John Ohanian

Brainstormer, Business leader, Business mentor, Connector, Consultant, Entrepreneur, Inventor, Parent, Potential employer, Social entrepreneur

John is a well respected leader, and experienced speaker in the non-profit and foundation community. His primary focus is driving organizations that reflect an innovative approach to social enterprise and serving clients with various needs. He places a strong emphasis on the value of developing a cohesive, empowered, team and encouraging staff to identify and pursue career paths that are closely tied to personal passions and strengths. John quite literally experienced a “trial by fire” when he joined 2-1-1 San Diego, the non-emergency health and disaster community resource service, as CEO in October 2007. Just three weeks later, Firestorm 2007, the devastating wildfires that burned 500,000 acres and destroyed 1,500 homes in San Diego County occurred, forcing half a million people to evacuate their homes. With the fires launching 2-1-1 as the number to call, into the public eye, John achieved both the immediate goal of providing valuable resources for the struggling community, but also used the exposure to attract talented and experienced individuals to the organization’s staff and to create a usable infrastructure that is now a sustained and thriving resource. Under John's leadership, 2-1-1 San Diego has gone from helping 100,000 clients per year to more than 500,000 per year. The organization has grown from 20 employees to over 80, the number of programs are offered has tripled, and the organizations budget has expanded from $1.5M to $5M. In addition to his role at 2-1-1, John is a frequent invited speaker. His enthusiastic presentations inspire people, organizations and agencies on the topics of innovation and collaboration, using the “2-1-1 story” as an example. Most recently he presented at TEDxSanDiego on the "Power of the Human Connection". John has successfully created lasting partnerships with the community’s top public and private organizations, including the County of San Diego, City of San Diego, Private and Community Foundation, and corporations, including, Qualcomm, San Diego Gas & Electric, Bank of America, and dozens more. He has also strived to partners with hundreds of nonprofits and community based agencies. Beyond San Diego, he’s served in leadership roles with both the boards of 2-1-1 California and 2-1-1 US, which are leading efforts to bring recognition advocate for legislation that brings funding to 2-1-1 systems country-wide. He is a graduate of the University of San Diego and earned his CPA while working at KPMG Peat Marwick in San Diego. Prior to 2-1-1 San Diego, he served as Vice President of Finance, Operations and Planned Giving at the Alzheimer's Association - San Diego/Imperial Chapter. He also worked with the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation in several capacities, including Systems Consultant and Associate Director. John also serves on the Advisory Board of the University of San Diego's Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program. He was a member of the Vistage program and a graduate of the Fieldstone Foundation Executive Leaders Group and LEAD San Diego. In 2008, he was named one of 50 People to Watch in San Diego. John, his wife, and their two children engage in community volunteerism. He is enjoys golfing and public speaking on leadership and positive energy!

Positive energy, Social innovation and enterprises, Reinventing the Nonprofit sector, Inspiring conversations, Nature, Family Game Night, Golfing, Photography and Leadership development

As the world moves toward increasing technology utilities and apps, we must all keep in mind that the "human connection" is the most powerful app that we can truly rely on. The power of the Human Voice and conversations will continue to be the "powerful change agent" in our society. In addition, communities in our country are faced with severe challenges with violence and poverty, combined with that fact, government and private grants are less and less available, thus new programs combined with social enterprises are needed to sustain quality programs to assist in rebuilding our communities. Lets get together as humans and fix these problems together! I am working on some great tools which will bring people in need and services to a much bolder and successful model!

Coaching - Business Leadership, Consultant, CPA, Facilitation in personal and professional development, Fundraising & Development, Nonprofit Administration, Philanthropic consultancy, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Services, Systems Analysis and Design

I was invited by one of my friends and funders to attend PopTech in 2010 in Camden Maine and all I can say is .... WOW! I felt like a part of me "was awakened" and was immersed into an environment of such creative and inspiring people from all around the world. After coming back from PopTech, more and more people started telling me about TED and so I began watching videos on TED, talking to more people and then feeling like I wanted to present an idea....I thought I had something to day. So when the "calling for speakers" from TEDxSanDiego came out, I applied and got it! I was very excited and nervous, and had a great experience. My TED talk left me both feeling like I wanted to do it again, and that I needed to really work on my message and my style. So I am attending this year in hopes of meeting more people, learning more about ideas and style and taking another great creative journey. If any of this sounds interesting, I would love to connect with you. Thanks for reading....

OK, so I am really good at spending time by myself and "puttering around".... Turning ideas into visuals.....Making up songs/limericks to 80's music...