About Us | World Savvy

Reimagining the Learning Experience

As our country becomes more diverse, the global economy becomes more interconnected, and our collective challenges become increasingly complex and borderless, it requires a new kind of teaching and learning to prepare the next generation. For 20 years World Savvy has been the leader in global education.

Our Journey

2002

World Savvy founded by Madiha and Dana in San Francisco

2003

First World Savvy Festival

90 students and 20 teachers attended

2005

Media & Arts Program Launched

500 youth across 20 organizations and schools leveraged the arts as a lens to examine global issues

2007

New York Office Opened

2008

Minnesota Office Opened

2009

6,875 students and 91 teachers reached

2010

Led First-ever U.S. high school exchange program in Bangladesh

American Youth Leadership Program (ALYP) sponsored by U.S. Department of State immerses 30 students and 4 teachers in month-long trip exploring climate change

2011–2012

ALYP expanded to include Peru and Haiti

World Savvy curated two additional exchange programs for U.S. students to Peru and Haitian students inbound to the U.S.

2014

Global Competence Certificate launched with cohort of 20, reaching teachers in 17 states

2017

Rural engagement strategy launched in East Tennessee

Grant from the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust enables piloting programming in rural areas beyond the Bay Area, Twin Cities, and New York City.

2018

5-year $1.25 million gift launched a bold new 2030 vision

2019

730,000 students reached across 29 states and 12 countries

2020

In response to COVID, World Savvy moved nearly 100% of our programming online

Kick-starts World Savvy’s We Must Imagine Campaign to raise $26.5 million over the next five years toward national expansion at a crucial time in our nation to reimagine an education system

2021

The Enlight Foundation made a generous $5 million investment in World Savvy’s continued national growth

2022

World Savvy celebrates our 20th Anniversary!

Meet our bold community of experts and advocates

Our Team

World Savvy thrives based on the efforts of our talented staff, who are passionate about education and believe in the critical importance of developing global citizenship, knowledge and skills. Read More

Our Boards

World Savvy is pleased to have support and guidance from this committed group of experts. Their strategic guidance has helped drive our growth. Read More

Our Donors and Partners

A growing community of investors, allies, and partners help to bring our vision of globally-focused education to life. Read More

Meet World Savvy’s passionate team

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I am thrilled to join the World Savvy team so I can support these efforts and help ensure that all students receive the education they need to thrive in their diverse communities, locally and globally."

KK Neimann
Director of Professional Learning

I believe that all students should have access to the lessons that our global communities have to teach us, and working with World Savvy I can help build this global component into the US educational system."

Molly Carina Dengler
Professional Learning Facilitator, World Savvy

World Savvy in the News

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World Savvy named one of the top Education Innovators Worldwide

World Savvy is thrilled to announce that we have been selected as one of the top innovations in the world in the 2023 HundrED Global Collection. HundrED is a Finland-based,…

Dana Mortenson named in the Top 50 Women Leaders of Minnesota

Dana Mortenson, World Savvy’s CEO and Co-founder, has been named to “The Top 50 Women Leaders of Minnesota for 2022” by Women We Admire. Each year, Women We Admire honors change-makers within some of the most…

World Savvy featured live on CBS news mid-morning show

World Savvy’s CEO and Co-Founder Dana Mortenson spoke with CBS news anchors Heather Brown and A.J. Hilton at WCCO-TV in Minnesota about our partnerships with educators and school leaders to…

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