Born Melinda Ann French

August 15,
1964 (age 50)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Residence Medina, WA, U.S.
Alma mater Duke University
Occupation Co-Chair, operator
of Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation
Religion Roman
Catholicism [1][2]
Spouse(s) Bill Gates (m. 1994)
Children 3
Parents Raymond Joseph
French Jr.
Elaine Agnes
Amerland
Awards and recognition
In 2002, Melinda and Bill Gates received the Award for Greatest
Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually
by Jefferson Awards.
In December 2005, Melinda and Bill Gates were named
by Time as Persons of the Year alongside Bono. Melinda and Bill Gates
received the Spanish Prince of Asturias Award for International
Cooperation on May 4, 2006 in recognition of their world impact through
charitable giving.In November 2006, Melinda was awarded the Insignia of
the Order of the Aztec Eagle, together with Bill Gates who was awarded the
Placard of the same order, both for their philanthropic work around the
world in the areas of health and education, particularly in Mexico, and
specifically in the program "Un país de lectores".
In May 2006, she was honored for her work to improve the lives of
children locally and around the world with the naming of the Melinda French
Gates Ambulatory Care building, at Seattle Children's (then called
Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center). She also chaired The
Campaign for Children’s, a $300 million comprehensive fundraising
campaign to expand facilities, fund under-compensated and
uncompensated care and grow the hospital’s research program to find
cures and treatments.
 On June 12, 2009, Melinda and Bill Gates received honorary
degrees from the University of Cambridge. Their benefaction of $210
million in 2000 set up the Gates Cambridge Trust, which funds
postgraduate scholars from outside the UK to study at the University.
In 2013, Gates was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters by Duke University as a tribute for her philanthropic commitment.
She was also ranked #3 inForbes 2013 and 2014 lists of the 100 Most
Powerful Women,#4 in 2012 and #6 in 2011. And Armchair Advocates
added Gates to the list: "100 Tweeters of Social Good You Have to Follow
in 2013."

Gates was appointed an honorary Dame of the British Empire in

2013 for her services to philanthropy and international development.

Gates has also donated over $10 million to her high

school Ursuline Academy of Dallas. She is one of the major donors of
their Facing the Future Campaign and was honored in their dedication
ceremony on May 7, 2010.
 Ghalib Khalil is a teenager from Pakistan who is most known for
founding the Rescue Pakistan Youth Foundation, an organization that
aims to make a positive change in the country by focusing on improving
the lives of the youth and giving them hope so they can become
significant citizens of their country in the future.
Throughout the course of the organization’s work, the Rescue
Pakistan Youth Foundation has focused its efforts on eliminating poverty
and illiteracy by giving free education to those who could not afford it, as
well as establishing schools for the flooded areas in the country. The
Rescue Pakistan Youth Foundation is one of the leading organizations in
the country today that promotes the welfare of the youth.

For an organization that has accomplished a lot over the past two
years, it is amazing to discover that the Rescue Pakistan Youth
Foundation was founded by a teenager. Ghalib was 15 years old when he
founded the organization, which was a result of realizing how there was
so little that the government did to help the people.
 For his extraordinary efforts in promoting the privileges and
welfare of the youth, Ghalib has received a number of awards and
recognitions, the most notable being included by Youth Service America in
their list of the 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People in the World,
which simply shows just how much influence Ghalib has garnered through
the past years of his philanthropic career. He has also been nominated for
an Agahi Award and won a Commonwealth Photographic Award for his
talents in presenting the difficult life in the country through still
photography.

Ghalib loved to read, and it was through books that he found

people who inspired and motivated him to do what he is doing today. And
what’s even better is that Ghalib did not only stop with his desire, but
actually acted on what he wanted to do.
 Ghalib finds inspiration in seeing the lives of the people whom his
organization helped change. Ever since he started the Rescue Pakistan
Youth Foundation, Ghalib has received numerous emails and other
responses, which are filled with thanks from the people who have
benefited from the work of Ghalib’s organization. A lot of times, when
Ghalib feels a bit overburdened by the sheer amount of things that needs
to be done, he simply looks back to all his accomplishments and uses
them as a motivation to do more.

Aside from the countless thanks that he receives from the people
who have been helped by his organization, Ghalib draws his strength from
the undying hope that he sees in his country—Pakistan.
Born Efren
Geronimo
Peñaflorida Jr.
March 5,
1982 (age 32)
Nationality Filipino
Known for 2009 CNN
Hero of the
Year
 Efren Peñaflorida, (born March 9, 1981), is a Filipino teacher and
social worker. He offers Filipino youth an alternative to street gangs through
education, recreating school settings in unconventional locations such as
cemeteries and trash dumps.
In March 2009, Peñaflorida was featured as a CNN Hero as part of
the news network's program to honor individuals who make extraordinary
contributions to help others. On November 22, 2009, he was named CNN
Hero of the Year.

