Dr. Martin Burt is world renowned social entrepreneur. He has developed various anti-poverty and educational social innovations that are currently being implemented in five continents, including the US and the UK. He is the founder (1985) and CEO of Fundacian Paraguaya, a social enterprise named Latin America’s most impactful and innovative development organization in 2018 by the Inter-American Development Bank. Dr. Burt currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum, The Global FoodBanking Network, and Teach A Man to Fish. In public service, he has served as Chief of Staff to the President of Paraguay, was elected Mayor of Asuncian, and was appointed Vice Minister of Commerce.
Dr. Burt has written books on economics, development, municipal government, poetry and education. His latest book Who Owns Poverty was published in September 2019. He has received awards from organizations including Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation, Synergos, Eisenhower Fellowship, Inter-American Development Bank, World Innovation Summit for Education, Avina Foundation, and Nestle. He holds a PhD from Tulane University and is a Visiting Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of California, Irvine.
