Today, I changed my life. After considerable research and self reflection, I left a very promising finance career to become a bootstrapping social entrepreneur devoted to the forgotten women of the developing world. I had the good fortune to spend my last week of work on holiday at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England.

There is probably no better place to launch a career transition into social enterprise than the Skoll World Forum. As one of over 700 delegates from more than 35 countries, I had a chance to kick-off the concept for OperationOF in the company of the world’s leading social innovators. The environment at Skoll was electric with excitement and possibility, and while the speakers and sessions were informative and inspiring, the conversations moved me most. In the corridors of Saïd Business School, I talked to people about how I was leaving my private sector life to help build capacity to treat a drastically undeserved condition: obstetric fistula.

In addition to giving me challenge, support and many new ideas, the delegates of the 2008 Skoll World Forum also had lots of questions. It turns out many people were interested not only in following the progress of our social venture, but also in understanding the factors that motivated my transition generally to social enterprise and specifically to obstetric fistula. In an effort to answer some of these questions as well as to document how we make this idea materialize into lives transformed. This effort to record our progress and challenges is intended to show other would-be social entrepreneurs of every shape and size that that there is much less separating you from your dreams than you might think.

With that, I would like to kick-off this blog with the letter I wrote to bid farewell to my friends and colleagues at my now former employer, ADC Telecom.

Dear Friends,
I apologize for sending a mass email to announce my departure from ADC. I would much prefer having individual conversations with each of you whose company I have come to enjoy so much over our years working together, but limited time and extended distance make that quite difficult.

Most of you know that I have been on a progressively more social path over the last 18 months. Considerable self reflection has revealed to me that I am a meaning-driven person and even though I wanted to make a career change, I was not sure how or exactly what I should do. In my exploration of community related activities, I had the opportunity to get deeply involved with the ADC Cares organization and then to lead the Summit for Smiles fundraising effort that the fine employees of this organization made an incredible success. I feel unspeakably privileged to have enjoyed the unwavering support of all of you and of ADC during this journey.

Despite the emotion that comes with leaving ADC, I am thrilled to announce my new venture. Last week at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England, I launched OperationOF, a charity focused on a childbirth-related injury called obstetric fistula. You can read more about obstetric fistula and OperationOF at www.operationOF.org My concept was very well received and I will be in Geneva next week for meetings with the World Health Organization and in Accra, Ghana, the following week for meetings with UNFPA and USAID. I honestly cannot remember being so excited about anything in my life. Every single day is an absolute adventure.

I want to thank all of you for your friendship and express the hope that our paths cross again in the future. Let’s not lose touch: my new email is seth@operationOF.org. I wish all of you the best of luck in everything you strive to achieve. In the spirit of my cross-cultural experience with ADC, I want to leave you all with a quote from a legendary German thinker that I believe represents the deepest of American ideals.

“Was immer Du tun kannst oder erträumst zu können, beginne es. Kühnheit besitzt Genie, Macht, und magische Kraft! Beginne es jetzt!”

“Whatever you can do or dream, begin it now. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

My very best,
Seth