Efren Peñaflorida was born the middle child of Efren Peñaflorida

Sr., a tricycle driver, and Lucila Geronimo, a housewife. The family
eventually started a small noodle business to make ends meet.Efren grew
up in an urban slum near an open dump site in Cavite City, Cavite, playing
amongst garbage and swimming in polluted waters. He would often fall
victim to neighborhood bullying. Peñaflorida was one of World Vision's
sponsored-children during his early childhood.
 Peñaflorida completed his elementary and high school education
through the help of scholarships and financial assistance, and received
several class awards and honors. In 2000, he graduated from San
Sebastian College–Recoletos de Cavite with a degree in computer
technology, receiving highest honors.He pursued a second course at Cavite
State University Cavite City campus, graduating cum laude in 2006 with a
degree in Secondary Education.

In 1997, at 16 years old, Peñaflorida started a youth group in his

high school aimed at diverting students' attention away from street gangs,
and towards community activism and personal development.Joined by
other classmates, they named the group "Dynamic Teen Company".
Dynamic Teen Company started as a friendship club of around 20
members, with an aim of providing youth awareness projects, talent and
self-development activities, and community services. They collaborated
with Club 8586, another community service organization operating in the
area.
 They eventually pioneered the idea of the "pushcart m", wherein
pushcarts were stocked with school materials such as books, pens,
tables, and chairs, and then used on Saturdays to recreate school
settings in unconventional locations such as the cemetery or trash dump.

CNN Hero
Peñaflorida was nominated for CNN Heroes by Club 8586, the
youth group that financed his elementary and high school
education. After sifting through 9,000 nominees from over 100 countries,
CNN's Blue Ribbon Panel selected Peñaflorida as one of its 28 heroes of
2009. On October 1, Peñaflorida was named among the ten finalists. On
November 22, he was named CNN Hero of the Year for 2009. The award
includes $100,000 cash to continue his work with Dynamic Teen
Company.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conferred on

Efren Peñaflorida the Order of Lakandula in a ceremony at Malacañang
Palace upon his return to the Philippines.
Born November 22,
1959 (age 55)
Occupation Physician, author
 Mark Hyman is an American physician, scholar and New York
Times best-selling author. He is the founder and medical director of the
UltraWellness Center and a columnist for The Huffington Post. Hyman is a
regular contributor to the Katie Couric Show.
Hyman is a proponent of functional medicine and is the chairman of the
Institute for Functional Medicine. He was the editor-in-chief and is a
contributing editor to Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, a peer-
reviewed medical journal focused on functional medicine.

Hyman graduated from Cornell University with a a helor’s in Asian

Studies. He received his doctor of medicinefrom the University of Ottawa and
completed his postgraduate training at the University of California, San
Francisco's program in family medicine at the Community Hospital of Santa
Rosa.
 Hyman started his medical career as a family doctor in rural Idaho and
later as an emergency room doctor in Massachusetts. He was the co-medical
director at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts from 1996-2004.He opened
the UltraWellness medical center in Lenox after leaving Canyon Ranch.
In 2009, Hyman testified before the United States Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions on integrative medical care. Hyman also
participated in a Partners in Health program to bring medical care
to Haiti following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.
Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch lists Hyman's 2003
book Ultraprevention: The 6-Week Plan That Will Make You Healthy for Life as
one of their nonrecommended books.
In a 2011 article, Hyman asserted a correlation between MMR
vaccination and the occurrence of autism and bowel disease.
In December 2013, The Daniel Plan, a book Hyman co-authored with Pastor Rick
Warren and Daniel Amen, became number 1 on the New York Times bestseller
list. Hyman is the author of several books on nutrition and health, such as 10 Day
Detox Diet. Hyman was named the Director of the Cleveland Clinical Center for
Functional Medicine in September 2014.
Hyman is a medical adviser for Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Birth name Arnel Pineda
Born September 5, 1967 (age 47)
Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines
Genres Rock, hard rock, soft rock,OPM
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bandurria
Years active 1982–present
Labels Universal Music Group
Associated acts Ijos Band, Amo, New Age, Most
W@nted, The Zoo,Journey
Arnel Pineda was born in the Philippines, in Sampaloc, Manila. His
mother instilled his love for singing at an early age, encouraging him to
sing along to songs from his favorite singers like Karen
Carpenter and Barbra Streisand. Growing up, his parents entered him in
many singing contests.
His mother, who had been suffering from heart disease, died
when he was 13 years old. Her illness had left their family deep in
debt. Being six months to one year behind on their rented apartment and
unable to sufficiently provide for the family, his father decided to move out
and ask relatives to take in Pineda's siblings. To ease his father's burden,
Pineda quit school and volunteered to strike out on his own.
About two years of his life were spent out on the streets, sleeping
wherever he could: in public parks, or on a narrow bench outside a
friend's crowded house. He earned meager money by collecting glass
bottles, newspapers, and scrap metal and selling them to recyclers. He
would also go to the pier with his friends and take on odd jobs like
cleaning scrap metal and docked ships. He didn't have much to eat,
sometimes rationing a small package of Marie biscuit as his meal for two
days.
Born 11 March
1986 (age 28)
Kakamega,
Kenya
Occupation Engineer
Known for SDFA-Kenya
Evans Wadongo (born 11 March 1986) is
a Kenyan engineer, the Executive Director and Chairman
of SDFA-Kenya, and one of CNN's top ten heroes of 2010.
He is a graduate in Electronic and Computer Engineering
from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology in Kenya. Evans was born in the Western part
of Kenya, where he grew up as the youngest of five
brothers. Both his father and mother are teachers. He
attended Bisunu Primary School, a rural primary school,
where he walked over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) daily to reach
the school. His home and school had no electricity, but he
braved the odds to join Kakamega High School, where he
managed to graduate with top marks, and was listed
among the top 100 best students in Kenya. He later joined
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
and graduated in July 2009 with a BSc in Electronics and
Computer Engineering.
 In recognition of his work in Kenya, Evans has received
numerous awards and publicity from the international community over
the past few years.
Wadongo was voted one of CNN's top ten heroes of 2010.
On 30 March 2011, Wadongo was named one of three recipients of the
inaugural Mikhail Gorbachev Awards for "The Man Who Changed the
World." His fellow inaugural recipients of this award were Sir Tim
Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and Ted Turner, media
mogul and founder of CNN. The ceremony, held in London, also
celebrated Gorbachev's 80th birthday.
Evans was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the
Schwab Foundation for 2011. The awards ceremony was held in Cape
Town, South Africa, during the World Economic Forum for Africa. He was
also among "20 Men Who Will Shape the Next 20 Years" by
UK's Esquire magazine in 2011, and an Unreasonable Institute Fellow in
2011.
SDFA-Kenya is also a SEED award winner for 2011.
Born 1981 (age 33–34)
Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Residence Madurai
Nationality Indian
Citizenship Indian
Occupation Social
Worker / Chef (past)
Known for Feeding Homeless
Home town Madurai
 Krishnan was an award-winning chef with Taj
Hotels, Bangalore and was short-listed for an elite job in Switzerland.
After witnessing a distressing incident in 2002, he quit his job and began
feeding the homeless and mentally disabled in his hometown. He said, "I
saw a very old man, literally eating his own human waste out of hunger. I
went to the nearby hotel and asked them what was available. They
had idli, which I bought and gave to the old man. Believe me, I had never
seen a person eating so fast, ever. As he ate the food, his eyes were
filled with tears. Those were the tears of happiness."

