Dan Pallotta

Dan Pallotta is an entrepreneur, author, and humanitarian activist with a prominent track record in organizing charitable events. His initiatives include the Breast Cancer 3-Day walks, AIDS Rides bicycle journeys, and Out of the Darkness suicide prevention night walks. The first California AIDS Ride, which Pallotta conceived and organized, was a 600-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, raising over a million dollars in its inaugural year. In the following nine years, the event expanded across multiple US cities, accumulating a total of $108 million in donations.

As an author, Pallotta has contributed to the field of philanthropy with his works "Uncharitable – How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential" and "Charity Case: How the Nonprofit Community Can Stand Up for Itself and Really Change the World." These publications reflect Pallotta's commitment to enhancing the efficacy of non-profit organizations, a mission also embodied in his roles as president of Advertising for Humanity and president and founder of the Charity Defense Council, a national leadership movement dedicated to transforming the way the donating public thinks about charity and change.

Beyond his roles as an event organizer and author, Pallotta has shared his insights and experiences through numerous speeches, including presentations at the TED conference in 2013 and 2016. His contributions to humanitarian efforts have been recognized through awards such as the Liberty Hill Foundation Creative Vision award, the Triangle Humanitarian of the Year award, the Albany State University International Citizen of the Year award, and the Seven Fund's Morality of Profit Essay Prize.

He has been written about in feature and cover stories in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, American Public Media’s Marketplace, the TED Radio Hour, the BBC's Business Matters, and on numerous NPR stations, among others.