Alex Budak ’07

Alex Budak is the recipient of the 2017 Recent Graduate Achievement Award. He is a serial social entrepreneur, executive director of the UC Berkeley Center for Reinventing Leadership, and a firm believer that anyone can be a changemaker. He co-founded, and now advises, StartSomeGood.com which has helped 700+ social impact organizations in 50+ countries raise $7 million. Budak mentors, coaches and advises social entrepreneurs around the world, most recently running Scandinavia’s leading social impact incubator, Reach for Change, in Stockholm, Sweden. He has given talks on the topics of leadership and social innovation in venues ranging from Ukraine to Cambodia; L.A. to the Arctic Circle; and at both the World Bank and White House. His writing has been published in FastCompany, The Guardian and Huffington Post. Budak was named a “top 100 visionary leader" by Real Leaders Magazine, Top 99 under 33 in Foreign Policy by Diplomatic Courier and received YouthActionNet's global fellowship. He received his Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University and his B.A. in geography and political science from UCLA. While at UCLA, he co-founded the Bruin student section, The Den and received its Distinguished Senior Award.