Center for Social Innovation

Earl Martin Valencia, MBA '09, is named one of the Manila 40 Under 40 Leaders in International Development.

Kiva co-founder Jessica Jackley, MBA '07, addressed an audience of more than 200 at Kennesaw State University on Feb. 12, 2013.

Feature profile on Ray King, MBA '80, President and CEO of the Urban League of San Diego County.

Q&A with Pashupathy Gopalan, MBA '01, on the Indian renewable energy sector.

Profile of Jeff Tangney, MBA '99, and his recent venture Doximity, which provides a secure network for doctors to collaborate online

Many business schools are including sustainability programs among their MBA offerings because business opportunities in the field have increased. From clean energy to programs to reduce a company’s carbon footprint, sustainability knowledge is in practical demand. In honor of Earth Day (April 22), here is a list of some interesting programs that focus on sustainability.

With gasoline prices spiking, a presidential election looming in the fall, and recent failures at reaching sweeping global agreements on environmental policy, the Obama Administration is heading into this summer’s Rio + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development with modest goals, looking for areas of broad agreement and civic engagement that can be touted as populist environmental progress.

Laurene Powell Jobs (MBA ’91), wife of the late Steve Jobs, has supported a long range of causes from helping disadvanted students and women to donating money to environmental campaigns. She has also established the Emerson Collective, an organization that focuses on improving academic outcomes for under-resourced students in America’s public schools.

Shaun Paterson (MBA '08) is the founder of Shaun's Shades, a chic, California-based eyewear brand that strives to "support, empower and help solve the problem of visual impairment and eliminate blindness." Launched in August, the line gives its customers a unique opportunity: all those who purchase a pair of Shaun's Shades sunglasses also provide a pair of eyeglasses to one of 285 million people around the world who suffer from visual challenges as part of a "buy one, give sight" mission.

Former Peace Corps volunteer Sam Goldman (MBA '07) was inspired to make electric lighting affordable to families living in developing nations during his work in Benin.  Today, he makes that dream a reality through d.light, a social venture that replaces dangerous, inefficient kerosene lamps with clean, cheap electric lamps around the world. 

Jake Harriman (MBA '08) fought for his country as a US Marine Recon Platoon Commander.  But he saw a better way to combat terrorism: target extreme poverty that flares in violence in the world's poorest countries.  Today, Nuru International works to empower local communities to uplift themselves from poverty and develop a sustainable path towards a better future. 

Jessica Jackley (MBA '07) discusses the challenges she faced when co-founding Kiva.org in 2005.  Kiva.org is a micro-lending platform through which donors can invest in small businesses in far corners of the world.  

MBA Students Catha and Caroline Mullen launched Farm to Cup with the mission to bring positive social change to the coffee industry in Guatemala.  By cutting out the middlemen in the coffee trade, Mullen and Mullen are able to offer growers up to three times the fair trade price without adversely affecting the market price to consumers.  

A team of MBA students from the Stanford Graduate School of Business will participate in Idea Village's third annual Entrepreneurial Week in New Orleans.  During this event, students, entrepreneurs, and leaders will gather to facilitate the city's rebirth and launch into a national model for innovative practices.