On Thursday, Oct. 15, Seahawks chairman Paul Allen was honored with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy at a private ceremony held at the New York Public Library.

Allen, one of eight recipients of the award this year, was recognized for dedicating his private wealth to public good. The Seattle-area native who co-founded Microsoft 40 years ago has exceeded $2 billion in philanthropic giving to date, working to save endangered species, improve ocean health, tackle contagious diseases, research the human brain, and build sustainable communities.

A tribute to Allen's work from the Carnegie Corporation of New York is embedded for you in the video below.

https://youtu.be/UgMhaBAeLKE

When it comes to taking on challenges, Paul Allen is drawn to some of the hardest in the world. Whether he's funding international efforts to fight Ebola, launching a scientific institute to map the human brain, or working to save Africa's elephants from extinction, he is not just a generous philanthropist, he pursues game-changing breakthroughs. Paul has always had an intuitive sense of the future and how to shape it. Among the earliest people to recognize the potential of personal computing, Paul co-founded Microsoft, which enabled millions of people to use computers for the first time. Today, he puts that same spirit of possibility to work in his philanthropy by challenging conventional thinking and bringing together experts of different backgrounds and expertise to solve complex problems as a team. Andrew Carnegie urged his peers to give generously to a wide range of needs in the arts, global health, conservation, and even research into the roots of human consciousness. A century later, Paul exemplifies that very spirit and is working to build a better, bright future.