Bill Drayton was born in 1943 in New York City. He attended prestigious schools like Phillips Academy and Harvard University. After graduating from Yale Law School, he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company for almost ten years. During the Carter administration, he was an Assistant Administrator at the EPA where he launched emissions trading programs. In 1980, he founded Ashoka, an organization that supports social entrepreneurs with solutions to social issues. Drayton believes that social entrepreneurs can play a key role in addressing society's biggest challenges through innovative approaches.