Tonic's 50 Most Beautiful People: 11-20

One day and one more list to go as we continue the Tonic 50 Most Beautiful People. In case you missed the previous 30 this week, be sure to check them out: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21. Without further ado...

20. Ben Lewis -- Drink GIVE. Do Good.

Most college sophomores are lucky if they can hear the alarm clock, get out of the dorm and find their way to class (or maybe that was just me). Either way, most aren't carrying full course-loads and running national-scale corporations like Ben Lewis, founder of GIVE Water. But GIVE isn't merely a product. "It's a movement designed to bridge the for-profit and nonprofit worlds, sustainably and transparently." Make money, do good and don't screw up the planet while doing it. Sound like a tall order? Not for emerging entrepreneurs. This seems to be their common ethos for operation.

"It's just kind of how I was raised -- the notion of giving back and the importance of giving back. And then took it upon myself to combine giving back with, hopefully, a successful business model. Combining entrepreneurship and philanthropy into one. I learned from my mom, the importance of being active in the community and learned from my dad about being an entrepreneur," explains Lewis.

And in the age of convenience, the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business student's model couldn't make it much easier. "The goal from the beginning is the idea of letting consumers give back by doing something they do every day. That was our whole philosophy from day one. We work with local charities in every market. So as consumers you know you're not only making a difference somewhere, but also making a difference directly in your community," he says.

GIVE sets itself apart from Ethos, the other charitable bottled water brand, by donating a dime instead of a nickel for every bottle. And, while proceeds from Ethos go toward providing clean water to children around the world, GIVE offers options. When you purchase a bottle of GIVE, in addition to knowing you're contributing to a local charity, you can go one step further and get specific about what you want to support. Color-coding differentiates the causes: pink fights breast cancer, blue supports children in need, green protects the environment and orange fights muscular disorders.

So if you're going to drink bottled water, there's really no reason to buy anything other than GIVE. For starters, they have the first fully biodegradable and recyclable bottle on the market. These bottles will fully degrade after 10 years versus thousands. Ben continues: "In many ways we have the perfect package. It's not only great quality water at a competitive price, in a quality package ... the whole concept behind it is that you're giving back and making a difference by drinking a bottle of water. I don't know anyone else who can offer anything like that."

Now go nominate your favorite charity, ask your local retailers to sell the stuff, and quaff as often as you like -- it's for a good cause.

19. Rachel Maddow

"I've tried to not be like other things on television. I think there's a real homogenizing force in the production of TV. You have to work with a ton of people and they're all pros and there's a right way to do things. I sort of don't want to know the right way to do things, so it will be original." Mission accomplished. At 36, Rachel Maddow, is arguably prime-time news' most singular voice -- and likely the only one you'd really want to sit down with to throw back a few.

The openly gay Rhodes scholar got her start in radio after winning a station contest for a new on-air personality. And like any raw talent, Maddow didn't remain a secret for long. Within a year of joining Air America, she was the host of a two-hour show bearing her name. In 2005, Maddow began dabbling in television, making regular guest appearances on MSNBC and CNN programs. In early 2008, the bespectacled beauty filled as the host of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Olbermann took a shine to Maddow and she returned for several more successful appearances on the program. Shortly after, MSNBC announced a premiere airdate for "The Rachel Maddow Show". Within one month Maddow doubled the network's 9 p.m. slot. Clearly people like getting their news from this gal.

Unlike most disseminators of information, Maddow's ease and sense of humor brings a certain calm to the most harrowing of times (Palin for VP? Seven billion what?). And even as the improbable subject of Vogue, the planet's leading authority on conventional fashion and beauty, no one has ever looked cooler or more comfortable in her skin -- and Chuck Taylors.

18. Wayne Elsey -- Souls4Souls

Like much of the world, Wayne Elsey felt compelled to do something in the wake of the Southeast Asia’s 2004 tsunami -- he just wasn't sure what. "I was at home one night watching TV, and I saw a picture of a single shoe washing up on the beach. That triggered a few calls to some other executives in the footwear industry and the subsequent donation of a quarter of a million shoes to victims in the devastated countries," explains Elsey, Founder and CEO of Souls4Souls.

Within a year, Hurricane Katrina hit and Elsey called on the same group of friends. They sent 750,000 shoes down to the Gulf Coast communities. The immediate outpouring of support and effort propelled Wayne to start a nonprofit. A year later, Souls4Souls became official.

Under Elsey's direction, the organization continues to help those in need, in times of crisis. Recent efforts have focused on the earthquakes in Peru, Hurricane Dean in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the tornado victims in the southern US, California fire victims, as well as getting 25,000 pairs of shoes to the victims of the recent cyclone in Myanmar. While a great deal of Souls4Souls work is performed in the US, it has a presence in 60 countries.

At a young age, Wayne learned that you receive what you give, "So why not give hope to people? There is a natural disaster happening every day in people's lives -- and real natural disasters do not discriminate -- rich or poor, any race can be affected," says Elsey. And while Wayne's background as an executive in the footwear industry explains the logical progression of his nonprofit work, he takes it a step further. "A pair of shoes will make you look up and not worry where you walk. Stumping your toe -- look up now to a brighter day. Look forward -- do you drive a car looking through the rearview mirror or windshield? Pretty simple to visualize -- same with life."

