Nuru Founder Jake Harriman Recognized as Stanford GSB Alumni Catalyst

Recognition honors Stanford GSB alumni transforming lives and communities worldwide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2025

Contact: Elizabeth Atherton | info@iamnuru.org

Washington, D.C. –  Nuru is proud to announce that its founder, Jake Harriman, has been recognized as one of the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Centennial Alumni Catalysts – a peer-nominated honor celebrating alumni who exemplify the GSB’s mission to change lives, change organizations, and change the world.

A U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, Jake came to Stanford GSB determined to address what he saw as the root cause of global instability – extreme poverty. While earning his MBA, he founded Nuru, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending poverty in fragile and conflict-affected regions by equipping local leaders to build lasting systems of resilience.

Since 2008, Nuru has grown into a collective of locally led organizations working in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, and Benin. Through locally designed and operated programs, Nuru has equipped more than 456,000 people to increase their income, strengthen food security, and access markets – helping rural communities chart their own path toward stability and prosperity.

“Stanford GSB gave me the foundation to take an idea born out of service and turn it into a global movement,” said Harriman. “Through Nuru and +More Perfect Union, I’ve seen how leadership rooted in empathy and shared purpose can heal divides – whether in fragile communities abroad or here at home.”

After 12 years working across Africa, Jake founded +More Perfect Union in 2020, a nonpartisan nonprofit that strengthens communities and unites Americans through service, civic engagement, and shared community projects.

Jake’s selection as a GSB Centennial Alumni Catalyst celebrates a lifetime of service and innovation—reflecting the shared commitment of Stanford GSB and Nuru to develop leaders who create meaningful, lasting change.

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About Nuru:

Nuru is a global collective that enables inclusive and sustainable prosperity by identifying communities at the stability tipping point, strengthening rural livelihoods and market systems, and fostering stabilizing connections that repair social fabric and pave a pathway to peace. Nuru envisions a world without cycles of unjust poverty, where resilience and hope are cultivated in the most marginalized communities. The Nuru Collective has local organizations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, and Nigeria. Learn more by visiting www.nuruinternational.org.