Mike McGalliard

For over 33 years, Mike has built companies, schools and campaigns that advance the holistic wellbeing of children. He is the Founder and CEO of The Firebrand Company, a social innovation studio designing products, services and experiences at the verges of human possibility. He’s founded or co-founded five organizations, including LA Promise Fund, a regional leader in school transformation for over 20 years. ​Mike’s helped design, launch or restructure several schools and organizations—including traditional, private and charter schools—and served as CEO across four nonprofit companies over an 18-year span. Throughout his career, Mike's collaborated with some of the world’s most beloved change-makers, including Pharrell Williams, Goldie Hawn, Jamie Oliver and Common, as well as brands including LEGO, Google, and Amazon. In 2015, Mike was named Champion in LEGO’s Re-Imagine Learning Challenge and an Ashoka “Globalizer Fellow” for his work to design the beloved campaign, The Global Cardboard Challenge.​ Mike is the industry go-to for creative insights and hard won wisdom on the nonprofit and education sectors, and for connecting people and ideas for unconventional mashups.