Michael Sheldrick

TEDxArendal 2024 

How do you talk to people you don’t like?

Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder of Global Citizen, is a policy entrepreneur who has helped secure over $40 billion in support for critical global issues. At TEDxArendal, Michael will take us from Ideas to Impact, focusing on how pragmatic idealism and collaboration can drive real change, even when working with people you disagree with. 

Speaker Bio

Michael Sheldrick is a policy entrepreneur, author and a driving force behind the efforts of Global Citizen to end extreme poverty. As a Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact, and Government Affairs Officer, he leads the organization’s campaigns to mobilize support from governments, businesses, and foundations. He is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, From Ideas to Impact: A Playbook for Influencing and Implementing Change in a Divided World (Wiley: April 2024).

With a career that spans the world of pop and policy, Michael has worked with an impressive roster of international artists such as Beyoncé, Coldplay, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Priyanka Chopra, Rihanna and Usher, as well as prominent political leaders including Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and former Australian Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.

He has co-produced some of the world’s most impactful social campaigns and events, including the annual Global Citizen Festival in New York, the Guinness World Record-winning virtual concert One World: Together At Home, and the Nelson Mandela 2018 centennial celebration, Mandela 100. These initiatives have reached millions of people in over 150 countries and helped secure over $40 billion in support for local and regional organizations working to provide access to essential resources such as healthcare, education, and climate resilience.

In 2021, he served as a ‘friend of the COP26 Presidency’ in Glasgow, securing commitments from 17 major companies including American Express, Cisco, Starbucks etc. for the UN’s Race to Zero campaign. During the same year, he facilitated pledges from businesses and regional governments to protect and restore 157 million trees. Since 2022, he’s been a member of Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown Initiative, focusing on unlocking finance for climate resilience.

A sought-after speaker and author on policy advocacy, sustainable development, and corporate responsibility, Michael has shared his insights at conferences and summits worldwide. His insights have also featured in leading outlets including Forbes, The Guardian, The Hill, HuffPost, Nikkei and Fairfax Media, and his voice heard on major news networks such as ABC, BBC, France 24, Sky News and CNN.

Michael serves on the board of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, the Benjamin Franklin House in London, the Steering Committee of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Advisory Boards of the Elba Hope Foundation and the Nigerian Solidarity Support Fund. He is also a co-host of the Global Town Hall, a North-South, East-West meeting featuring world leaders and leading minds to connect with global citizens.