My favorite time of year... at my favorite event of the year... with my favorite group of young entrepreneurs: The PopTech Social Innovation Fellows.

This program helps equip these world-changing innovators with the tools, insights, visibility and social network that can help them scale their impacts to new heights. They are exposed to leading experts in communication, presentation design, design research, fundraising, operations and organizational design.

I get to doodle and listen to all of these smart, talented and passionate people share ideas, methods and energy! Below are some highlights...

Morning light in the "big room" on Pointe Lookout.

Opening exercise, the Fellows create a visual story describing "How did I get here?", "What is my organization doing in the world?" and "What is my greatest challenge?"

A synthesis of the Fellows Program and the cross-connections between areas of interest that the Fellows are working to make an impact.

The inimitable Kevin Starr (Mulago Foundation) walks the Fellows through a process of designing for true impact. Kevin challenged the Fellows, many of whom have very complex operations, to create their 8 Word Mission Statement. A concise description of the process is described in GOOD Blog. Kevin's 2010 PopTech presentation is well worth viewing!

Michael Duarte (Duarte Design) shares best practices on presentation design and creating STAR moments (aka. "Stuff They'll Always Remember").

Ethnographer and world-class design researcher Jan Chipchase (frog design). He describes the process (and challenges) of building a design research project in regions from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. He is described as "a strategist/technologist who travels the world with teams of ethnographers and designers, looking at how people use communications devices in different cultures." more

Senior Fellows, Ken Banks (Frontline SMS) and Erik Hersman (Ushahidi), sport their new avatar holograms, hand-crafted by Robert Fabricant (frog design).