17. Blind Lady Justice -- Same-Sex Marriage

Is it even just slightly disturbing that in 2009, in the capital of the Free World, we're still granting rights, then taking away rights -- who can keep up? One might have hoped that by this stage of the civilization game we could have arrived at the agreement: Equal rights for all. Period. Alas, there is still a way to go.

Fortunately, justice is blind in four states -- New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa and Connecticut, where same-sex marriage is now legal. It's fair to say that a success rate, which teeters around 50 percent, doesn't exactly warrant a monopoly on anything. After all, love is love is love is love. And marriage is a... contract?

16. Sean Carasso -- The Whistle Blower

It takes a certain charisma to believe that a story and whistle have the power to change the world. Even more special is the guy that inspires others to share the same belief. Sean Carasso, a self-described wandering scribe and founder of Falling Whistles, happens to be that guy. While on a trip in Congo, Sean and some friends were confronted with a harsh reality: the existence of child soldiers. From that day forward, Carasso has made it his purpose to change what he saw.

Through his story and its symbolic whistle, Carasso launched the Falling Whistles campaign and its simple call to action: "Make their weapon your voice." While anyone would likely agree that, no where in the world should boys still too young to carry guns be used as human shields, why hasn't anyone put an end to it? Is the problem too far away? Maybe. Is it too overwhelming? Probably. Is it our problem? According to Carasso, absolutely, "We who wish peace in the world cannot cower from power. It is our burden to earn, and with it, honor the helpless."

Read the story. Become a whistleblower.

15. Scott Harrison Charity: Water.

In 2004 Scott Harrison asked himself, "What would the opposite of my life look like?" At the time his life took the shape of a self-involved, cocktail-guzzling club promoter. On the brink of spiritual bankruptcy, he ditched it all and boarded a floating hospital for Mercy Ships, where he traveled to Africa as their photographer. Harrison's eight-month journey through Africa and Liberia had taken him to a place from which he couldn't return, humanity. He knew he was being called to service, but for what cause? He figured water would be a good place to start, seeing as 1.1 billion people don't have access to it.

Since 2006, charity: water has completed a remarkable 1,247 projects. From India to Bangladesh to Cote D’Ivoire to Honduras there are water towers, pond sand filters, rainwater catchments, new wells, rehabbed wells and wells at schools and hospitals being built all over the world.

Charity: water makes volunteering easy through water programs for schools to help provide water for their peers in developing nations. Or, birthdays, where you can give up your birthday but asking friends and relatives to donate the financial equivalent of your age, so someone, somewhere else, can have a birthday.

And Harrison isn't concerned about being number one, he just wants everyone to have clean water, "I'm a perfect example of someone with no experience. A lot of people say, don't start your own nonprofit, find one you can support and then give them all your money. Especially with respect to this issue, start a nonprofit. There are a billion people without water. We've helped 670,000 people. That’s like six tenths of a tenth of 1 percent of the problem. Use the tools that are out there. Tell good stories. Tell them in real time. Tell it raw. Tell it quickly." We like his style.

14. Charisse McAuliffe -- GenGreen

Charisse McAuliffe had beef with social networks: A lot of talk in air but not enough action on the ground. So what did she do? She created GenGreen. The platform facilitates information exchange through small rooms, which allow people to connect on the local level in pursuit of their common green interests. Whether searching for a local farmers market, an eco-friendly dry cleaner or alternative transportation, GenGreen's 40,000 listings help its members achieve their best green lives.

And McAuliffe's local initiative has literally gone national. GenGreen recently partnered with National Geographic's Green Guide, providing consumers with easy access to a local green directory. McAuliffe seriously walks the walk: She thinks globally and acts locally.

13. Clotilde Dedecker, Cristina Ros & Britt Caputo -- Circle of Women

After Sept. 11, Clotilde Dedecker (pictured at right), had a unique take on the media's portrayal of world events. "To me it was more of a holistic picture. At the end of the day, people are people are people. People essentially want the same things. They want to be safe, they want a roof over their head, they want to be fed, they want to feel as though they are valuable in some sort of capacity. It really struck a chord in my heart seeing media images of women in Afghanistan. To me, there was something seriously wrong or a puzzle piece that was missing, in a society where women have no value whatsoever," says Dedecker.

The then-high school sophomore, formed a coalition of all girls' high schools in the area with the common goal of raising funds for reconstructing all girls' schools in Afghanistan. Her efforts were successful and she continued her work through graduation. Shortly after arriving at Harvard however, the young philanthropist caught a mild case of the "freshman blues" and couldn't help but think it might have something to do with the absence of the charity work she'd grown to love.

