Pete Reid Award for Young Alumni 2016

The Pete Reid Award for Young Alumni is given by the Alumni Association to someone whose youthful exuberance is demonstrated daily toward his or her career, community, and Whitman College as exemplified by Pete Reid '49, in his service to the College. This award is limited to graduates of the last ten years. Standards for recognition include outstanding recognition in his or her career or field of work or outstanding commitment in service to others, and a demonstrated commitment to Whitman College.

Recipient for 2016 is Lisa Curtis ’10

Lisa Curtis ’10 is the founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli, Inc., a company that empowers farmers in the developing world to access the nutritional power and economic opportunities of Moringa oleifera by selling moringa-based products in the United States.

At Whitman College, Lisa studied politics and served as the Whitman sustainability coordinator during her senior year. She began working on Kuli Kuli while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa. Working at the village’s health center, she had first-hand exposure to the nutritional challenges people face in western Africa and discovered that the moringa plant could help to address some of those challenges.

Most recently, Kuli Kuli, Inc., teamed up with Whole Foods Markets and the Clinton Foundation in a partnership to re-forest Haiti and support women-led farming cooperatives. This is one of many efforts that Lisa and Kuli Kuli are making to help build a better world through innovative global outreach and ground-breaking nutritional findings.

In addition to her hard work and dedication to her company, Lisa works as a freelance writer for Forbes magazine and the Huffington Post. Prior to founding Kuli Kuli, Inc., Lisa worked as communications director at Solar Mosaic, Inc., an organization that prides itself on empowering people to utilize clean energy by saving clients’ time and money through solar financing. During her time at Solar Mosaic, she helped garner major press recognition, allowing the company to grow to over $5 million invested in solar energy.

Lisa has been recognized as a StartingBloc Fellow, a Wild Gift Better World Entrepreneur, an Ashoka Emerging Innovator and a Udall Scholar. Her efforts to build a better world through Kuli Kuli, Inc., are inspirational for all, and we are looking forward to watching her innovative global organization continue to grow. It is with great pleasure that the Alumni Association presents Lisa with the 2016 Pete Reid Award for Young Alumni.