Novak
- Founding Commentator of CNN
- George Pataki
- Former Governor of New York
- Polly LaBarre
- Former Senior Editor of Fast Company Magazine
- Tom Scott
- Co-Founder and CEO of Nantucket Nectars and Plum TV
- John Stossel
- ABC Reporter
- Andy McKelvey
- Owner of Monster.com
- Jerry Greenfield
- Co-Founder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream