World Citizen Essay Contest Awards Ceremony

Join us to celebrate the hard work of Washington's students in this year's World Citizen Essay Contest on the U.N. 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Celebrate the winners of this year's essay contest; hear from 2017-2018 World Educator Jeff Blair; and learn more about what local institutions are doing to help meet the Sustainable Development Goals with Theo Chocolates COO Dennis Macray, and Carol Welch, Director of Strategy, Planning and Management at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This event is free and will be held at Hamilton International Middle School.

World Citizen Essay Contest

Grades 3-5

• First Place:  “Taking Care of the Pacific Islands on the Front Lines of Climate Change“ by Anish Sharma, Bellevue Children’s Academy
• Second Place: “Securing a Brighter Future for the Burkina Faso People” by Theodore Lufkin, McDonald International School
• Third Place: “Hunger is a goalie protecting us from the goal of zero hunger” by Mojo Woodman, McDonald International School

Grades 6-8

• First place: “Hydroponic Farming: A Prospective Compromise Between Industry and Sustainability” by Maxwell Soh, International Community School
• Second Place:  “Students of the Street“ by Ayden Duchovnay, Seattle Girls’ School
• Third Place: “Plastic in our Oceans” by Forest Berg, Washington Middle School

Grade 9-12

• First place: “Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene” by Silas Batiste, South Whidbey High School
• Second place: “Our Generation Will Use Aquaponics to Change Africa” by Eden Lazeolla, Glacier Peak High School
• Third place: “Ensuring Good Health and Well-Being in India“ by David Trey Evans, Glacier Peak High School

About our speakers:

Dennis Macray, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Theo Chocolate

Dennis Macray is Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Theo Chocolate, responsible for company operations including bean-to-bar chocolate production, engineering, sourcing, fulfillment, and quality assurance.   Previously Mr. Macray was Vice President of Sustainable Operations & Social Impact, responsible for integrating sustainable business practices along the value chain, including Global sourcing, Company Operations and Employee Engagement.  

From 2010-2014, Dennis Macray led his own strategic management consultancy whose clients included The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The World Cocoa Foundation, The Hershey Company, and the Eastern Congo Initiative.  

Mr. Macray served as Director of Global Responsibility at Starbucks Coffee Company from 2002-2010 where he led the development of ethical sourcing standards for coffee (C.A.F.E. Practices), cocoa (Cocoa Practices), tea and Starbucks Supplier Social Responsibility Program for manufactured goods.  Mr. Macray supported Starbucks CEO, senior executives, and international markets with frequent travel and public speaking in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Mr. Macray also led the Global Responsibility team in overseeing the Starbucks Annual CSR Report data and content gathering across global operations during a period of growth from 5,000 stores to 16,500.

Previously, Mr. Macray managed global supplier relations for Viatru, Inc. and World2Market.com, the first eCommerce business for fair trade producers and buyers.  Mr. Macray also supported social enterprises in Latin America as a Program Manager at several international development agencies including Conservation International and the Katalysis Partnership microfinance network.  Mr. Macray served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala from 1990-93. He is a graduate of Harvard and has an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.

CAROL WELCH, Director of Strategy, Planning and Management, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Carol Welch is director of Strategy, Planning and Management, and chief of staff to Rodger Voorhies. She brings an array of experience to her new role with Global Growth & Opportunity.

Carol joined the foundation as a senior program officer supporting Mark Suzman on the Global Development Policy & Advocacy team. She then led the Development Policy and Finance (DPAF) team’s work on aid policy, as well as the foundation’s engagement on the MDGs and the multi-year negotiation of the SDGs. In that role, Carol ensured that the foundation's top priorities – and a commitment to finishing the job on extreme poverty – became a core component of the 2030 goals. She has most recently worked with the Africa team, where she engaged with program strategy teams to help shape our evolving strategy and the focus of our work in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Carol has worked closely with our donor and government relations offices, our China and India office policy and advocacy teams, and our African offices. She has also represented the foundation in senior external relations with donors, developing country governments, and international institutions.