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Stories from the front lines of business and sustainability innovation.
Episodes
Friday Apr 15, 2022
Friday Apr 15, 2022
Building A Better Working World: A Conversation With Susan Hunt Stevens
Susan Hunt Stevens is the Founder & CEO of WeSpire, an award-winning employee experience technology focused on engaging people in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. She founded WeSpire to use her digital behavior change expertise to help people embrace healthier and more sustainable lifestyles after her son was diagnosed with serious food allergies. She was named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year for New England, a Boston Business Journal Woman of Influence, and to the Environmental Leader 100 list. Prior to WeSpire, she spent 9 years at The New York Times Company, most recently as SVP/General Manager for Boston.com, a $60M digital media division. She has an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where she was named a Tuck Scholar, and graduated with high honors from Wesleyan University.
For this episode of The Impact Report, Series Producer, Katie Ellman, speaks with Susan about how corporate leaders can kick off an improvement in both their commitment to ESG and their own company ecosystem, while keeping their most valuable asset – their people – engaged.
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Friday Feb 18, 2022
Sustainability Is Beautiful at the Estee Lauder Companies: A Conversation with Al Iannuzzi, VP, Sustainability
Al Iannuzzi is Vice President, Sustainability, at The Estée Lauder Companies, where he directs enterprise-wide sustainability efforts and establishes and executes on the Company’s sustainability strategy, goals and objectives. He oversees the publication of the Company’s Corporate Responsibility Report, ESG ratings and rankings, and climate and energy programs. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University, Purdue University, where he teaches Product Improvement and Sustainability.
Al has more than 30 years’ experience in the Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability field. Prior to working at The Estée Lauder Companies, he worked for Johnson & Johnson, where he led Design for the Environment and Green Marketing programs and developed sustainability strategies for Consumer Product, Medical Device and Pharmaceutical sectors. He served as the chief architect of the Earthwards® greener product development program. He has also worked as an environmental consultant and as a regulator for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Al has authored three books, his latest: Greener Products: the Making & Marketing of Sustainable Brands (2018) and has written numerous articles on sustainability and product stewardship.
Bard MBA’s Jill Metzger speaks with Al for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Dec 17, 2021
Friday Dec 17, 2021
Improving the Cold Chain to Save & Feed the Planet: A Conversation with Manik Suri of Therma
Manik Suri is the Founder and CEO of technology company Therma. Before founding Therma, Manik co-founded the Governance Lab (GovLab), an innovation center at NYU that developed technology solutions to improve government. He is a former Affiliate of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and has held positions at global investment firm D.E. Shaw & Company and the White House National Economic Council.
Based in San Francisco, CA, Therma° is a leading innovator of IoT-based temperature monitoring solutions designed to create significant reductions in food waste and energy costs. Founded by alums from Harvard, Columbia and UC Santa Barbara, the company’s leaders are a mission-driven team of food industry professionals and technology innovators focused on one thing: making an impact on climate change. A leader in growing the “smart cold chain,” Therma develops innovative, IoT-powered, 24/7 temperature monitoring and real-time data analytics devices and platforms deployed across thousands of restaurants, retailers, manufacturers, and government agencies worldwide, with leading brands including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King, NOW Foods, 7-Eleven, and Wyndham Hotels.
For more information, visit: www.hellotherma.com.
Impact Report Series Producer, Katie Ellman speaks with Manik about his career journey and how it brought him to capitalize on the IoT to cut GHG emissions globally by improving the cold chain for the food industry.
Friday Nov 19, 2021
Friday Nov 19, 2021
Closing the Loop on Commercial Textile Waste: Jessica Schreiber & Camille Tagle, Co-Founders of FABSCRAP
Founded by Jessica Schreiber and Camille Tagle, FABSCRAP was created to meet New York City’s commercial textile recycling needs. Materials that traditionally would have gone to landfill are now being properly recycled and made available for reuse.
FABSCRAP provides convenient pickup and recycling of textiles for businesses in New York City and Philadelphia.
Read more about their impact in their most recent report: FABSCRAP 2020 Annual Report.
Bard MBA’s Adam Rozenberg and Siri Wilson speak with Jessica and Camille about how their backgrounds in waste management and eveningwear design inform their work in transforming the industry.
Friday Nov 05, 2021
Friday Nov 05, 2021
Activism, Leadership & Purpose:
Gilles Mesrobian, Professor & Principal at the Red Queen Group
In addition to his role as a visiting faculty member of Bard College’s MBA in Sustainability Program, Gilles is an affiliate consultant with the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, a Certified Governance Trainer through BoardSource, and on the National Training Faculty for NeighborWorks America. His credentials include over 30 years senior management experience in the non-profit arena, with over 20 years as an Executive Director. His consulting experience covers a broad range of organizational work in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, including governance training, organizational assessment, leadership development, executive leadership transition, executive search, strategic planning, retreats and trainings.
His interest in sustainability has extended to his consulting where he has worked with numerous organizations in the area of social and environmental justice. He has also facilitated numerous leadership training programs including the the New York Foundation for the Arts Emerging Leaders program, the Support Center’s Trajectory Leadership Program,, as well as the CT Council of Family Service Agency’s yearlong leadership program.
