Far-flung Fellows, the Perfect Ask, and an Oscar!
Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, Laurel Braitman, and Jean-Baptiste Michel await a ferry
A ferry ride and a morning of windswept adventure on nearby Catalina Island today. Some Fellows strapped themselves into a Hummer and headed for the hills; others stepped into a glass-bottomed submarine to study schools of fish in a kelp forest. The bravest rode the zip-line, speeding downhill over the island's lush valleys in a harness.
Refreshed, 2012 Fellows spent the afternoon putting the spit and polish on tomorrow's talks, while Senior Fellows got the lowdown on "the Perfect Ask" – or how (maybe more importantly, how not) to approach potential investors for funding – in a workshop led by fundraising expert Jennifer McCrea and philanthropist and TED Fellow program supporter Ruth Ann Harnisch.
"The session highlighted the fact that whether we're talking to funders or collaborators, we all have resources," said Senior Fellow Marcin Jakubowski. "If we approach the conversation by focusing efforts on finding out what the other person's passions are, and looking for common ground, it opens up ways to work together. Don't put money on the table; put passion on the table."
But the big news of the day came during the Fellows' own reception party at the Renaissance hotel tonight: TED2010 Fellow Sharmeen Chinoy-Obaid won the Oscar for Saving Face, a short documentary that tells the story of acid-attack survivors in Pakistan. The Fellows gathered at the Renaissance cheered as they watched Sharmeen accept the award on TV – a Fellows first!
Fellows on Catalina Island
Skylar Tibbits braces himself for new heights
Sey Min, Aparna Rao, and Suzanne Lee at the Fellows' Reception
Posted by Karen Eng
