Hi, I’m Alicia

Lesser leaders would never have been able to accomplish Alicia’s lofty goals with the limited resources available to her and her team. Her intense dedication to our mission inspired me and my colleagues to work harder and more thoughtfully than at any other point in our careers up to that point. I know we all look back on those days in awe of what we were able to ask of ourselves and the resulting socially conscious and impactful accomplishments we made with Alicia at the helm.

Alicia’s devotion to her goals is matched only by the content of her character and I am very lucky to count her as one of my most trusted friends and mentors to date. I respect her immensely personally and professionally and know that any team she joins will have acquired a true leader and an invaluable asset.

I met Alicia for the first time at the Wharton School during an executive education course. I was and continue to be impressed by her experience, wisdom, and – most importantly – genuine concern for others. She blends high idea productivity, a relentless pursuit of excellence, and personal compassion that guarantees those with whom she works an opportunity to stay far from mediocrity to anyone embarking on the path of Social Entrepreneurship!

I recommend Alicia without hesitation. She is a dedicated and goal oriented professional, with well-developed sense of entrepreneurship that has transformed The Khaya Cookie Company from concept to a thriving business. Alicia cares about her relationships with customers, clients, and employees. Her talents and dedication to building a sustainable company that makes a difference in the world has been recognized widely in the media in South Africa and the U.S. Besides her many outstanding accomplishments, Alicia has created cookies that are simply delicious!

Alicia is a master juggler of responsibilities. I have worked with Alicia not only as an Advisory Board Member of The Bread Project, but as an Instructor since the time that Alicia joined The Bread Project. I have seen her work through changes in staffing, changes in Boards and even a change in locations. This mover and shaker is amazing at getting it all done. This one person moved an entire business while maintaining everyday operations all on a shoestring budget. Alicia is phenomenal and gets the job done and I would work alongside her anywhere.

Alicia and I met when my foundation (Strive for Change Foundation) was renewing a grant to the Bread Project. Alicia is a dynamo. She knows how to get the best out of her team, knows how and when to make the hard decisions and has very strong marketing skills. She has expanded the training program at the Bread Project, is working toward having this non-profit be self-sustaining and has already reached an agreement with William-Sonoma to sell pastries on their website. All of this in less than 2 years. A truly dedicated, intelligent, experienced and talented person.

Alicia is a dedicated entrepreneur that has built up a great business that has tremendous potential. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to look after her clients and colleagues.

Alicia Polak is by far one of the best management and leadership speakers I have heard. She uses clear, humorous examples of where communication can break down and a simple misunderstanding in management can lead to huge losses in productivity and morale. She keeps the audience engaged and enthusiastically anticipating the next anecdote and lesson. Alicia has inspired me to rethink the way I approach management, especially how to work through communication issues and solve problems at the root cause.

Your talk was, in my opinion, the highlight of Sunday. You did such a great job of reaching the high school age group — you delivered real substantive information in a manner that was engaging, disarming and inspiring. You are a natural teacher!

Meeting Alicia was a rare surprise I had in New York City – and I’m not just talking about her marvelous cookies. It was a late evening on a weekday; a group of social entrepreneurs and college students were gathered at a conference room to share ideas about how to successfully launch a start up social venture. The keynote speaker was a founder for a cookie company, and frankly I didn’t expect much. A number of times before, in the field of social enterprise, I’ve heard from many CEOs how great they are for changing the world. It was different this time. Alicia talked about her first jobs and shared the struggle for a purpose that many of the students in the room felt as their graduation were approaching. She told the story of finding local ingredients for special recipe and gaining the trust from the women in the village despite of their differences. Her focus was on her fellow workers and the differences the baking made in their lives. Her story was about empowering those to decide and live a better story than all of us in the room.

That, and her cookies – especially Cranberry Rooibos – got me.

We were lucky enough to have Alicia speak for our group and share her personal and professional journey of creating Khaya Cookie Company.
Alicia brought Khaya Cookie Company to life through her engaging and interactive speaking style, transporting us all right into the kitchen in South Africa. Via her stories and pictures, our group was given the opportunity to experience the life and vision of the social entrepreneur, leaving us inspired and hungry for more. We can’t wait to have her speak for us again soon!

Alicia Polak spoke at the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development’s Boot Camp: Skills to Change the World last spring. Alicia was an amazing speaker and a true pleasure to work with. Very interested in giving back to her alma mater, Alicia took the time to meet with me and learn the demographic she would be speaking to and the message we wanted her to convey. Alicia gave an inspiring speech about leadership and social impact. She was moving, entertaining, and informative. Our students ranked her session one of the most informative of the event. We will definitely be reaching out to her to speak at our future events.

Alicia Polak served as a guest lecturer in my class on Leadership in NonProfit and Social Enterprises at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, sharing lessons from her rich experience both as the founder of Khaya Cookies in South Africa and as Executive Director of The Bread Project here in Berkeley. My class was absolutely delighted with her, and rated her as one of the very best guest speakers they had seen.

Ms. Polak shared frank, first-hand advice and succeeded in being both realistic and inspirational. She quickly and easily built a rapport with the undergraduate students and explained the challenges associated with leading nonprofits and social enterprises in a simple and clear way, without talking down to them. I am certain that her talk inspired many of them to consider starting or working for similar organizations. Ms. Polak’s guest lecture was so well received that I have invited her back to speak to my class on Social Entrepreneurship this year.

It is great seeing Alicia create opportunity one bite at a time. She is a wonderful Social Entrepreneur and a very skilled CEO.

I met Alicia during our time together working with refugees at the International Rescue Committee (IRC). I found Alicia to be an incredibly dedicated, passionate and committed Executive Director who is a multifaceted Social Entrepreneur able to multitask several critical projects simultaneously with excellent results.

Some key characteristics which best describe Alicia are:

• Innovative and entrepreneurial
• Hardworking and tenacious
• Excellent project manager
• Easily adapts diverse environments
• Thrives in circumstances where she can work across different strata

Alicia is both a team player as a leader. She is also a dynamic speaker well versed in the topic of Social Entrepreneurship