Michael Chertok

History

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Member for

2 years 50 weeks

Contact Info

Telephone

Home: 415.550.7608 Mobile: 415.350.0470

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Personal Info

Personal Profile

Michael Chertok is Chairman of Digital Divide Data, a social enterprise that employs more than 150 disadvantaged young people in Cambodia and Laos in an IT services outsourcing business. Michael was previously the co-founder and Managing Director of Global Catalyst Foundation. Prior to his involvement with Global Catalyst, Michael helped start Schools Online, a nonprofit organization that has enabled students at more than 5,000 schools around the world to gain access to the Internet. He holds a BA  in Russian Studies from Yale University and an MBA  from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Extended Profile

Michael Chertok is Chairman of Digital Divide Data, a social enterprise that employs more than 150 disadvantaged young people in Cambodia and Laos in an IT services outsourcing business. He is also focal point for the Global Knowledge Partnership Resource Development Cluster, and served as a member of the United Nations Task Force on Financial Mechanisms for ICT for Development. Michael was previously the co-founder and Managing Director of Global Catalyst Foundation, a private foundation established to improve peoples' lives through the effective application of information technologies.

Prior to his involvement with Global Catalyst, Michael helped start Schools Online, a nonprofit organization that has enabled students at more than 5,000 schools around the world to gain access and use the communication and information resources of the Internet. He also managed a public-private partnership initiative to assemble a multimedia-based curriculum for at-risk youth at Computer Curriculum Corporation (now Pearson Education Technologies). Michael began his career as a math and computer science teacher. He holds a BA, summa cum laude, in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University and an MBA and a Certificate in Public Management from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

Special Interests

ICTs for development, poverty reduction, outsourcing, Southeast Asia

Country of Residence

USA

Country of Origin

USA

Project Info

Project Title

RETOOL: Re-engineering Employment Training through Outsourcing Opportunities in LDCs

Project Summary

An estimated 700 million youth in developing countries will be unemployed in 2010. This is due, in part, to a failure to offer training opportunities that prepare young people for the workforce. IT outsourcing is a growing industry with the potential to employ youth in LDCs and build their skills. RETOOL will establish a scalable outsourcing business creating these opportunities.

Research Questions:

- Which emerging outsourcing market segments can employ large numbers of youth?

- Which private sector firms have long-term large-scale needs for outsourcing--and are willing to invest in building capacity?

- Where are the best geographies to optimize social and economic value?

- How does DDD’s model scale to create thousands of jobs for youth?