Krishnan founded the Akshaya Trust organization in 2003, which

helps to feed the homeless and mentally-disabled in Madurai, Tamil
Nadu. He serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to 425 indigent and elderly
people in Madurai.
He also provides haircuts and shaves to give dignity to those he serves.
He was selected as one of the Top 10 in "CNN heroes 2010" list.
The character Narayanan Krishnan played by Jayaprakash in
the Dulquer Salmaan 2012 Malayalam film Ustad Hotel is based on him.
Born Julia Lorraine Hill
February 18,
1974 (age 40)
Mount
Vernon, Missouri,
United States
Nationality American
Occupation Environmental
activist
Motivational
speaker
Employer Circle of Life
Foundation
 Julia Lorraine Hill (known as Julia "Butterfly" Hill, born February 18,
1974) is an American environmental activistand tax redirection advocate. She is
best known for having lived in a 180-foot (55 m)-tall, roughly 1500-year-
oldCalifornia Redwood tree (age based on first-hand ring count of a slightly smaller
neighboring ancient redwood that had been cut down) for 738 days between
December 10, 1997 and December 18, 1999. Hill lived in the tree, affectionately
known as "Luna", to prevent Pacific Lumber Company loggers from cutting it down.
She is the author of the book The Legacy of Luna and co-author of One Makes the
Difference. She is a vegan.
Hill's father was a traveling preacher who went from town to town,
bringing his family with him. Until she was about ten years old, Hill lived in a 32-
foot (9.8 m) camper with her father Dale, mother Kathy, and brothers Mike and
Dan. Julia is the middle child. While traveling with her family, Hill often explored
rivers by campgrounds. When Hill was seven years old, she and her family were
taking a hike one day when a butterfly landed on her finger and stayed with her for
the duration of the hike. From that day on, her nickname became "Butterfly". She
decided to use that as her nickname for the rest of her life.
When Hill was in middle school, her family stopped traveling and settled
in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In August 1996, at age 22, Hill suffered a near-fatal car
crash.[At the time, Hill was acting as the designated driver for a friend who had
been drinking. Her friend's car was hit from behind by a drunk driver. The steering
wheel of the car penetrated Hill's skull.
 Personalities Nationality Advocacy

Melinda Gates American Combat disease, famine, and education

for the less fortunate
Ghalib Khalil Pakistani Improve the lives of the youth and give
hope that they can become significant
citizens.
Efren Peñaflorida Filipino Educate street children through a cart
classroom.
Mark Hyman American Treat a diabetes – common illness of
people in this processed food generation.
Arnel Pineda Filipino Rose above poverty and hunger through
his singing talent.
Evans Wadongo Kenyan Provide light to Kenya

Narayanan Krishnan Indian Help the homesless, the poor, and

mentally ill through philanthropic work.
Julia Butterfly Hill American Preserve the natural environment,
especially the old trees.