David and I were recently announced as PopTech Social Innovation Fellows for the class of 2011. Following in the footsteps of several of our peers from Ushahidi, Praekelt Foundation and others, it is with wonder, pride and excitement that we enter this year’s classroom.

Many fine and smart folks have stepped through these halls before us, and we’re sure that the process will leave us bruised with knowledge and insight, all the more equipped to face the immense challenges Refugees United stand before.

As we “speak,” David is in Camden, Maine, damn well near cut off from the connected grid, ironic as that is, while a dream-team of intellectual surfers take him and the rest of the class through the swells of driving an organization to scale and navigate the treacherous waters that surround any venture moving beyond safe harbors in search of a perfect storm. I believe, as I’m sure most of our partners in crime do, that any organization seeking to grow extreme impact through technology must pass through this rite of passage: the pummeling. We have been warned this is exactly what PopTech is about J

In the class of 2011 there are ventures such as Data Without Borders and Local Orbit, ideas that are all brilliant and burning to shine. To say we’re humbled and honored to be joining not only this team, but also the PopTech family at large, would be an understatement.

This is chapter one of two, as I’m jealously following the battle of Camden, Maine from the sidelines, awaiting to be infected by the contagious inspiration David is bound to return with. He will later update you all on the measures and motions they had to pass through in their quest to excel at what we do.

Best,

Christopher