Charlie Grosso

FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Charlie Grosso is the visionary founder and Executive Director of Hello Future, a nonprofit organization transforming the lives of refugee youth through education and technology. With over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and creative professional, Charlie brings a unique perspective to humanitarian work. 

Her grandparents fled communist China for Taiwan in the 1940s as political refugees leaving everything behind. Born in Taiwan, the refugee experience is not one that her grandparents readily shared but she felt the lingering effects in the hand me down clothes and waste not mentality. Such upheaval sets a family back and poverty can last for generations. Charlie experienced her own displacement when she was sent to America as a teenager, unable to speak the language, profoundly shaped her empathy for displaced youth. Her background includes founding her first business at age 20 and a successful career as an advertising photographer working with major brands like Lexus, Nike, and Comedy Central.

Charlie's extensive travels to over 80 countries cultivated her passion for social justice and innovation. In 2016, moved by the Syrian refugee crisis, she founded Hello Future to bridge the education gap for adolescent refugees. Under her leadership, Hello Future has developed a cutting-edge curriculum that blends digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and 21st-century skills, empowering refugee youth to become self-reliant community leaders.

A fellow at prestigious social impact organizations including Edmund Hillary, Kravis Leadership, Acumen, and Boehm, Charlie leverages her creative background and business acumen to drive innovative solutions in the nonprofit sector. Her unique approach to refugee education has positioned Hello Future at the forefront of preventing a lost generation and fostering a more inclusive, connected world.