David Sawyer is president of Context, a consulting firm with practice areas in strategy, leadership, and culture. Active across sectors, Sawyer has played key roles in a variety of fields: sustainable agriculture, education reform, national service, social entrepreneurship, venture philanthropy, and the emerging green economy.
For a decade David directed leadership and service-learning programs at Berea College, receiving the nation’s highest award for voluntary service from the White House and The Servant Leader Award from the National Youth Leadership Council. David was an advisor to Honda’s innovative Eagle Rock School, designed Save the Children’s Appalachian Teen Leadership Program, and traveled to India to meet with the Dalai Lama to help design a Tibetan refugee education program. Sawyer worked with the Clinton administration to help launch the nation’s Americorps program, facilitated The New Generation Training Program and other national leadership programs, and in 1997 led a delegation to the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future.
Sawyer spent four years working with energy company BP, coaching senior leaders, designing the cultural integration of the BP/ARCO merger, and facilitating a conference on global climate change in Washington. He helped develop the Denali Initiative, a national fellowship program for social entrepreneurs, and served as executive-in-residence for the Kauffman Foundation, promoting citizen engagement and civic innovation. David served as the first Executive Director of Social Venture Partners Portland and was Chief Culture Officer for gDiapers, the green business making the world’s first flushable/compostable diaper. He has also been a Senior Network Practitioner with the Monitor Institute and is based in Portland, Oregon.
| National Geographic | Let Girls Lead |
| Mercy Corps | Global Partnerships |
| Threshold Group | Arizona Community Foundation |
| Pyramid Communications | Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Portland State |
| Salesforce.com Foundation | Irvine Foundation |
| Portland Sustainability Institute | Pacific Northwest College of Art and Design |
| Valley PBS | Portland Opera |
| World Pulse | Oregon Humanities |
| Global Greengrants Fund | Hands to Hearts International |
David is also Partner of Converge, a strategy + design firm for systems impact.
David Sawyer, Context
strategy, leadership, culture
david@smarthumansystems.com
503.860.0583