"I wanted to get back to some of the similar work I'd done in high school. Because it had made such an impact in my life and had resulted in giving hundreds of girls access to the classroom. And it was very meaningful to me in terms of giving back." Clotilde then met upperclassmen Britt Caputo and Cristina Ros and shared her story with them. Caputo and Ros were impressed with the idea and felt strongly that they could do something with it on campus.

The trio quickly began rallying support for their new organization, Circle of Women and its two-pronged mission: To raise awareness regarding the plight of women's access to education and its critical importance in developing nations, and to build fund-raising efforts to materialize these awareness campaigns and produce results. Unfortunately however, they soon learned that such significant fundraising on the property of another 501(c) 3, the other nonprofit of course, being Harvard. But the girls carried on and successfully applied for their own 501(c) 3.

They hit the ground running, establishing Circle of Women as a viable nonprofit and launching the plan for Project Wonkhai, a secondary all girl’s school in Wonkhai village in Afghanistan. "We found several in-country partners and decided we would be responsible for fund-raising on behalf of the school construction and then sustain the school for several years after construction is complete." Circle of Women raised $130,000 and construction was completed at the end of December 2008.

Class is almost in session. "Now we're working on implementing the sustainability plan of the school. The school is recognized by the Afghanistan ministry of education, which means that theoretically they're responsible for providing textbooks, teachers' salaries -- everything a public school here might get. But given the state of Afghanistan right now, it doesn't happen as perfectly as we'd like it to. So we’re working with the villagers to develop teacher supplement salaries, waiting on textbooks and implementing a vocational training program into the curriculum to make the school sustainable," says Clotilde.

Without this school, there are no options for local girls to continue their education beyond the elementary level education. "That was the impetus in a sense, because the girls who graduated from the elementary school were really enjoying their schooling and wanted somewhere to go. And clearly, secondary school is a really essential bridge that should be in place in terms of connecting your beginning level of education and the productive lifestyle you're able to have post-graduation. We thought it was a necessary thing."

With the help of Ros and Caputo and the strength in Circle of Women, Dedecker continues to realize her vision as a sixteen year old, "I want to help it from the ground up, become something where it can make valuable contributions to our world. Which to me, everyone can and everyone should, but it’s a matter of having the tools in place. And education is, if not the most important, one of the most important tools." Looks like in the years to come, 1,200 Afghani girls in the village of Wonkhai will have access to those tools.

12. Scott Hahn & Rogan Gregory – Organic for the Masses

Over 100 years ago the term "loomstate" referred to "just-woven fabric." Well, founders Scoot Hahn and Rogan Gregory borrowed the name as they set out to create a demand for organic cotton products. Although way back in 2004, hardcore eco-philes may have already been in hot pursuit of responsibly produced sustainable clothing, the majority of shoppers never really thought to ask, "Where did this T-shirt come from?" Now, thanks to guys like Hahn and Gregory, not only do more people know to even ask the question, they know where to go to find the answer -- Loomstate.

From seed to sew, Loomstate's edgy grounded-in-nature designs are produced exclusively with partners that adhere to the highest environmental and labor standards. The duo brought their socially and eco-conscious design aesthetic to one of the nation’s largest retailers, Target. On average, the production of a commercial cotton T-shirt requires 500 gallons of water and 3 pounds of chemical fertilizer. And considering over 100 million people shop Target every week, and even if a quarter of them bought T-shirts, imagine the impact it would make, if they were organic T-shirts? Mind blowing, really.

11. Anthony Mullen - 2009 National Teacher of the Year

At the risk of sounding cliché: teaching is under-appreciated, undervalued and underpaid. Sad, but true. But at least once a year, one standout educator gets his due. This year in the White House Rose Garden it was Greenwich, Connecticut's Anthony Mullen. The former New York City cop was recognized for his outstanding work as a special education teacher by President Obama, who noted that the nation doesn't do nearly enough for its teachers, who go to work for much more than a paycheck. The president also attributed his and Michelle’s success to the good direction they received as students from teachers like Mullen.

But as far as Mullen is concerned, "A teacher can receive no greater reward than the knowledge that he or she helped recover a lost student." Mullen took his years on the NYPD with him to ARCH, an alternative school for troubled teens. Not to police but rather to investigate. Mullen searched for the commonality among good teachers and finally realized, "The very best teachers have one common quality -- they know how to read a story that each kid brings to the classroom in themselves."

Perhaps Tony takes the extra time with his kids because as a former cop, he knows what awaits these kids who are really getting a last chance. And, his humor and street-smart attitude seem to resonate. One of Mullen’s student’s, 17-year-old Kastriot Djema, explained to the Greenwich Times, that he knows better than to try to take on the 59th National Teacher of the Year. "You can try making a joke, but he'll just take it and turn it on you." Eric Garcia says, "Tony's just a funny dude. He knows how to make it interesting." Others liken Mullen’s style to a movie, where he lets the plot build, and then at the end, they finally get it.

Whatever his secret it is -- humor, entertainment -- it certainly seems to be working. But above all, Mullen advocates for the kids who all others have failed to connect with. He’s the guy who rewrites their stories.

Anthony Mullen photo courtesy of AP/Gerald Herbert.