Sirangelo named to Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company
Fast Company has
named Jennifer Sirangelo ’96 MPA, president and CEO of the National 4-H Council,
to its annual list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. The award from Fast Company recognizes influential and
forward-thinking individuals for innovations in business, leadership, and
culture. Aside from Sirangelo — who earned the No. 46 spot for “raising new
leaders” — others named to this year’s list include business leaders from
Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, and Google Cloud, to name just a few.
This recognition for Sirangelo follows the launch of 4-H’s
new Grow True Leaders campaign — the largest brand and alumni activation
initiative in 4‑H history. Started by Sirangelo in 2016, the campaign is
focused on supporting growth and leadership development for
nearly six million young people through 4‑H programs in science, agriculture,
health, and citizenship, and is aimed at promoting diversity in 4-H
membership and programing, while increasing 4-H enrollment to 10 million
members by 2025. Already, 4-H alumni social media
engagement is up 40% and unrestricted fundraising has grown 27% in the past
year.
The Grow True Leaders campaign is also about changing the perception
that many people have about 4-H. As Fast Company notes, “For many Americans,
the name 4-H still evokes images of kids raising sheep for the county fair,”
says Sirangelo. “But today, the nonprofit organization serves more young
people in urban and suburban areas than in rural ones. In addition to courses
in animal husbandry, 4-H offers school and community programs in robotics,
rocketry, and computer coding.” She adds, “Alumni
are at different places than you might think — from NASA to the NBA
to Facebook. Ten governors and over 50 members of Congress are 4-H
alumni.”
More information about Jennifer Sirangelo, her designation
as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” and 4-H’s Grow True Leaders campaign can be found here.