For this episode of the Impact Report, Bard MBA’s Kiana Cardwell speaks with Gilles about how his activism during the early days of the AIDS Epidemic shaped him as a leader and moved him toward a career in purpose-driven work.
Friday Oct 29, 2021
Friday Oct 29, 2021
Building Sustainability into a Legacy Company: Robert Pasin CEO, Radio Flyer
Robert Pasin heads Radio Flyer Inc., the business founded by his grandfather in 1917. Radio Flyer is an iconic brand that holds a special place in people's hearts because it instantly transports them to a happy time — to the best parts of childhood. Robert works with a wonderful group of passionate "Flyers" whose mission is to create products that bring smiles to kids of all ages and to create warm memories that last a lifetime. Company sales have grown significantly because of Robert’s focus on building a highly committed and creative team. The product line has expanded beyond the iconic Little Red Wagon™ to include tricycles, scooters, and other ride-ons featuring innovative, beautiful, playful design. Robert is the Emmy winning producer of the animated short film, Taking Flight.
In June 2021, Robert was named 2021 Top CEO in the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award. Among chief executives recognized by employees in the U.S., Pasin received an impressive 100 percent approval rating based on the anonymous and voluntary reviews Radio Flyer employees shared on Glassdoor throughout the past year.
Bard MBA’s Jordan Sabine speaks with Robert for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Committed to Clean Money: A Conversation with Joe Sanberg, Co-Founder of Aspiration
Joe Sanberg is a progressive business leader, anti-poverty advocate, and co-founder of Aspiration, a no-fee, socially-conscious financial firm that keeps its customers’ money away from fossil fuels and private prisons.
As a steward of the movement to pass the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income families in California, Joe founded CalEITC4Me, one of the state’s largest anti-poverty programs, which has put more than $10 billion back in the pockets of working families. He successfully led the charge to expand eligibility for the program to low-wage, undocumented workers, who had previously been excluded from the tax credit. Then-California Gov. Jerry Brown’s top adviser Nancy McFadden called Joe the “spark” behind the state’s efforts to execute the new program.
Joe also leads Working Hero PAC, a people-powered political organization focused on electing progressive candidates who will fight for affordable housing, good-paying jobs, a sustainable future, and accessible healthcare for all.
Bard MBA’s Johnathan Pham & Stephanie Lavallato speak with Joe for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Jun 25, 2021
Friday Jun 25, 2021
Turning Up The Heat on Financial Regulators to Combat Climate Change
Steven M. Rothstein Managing Director, Accelerator for Capital Markets, Ceres
Steven M. Rothstein is the founding Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets. Ceres Accelerator aims to transform the practices and policies that govern capital markets in order to accelerate reduction of the worst financial impacts of the climate crisis and other sustainability threats. Steven’s 40 years of experience will be critical to explore the most effective strategies for the Accelerator to focus on and move capital markets towards climate sustainability.
He has worked at local, state, federal and international levels of government. Steven served on many non-profit and government boards. He has spoken and written extensively and worked with partners in the corporate, non-profit, government and philanthropy sectors.
Bard MBA’s Lucien Harlow-Dion speaks with Steven for this episode of the Impact Report.
Friday Jun 11, 2021
Friday Jun 11, 2021
How FinTech Can Close The Racial Wealth Gap: Ramona Ortega, Founder, My Money My Future
Ramona Ortega is the CEO & Founder of My Money My Future. MMMF is a fintech marketplace helping Black and Latinx millennials save, invest, and build wealth with automated financial guidance and personalized product recommendations. Previously she helped launch Azlo, a small business banking platform as Entrepreneur-In-Residence. Prior to founding MMMF, Ramona was a Wall Street attorney and worked on complex securities litigation and corporate matters in private practice and at the SEC and U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Ramona is a contributor to TechCrunch and HuffPost and is a sought after speaker and thought leader in Fintech. She has a B.A. from UCLA and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law. She is on the board of Village Capital, Camino Financial and Community Health Council.
My Money My Future is an all-in-one personal finance platform that helps multicultural millennials make better financial decisions by combining education and unique content with personalized product recommendations and financial advice in a seamless experience. MMMF dashboard provides personalized financial action plans to guide users through a range of decisions, including investing, budgeting, saving, and credit.
Series Producer, Katie Ellman speaks with Ramona for this episode of the Impact Report.
Saturday May 15, 2021
Saturday May 15, 2021
Rethink. Redesign. Repurpose: Brandi Susewitz Founder & CEO, Clear Office
Brandi has been in the office furniture industry for over twenty years. On June 12th 2020, she woke up with a mission: to create the first online marketplace for companies to buy and sell their pre-owned office furniture. Clear Office has digitized the pre-owned office furniture industry and is the first online marketplace where buyers and sellers of used office furniture connect directly.
Bard MBA’s Whitney Smith-Burghes speaks with Brandi for this episode of the Impact Report.