Paul Shoemaker

Man of Integrity

If you’re out to change the world, author Paul Shoemaker is there to connect you to the people, ideas, and organizations that matter.

Shoemaker is the Founding President of Social Venture Partners International (SVPI)—a global network of thousands of social innovators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and business and community leaders that fund and support social change agents in nearly 40 cities and 8 countries. With insights from 17 years of this unique vantage point, he is the Northwest’s leading expert on activating social change agents and a global thought leader on how individuals can be the most effective philanthropists.

In 2011 and 2012, Shoemaker was named one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in the Nonprofit Sector by The NonProfit Times, and was named Philanthropist of the Year by Future in Review in 2013. In 2015, he received the 2015 Microsoft Alumni Integral Fellow Award.

Shoemaker is committed to work in the community and currently serves on the Board of Directors for SVPI and Partners for Our Children. Past work includes a term as Board Treasurer of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (2001-2007), as well as board service for the Microsoft Alumni Foundation (2008-2013) Children’s Alliance in Seattle (1996-2000) and Treepeople in Los Angeles (1987-1990).

Shoemaker has spoken at TEDx and United Nations events and has written for the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fortune, and The Huffington Post.