Deborah Smolover, Executive Director of America Forward, released the following statement in response to the announcement of Jonathan Greenblatt as the new Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation:

America Forward was pleased to see President Obama’s announcement of Jonathan Greenblatt as the new Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation.  Mr. Greenblatt joins the White House with a strong history in both government and social entrepreneurship.  We believe this dual experience will help him to highlight the important contributions the social innovation community has to make in the Administration’s efforts to strengthen our nation.  We are deeply appreciative of the work of the inaugural Director of the office, Sonal Shah, and feel confident that Mr. Greenblatt will build on the strong foundation she created.

We are hopeful that in his new role, Mr. Greenblatt will work with the social innovation community to both expand existing innovative initiatives at the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Department of Education, as well as establish new innovative efforts in other agencies within government.  The social innovation community welcomes this bright and capable new leader.  We look forward to working with him to greater utilize the experience and collective learning from the field at the national level.