Philippe Houdard – Developing Minds Foundation

After receiving his Master's degree in Business from Harvard, Philippe Houdard spent several years traveling around Latin America as a corporate business executive. In the course of his travels, Philippe became aware of the glaring divide between the rich and the poor in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, especially the plight of the children who lived in the shantytown slums there. When his grandfather passed away several years later, Philippe decided to do something to help those children. What started as a year-long sabbatical to build a school in Brazil became a full-scale non-profit organization that provides kids with access to basic education, vocational training, emotional support and basic computer skills to help them break the cycle of poverty, gangs and violence so prevalent in their hometowns. The Developing Minds Foundation was founded in 2006 and has worked with close to 35,000 kids, teaching them literacy and life skills, including helping former child soldiers reintegrate into civilian life.

Contact Information:

Address: 1101 Brickell Avenue, South Tower 8th Fl | Miami Beach, Florida 33131 https://soundcloud.com/etown-3/echievement-award-philippe-houdard