NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Ella R. Gudwin is president of VisionSpring, where she heads up global operations to accelerate the uptake of eyeglasses in emerging and frontier markets for consumers who earn less than $4 a day. Under her leadership, VisionSpring is working to sell 10 million pairs of radically affordable eyeglasses by 2020, creating $2.16 billion in economic impact at the household level.

Gudwin is a global health executive and strategist. She previously served as senior vice president of strategy and program development at AmeriCares. In prior roles, Gudwin led humanitarian operations as vice president of emergency response, and managed health interventions in 10 countries as director of Asia and Eurasia partnerships. Earlier in her career she served as head of foreign government relations at the Population Council, focused on reproductive health, youths and poverty. She earned an MA with distinction in international economics at Johns Hopkins University, and a BA with honors from Vassar College. Gudwin is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Gudwin’s passion for social justice and economic development issues was ignited when she worked in Indonesia spanning the Asian financial crisis and the ensuing democracy movement. She regularly speaks on social entrepreneurship, scaling hybrid business models and measuring impact.