Brad with "Monster," one of the first students at the Phatheung pre-school in Laos

What makes Pencils of Promise unique is our approach.  While 51% of our mission is purely dedicated to the global education crisis, 49% is dedicated to empowering people to create social good.  We refer to this as The Global Generation, which is comprised of Gen Y-ers on our side of the World and the students we are helping across the globe.  Each week, we’ll highlight a different member of the PoP Movement in what we call “PoP Profiles”.

This week’s PoP Profile features Brad Haugen, PoP’s Director of Marketing and Branding.

#1: What is your role with PoP?

I am the Director of Marketing and Branding. What does that mean? It means that I get to have a whole lot of fun and that I love my job. I make all creative decisions on the logo, marketing materials, website, social media use and any advertising or creative campaigns we will do in the future. It’s pretty much a dream job.

#2: How did you first get involved with PoP?

I actually grew up with Adam and had been following PoP for a few months when I had a revelation one night that I wanted to help. I emailed Adam in the middle of the night to tell him I wanted to throw him a fundraiser, and that ignited a 2 month long email chain that inspired me and changed my life. It turned out that they didn’t have anyone running the branding and marketing, and that is my background, so I ended up getting involved on that end. Since then we’ve redesigned the logo, produced some new marketing materials, changed the website and grown our social media presence. We are currently in the process of building an incredible new website, launching some new advertising and we just finished filming a documentary in Laos that is due to launch at the end of this year.

And I still haven’t thrown that fundraiser I promised in my first PoP email to AB, but that will be happening in the Fall, too.

#3: What is the most exciting thing about working with PoP?

1) PoP is literally filled with the most talented people in their fields.

And I get to work with all of them.

On the marketing team, people like Michelle Keith and Eugene Chung are literally game changers. Others like Mimi, Mike, Jen, Libbie and Adam continue to challenge me  and make me better every single day. And if you haven’t seen our content, photographer Nick Onken and filmmaker Philip Buiser are two rising stars.

2) The children. I just got back from Laos and I finally met all of our children on the ground there. And they are special. Each one of them has taught me more than they know, and I cannot wait to get back there and continue to help them and watch them grow. Education is such a crucial part of their lives, and the through PoP we are giving them choices in life, which empowers them to change the world.

3) PoP is all about opportunity. In marketing, we have the chance to explore, innovate and be as creative as we want to be. The organization also gives us the chance to really have an impact and do good. When I was standing with Adam at our newly opened school in Xienglohm, Laos about a week ago, he said to me:

“Man, we did this. We had no help, we are just a group of young people who wanted to do some good and we just DID it.”

That is the spirit of Pencils of Promise. And I hope everyone who reads this realizes that no matter who you are, what your age is or how much money you have, you can truly have an impact on this world. It just takes heart.

#4: What else are you passionate about?

Education and social good are at the top of my list.

But I am also passionate about my wife, my dog and my friends and family. I love music, social media, travel, learning, food, film and writing.

And anyone who knows me also knows that I have a healthy obsession with Texas Longhorns Football. On Saturdays in the fall, my entire life is built around games, and how the ‘Horns play dictates my mood for 2-3 days. Hook ‘Em!

#5: What else do you do outside of PoP (hobbies, work, etc)?

I work in Business Development at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, in my opinion one of the top 3 advertising agencies in the world. I work with the smartest, most interesting and most creative people around. It’s a blessing.

Beyond work I love to write and I try to keep myself busy with a host of creative side projects that will [hopefully] change the world!

You can also follow Brad on Twitter @hoogs.