Another one of my articles just published on Impakter:
JENNY SANTI REVEALS THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS
on February 1, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Jenny Santi, born and raised in the Philippines
and now living in New York, has become something of a guru in the philanthropy
community. When she was only twenty-eight, Santi headed for five
years Philanthropy Services (Southeast Asia) for UBS,
a Swiss global financial services company and the world’s largest wealth
manager. Currently, a philanthropy adviser to some of the world’s most generous
philanthropists, celebrity activists and foundations, she also shares her
insights with the mainstream media, including recently with the New York Times, and has a new book out, “THE GIVING
WAY TO HAPPINESS: Stories and Science Behind the Life-Changing Power of
Giving” (Tarcher hardcover; published Oct 27, 2015) that is fast
becoming a best seller on Amazon. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, went to the
Wharton School as an exchange student, and attended New York University’s
Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, where she is a Chartered
Adviser in Philanthropy.
In “THE GIVING WAY TO HAPPINESS,” Santi shares
a growing body of scientific evidence that links giving with happiness, and
helps the reader reflect on their own personal experiences in order to determine
what and how to give. The book is filled with inspiring, personal stories
of generosity that Santi has collected in interviews with, among others, Djimon
Hounsou, Isabelle Allende, Goldie Hawn, Christy Turlington-Burns, Petra
Nemcova, and Mo Ibrahim. For example, how supermodel Petra Nemcova overcame the
tragedy she endured while vacationing in Thailand in December 2004 when her
fiancé was swept away by the tsunami and never seen again while Petra broke her
pelvis and was told she might never walk again; or how Joshua Williams who
was only 5 years old when he started his foundation, turned into the
“philanthro-prodigy” from Florida.
Impakter recently interviewed Jenny
Santi and here are highlights of our conversation.
How
did you come to the world of philanthropy, what were the events or people in
your life that sparked your interest in charity work and giving?
Jenny Santi: Kids don’t really say, “I want to
be a philanthropy advisor when I grow up.” It’s such an unusual job in a
nascent field. My journey to what I do now was not a straight line but a series
of dots that I have only recently been able to connect.
To read the rest of the interview, click here.
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