October 10, 2005

SKOLL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES TWO NEW APPOINTMENTS

PALO ALTO, Calif.—October 5, 2005—The Skoll Foundation announced today that Laura Vais has been named Marketing Director and Ed Diener has been appointed Counsel of the Foundation.

As Marketing Director, Laura Vais leads the development of integrated marketing plans, vehicles and strategies designed to further the success of Skoll award recipients and advance the field of social entrepreneurship. She provides brand marketing and communications leadership and support throughout the Skoll Foundation, focusing on its “connect and celebrate” initiatives.

As Counsel for the Skoll Foundation, Ed provides expertise and leadership for legal, contracting and tax activities. He also supervises the Foundation’s portfolio of program-related investments.

Laura came to the Skoll Foundation from Applied Biosystems in Foster City, Calif., where she was Director of Worldwide Corporate Marketing, with responsibility for global corporate brand programs, advertising and public relations. Previously, she worked at Silicon Graphics in Mountain View, Calif.

She received a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of California at Davis.

Ed came to Skoll from the Omidyar Foundation, a part of the Omidyar Network in Redwood City, Calif., where he was Vice President of Finance and Administration for almost two years. Previously, he worked at The David and Lucile Packard Foundation in Los Altos, Calif., where he was Assistant Director of Finance and Administration and, later, Resident Counsel.

An attorney and Certified Public Accountant, Ed practiced commercial and corporate law for 17 years prior to entering the philanthropic sector.

He graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in accounting. He earned a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and remains a member of the bar.

About the Skoll Foundation

The Skoll Foundation advances systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs – individuals dedicated to pioneering new solutions that result in lasting improvements to complex social problems.

The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. It connects them through Social Edge, an online community at www.socialedge.org and via the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as The New Heroes, a public television documentary series that tells 12 dramatic stories of social entrepreneurs who bring innovative, empowering solutions to intractable social problems around the world. For more information, visit www.skollfoundation.org.