E683: Founder Nancy Lublin (DoSomething.org, Dress for Success) takes on suicide prevention with Crisis Text Line, partnering the power of human empathy with machine learning to save lives

Summary: A recurring theme in our society and in the technology industry is suicide, depression, people in crisis. Nancy Lublin is a social entrepreneur, author and philanthropist that previously founded Dress for Success, the organization that helps women transition from welfare to work, and DoSomething.org, a non-profit organization with the goal of motivating young people to take action around social changes through national campaigns and grants for projects that make an impact. Her latest venture, Crisis Text Line, is the nation’s first free, 24/7 text line for people in emotional crisis. Teenagers love to text, and Crisis Text Line turns this into a way to help them through their hardest times: family issues, stress or suicidal thoughts. Trained counselors text back and forth with advice and resources—and, in the process, collect anonymous data that ultimately helps save lives. As a social entrepreneur, Nancy has observed people debating this issue, but not collaborating to solve the problem, and her vision is to inspire young people to take action to make an impact.