Gregory A. Newman ('09 Marketing)

2020 Diversity Leadership Award

Through previous projects in Southeast Asia working with ginger and soy, as well as local initiatives in Chester and Kensington, and stretching into New Jersey, Gregory A. Newman has used the medium of planting, gardening, and harvesting to grow the future for a diverse group of people around the world.

While in Myanmar, Newman worked to implement a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program in five Value Chains for Rural Development, focusing particularly on ginger and soy. The VC-RD wrapped in 2019 having impacted 80,000 households; leveraging $7.5M in private sector investment and $1.68M in loans to change the lives of Myanmar farmers across the country. Newman made the difficult decision to leave Myanmar due to the Covid-19 crisis and has long-term plans to return to The Golden Land, which is always on his mind.

Closer to home, Newman was able to complete business planning for The Sacred Seeds, Inc., a minority-founded non-profit started by Major League Soccer players, with garden locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. The mission of Sacred Seeds is to give a safe place for people to have a holistic body, mind, and spirit exploration of the senses around them - which aligns closely to Newman's personal mission statement.

Currently, Newman served as Chief Strategy Officer on the board for the Bullock Garden Project, using the same mechanism of gardening to help make his impact. The Bullock Garden Project is comprised mainly of educators and teachers; bringing programs related to science, biology, economics, history, and sociology to public elementary and middle schools in areas in need through the prism of horticulture.

Through all of these efforts and more private sector B2B software technology start-ups such as JobNet.com.mm and IntelliBoard.net, Newman brings the Penn State values of integrity, respect, responsibility, discovery, excellence, and community into each project he undertakes.