David Risher Worldreader Nonprofit Speaker Profile
Speaker profile and information for Worldreader's CEO and Co-Founder, David Risher. www.worldreader.org
Content
A global nonprofit, brining digital books to
the developing world.
www.worldreader.org
facebook.com/worldreader
Twitter: @worldreaders
“Reading is like a vaccine against ignorance
and education is the answer to a better life for
our children."
- David Risher, Worldreader
DAVID RISHER
Unlocking the Library: Worldreader's’ Beginning
CEO & Co-Founder of Worldreader
Worldreader began with a trip to an orphanage in Ecuador. While the
orphanage was fortunate enough to have a library, its doors were
chained shut and the building sat neglected. David Risher, was on
this trip, as part of an educational 19-country tour around the globe.
As someone who deeply loved books and the ideas and stories they
share, David was profoundly moved to see a library, literally locked
up because its the books it held were not relevant to its community.
SPEAKING TOPICS & DETAILS
Mr. Risher is available for selected
interviews with press via Skype, in
person, phone, and email. Topics of
expertise include:
• Technology in the developing
world.
• The impact of books on
children in poverty.
• Leadership among technologycentric nonprofits.
• The need for education in the
developing world.
• The transformative power of
literacy.
CONTACT:
Please reply with your name,
media outlet, and contact
information:
contact “at”
jacobsoncommunication.com
This sparked a dialouge between David Risher and Colin McElwee
about how technology could be used to bring digital libraries, filled
with good books, to kids throughout the developing world. What
followed was the founding of Worldreader, a nonprofit that uses
technology and partnerships with leading international publishers to
bring digital books to places that traditional books simply aren’t
available. Today, Worldreader’s library reaches millions of people in
the developing world with 27,000+ book titles.
Changing Minds
Mobile reading has been shown to improve the
way people feel about reading. Of those who said
they disliked or hated reading before reading on
their mobile phones, 62% reported that they like
reading more now.
- 2015 UNESCO Study
David’s Qualifications
• Over two decades experience leading technological advancements
on a large-scale.
• General manager at Microsoft: managed the marketing and
development of Microsoft’s first desktop database.
• Senior Vice President at Amazon: Helped grow the company from
$16 million to $4 billion in sales.
• Taught at University of Washington's Foster School of Business.
Top 2015 Worldreader Stories
• 5 Million New Mobile Readers
Reached Through Worldreader and
Opera Software with 25,000 free
digital books
• World-Famous Author Paulo
Coelho Donates Beloved Titles
• Worldreader Wins Double 2015
MEFFY Awards for Social
Responsibility and Mobile First
Market
• Worldreader Embraces Solar
Power in the Developing World
• Sarah Obama Library Goes Digital
with Worldreader
• Clinton Global Initiative
Recognizes Worldreader
Voted Professor of the Year by his students.
• Served as President of the Board of Barcelona's Benjamin Franklin
International School
• Member of ESADE Business School’s International Advisory Board.
• Graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a
degree in Comparative Literature and earned an MBA
from the Harvard Business School.
• Draper Richards Kaplan entrepreneur
• An invited member of the Clinton Global Initiative
• A Microsoft Alumni Foundation Integral Fellow.
• David also speaks four languages and is an avid long-distance
cyclist.
• Favorite Books: The Odyssey andThe Lion, The Witch, and
the Wardrobe.
the developing world.
www.worldreader.org
facebook.com/worldreader
Twitter: @worldreaders
“Reading is like a vaccine against ignorance
and education is the answer to a better life for
our children."
- David Risher, Worldreader
DAVID RISHER
Unlocking the Library: Worldreader's’ Beginning
CEO & Co-Founder of Worldreader
Worldreader began with a trip to an orphanage in Ecuador. While the
orphanage was fortunate enough to have a library, its doors were
chained shut and the building sat neglected. David Risher, was on
this trip, as part of an educational 19-country tour around the globe.
As someone who deeply loved books and the ideas and stories they
share, David was profoundly moved to see a library, literally locked
up because its the books it held were not relevant to its community.
SPEAKING TOPICS & DETAILS
Mr. Risher is available for selected
interviews with press via Skype, in
person, phone, and email. Topics of
expertise include:
• Technology in the developing
world.
• The impact of books on
children in poverty.
• Leadership among technologycentric nonprofits.
• The need for education in the
developing world.
• The transformative power of
literacy.
CONTACT:
Please reply with your name,
media outlet, and contact
information:
contact “at”
jacobsoncommunication.com
This sparked a dialouge between David Risher and Colin McElwee
about how technology could be used to bring digital libraries, filled
with good books, to kids throughout the developing world. What
followed was the founding of Worldreader, a nonprofit that uses
technology and partnerships with leading international publishers to
bring digital books to places that traditional books simply aren’t
available. Today, Worldreader’s library reaches millions of people in
the developing world with 27,000+ book titles.
Changing Minds
Mobile reading has been shown to improve the
way people feel about reading. Of those who said
they disliked or hated reading before reading on
their mobile phones, 62% reported that they like
reading more now.
- 2015 UNESCO Study
David’s Qualifications
• Over two decades experience leading technological advancements
on a large-scale.
• General manager at Microsoft: managed the marketing and
development of Microsoft’s first desktop database.
• Senior Vice President at Amazon: Helped grow the company from
$16 million to $4 billion in sales.
• Taught at University of Washington's Foster School of Business.
Top 2015 Worldreader Stories
• 5 Million New Mobile Readers
Reached Through Worldreader and
Opera Software with 25,000 free
digital books
• World-Famous Author Paulo
Coelho Donates Beloved Titles
• Worldreader Wins Double 2015
MEFFY Awards for Social
Responsibility and Mobile First
Market
• Worldreader Embraces Solar
Power in the Developing World
• Sarah Obama Library Goes Digital
with Worldreader
• Clinton Global Initiative
Recognizes Worldreader
Voted Professor of the Year by his students.
• Served as President of the Board of Barcelona's Benjamin Franklin
International School
• Member of ESADE Business School’s International Advisory Board.
• Graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a
degree in Comparative Literature and earned an MBA
from the Harvard Business School.
• Draper Richards Kaplan entrepreneur
• An invited member of the Clinton Global Initiative
• A Microsoft Alumni Foundation Integral Fellow.
• David also speaks four languages and is an avid long-distance
cyclist.
• Favorite Books: The Odyssey andThe Lion, The Witch, and
the Wardrobe.
