The Impact Report

Growing the Future Through Smart Digital Technology: Molly Brown, Ph.D. Chief Science Officer, 6th Grain Dr. Brown has been a Research Scientist at the University of Maryland since 2015, a job she took after leaving NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Molly has two decades of experience in interdisciplinary research using satellite remote sensing data and models with socio-economic and demographic information to better understand food security and agriculture drivers. 6th Grain believes that the direct application of digital technology and science is key to establishing profitable and productive agriculture and food systems. They are a digital agriculture technology company which focuses on transforming farmer-provided data into information that can be used to increase success and uptake in crop protection services, credit provision, and high yielding seeds. ‍ Machine learning, modeling, and sophisticated, composite data are at the heart of their technology platform and sets 6th Grain apart from the competitio

The Clear Choice for Solar: A Conversation with Veeral Hardev of Ubiquitous Energy Veeral Hardev is VP of Strategy at Ubiquitous Energy. Hardev  has over a decade of experience commercializing novel  nano-materials products for the electronics industry. This  includes his time at Nanosys, Inc. where he led materials and  business development, and product management. Hardev holds an MBA from the Berkeley Haas School of Business, and  bachelor’s degrees in Materials Science and Economics from  UCLA.  Ubiquitous Energy is the world leading transparent solar technology dramatically reduces the carbon footprint of buildings by converting light into electricity using semiconducting materials all while maintaining visible transparency. Bard MBA’s Hannah Hintz speaks with Verral for this episode of The Impact Report.  ImpactReportPodcast.com

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 c

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® gr

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 temperatu

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. ImpactReportPodcast.com

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 numer

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

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-payi

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. ImpactReportPodca

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 educat

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.  ImpactReportPodcast.com

Improving the Lives of Pets, Pet Parents & the Planet: A Conversation with Francesca Mahoney of Petco An accomplished retail leader, Francesca Mahoney leads Petco’s sustainability strategy and works with business leaders across operations, products, and supply chain to advance sustainability and drive strategic growth. She is passionate about creating a better planet for pets and pet parents alike and has been the driving force in Petco’s recent industry-leading commitment to increasing its assortment of sustainable pet products to 50% by the end of 2025. She has also spent more than a decade transforming teams, building brands and leading marketing strategies for renowned companies. Before joining Petco, she worked at Target Corporation for +10 years in a variety of Merchandising and Marketing roles. Bard MBA Alum Cory Skuldt speaks with Francesca for this episode of the Impact Report. ImpactReportPodcast.com Petco Sustainable Product Shop: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/category/sustainabl

Touching the Future of Textiles: Nicole Meier, Director of Branding at Ultrafabrics Ultrafabrics is reshaping the world of leather-free performance fabrics.  Operating on three continents with over five decades of expertise, Ultrafabrics innovates in sync with emerging customer needs to create versatile solutions for any surface, and for a multitude of industries. Every fabric coming out of their mill is a premium, sustainable and intelligent product that speaks to—and elevates—the senses. They are dedicated to innovation and sustainability and are always improving to continuously deliver superior performance fabrics. As a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Nicole Meier utilizes her merchandising background to position Ultrafabrics as the premier animal-free performance fabric across a variety of worldwide sectors. During her tenure, she has introduced educational programs, material donation and community partnerships while overseeing content development and the overall brand experience. Toget

Population empowers home and fashion brands to embed an integrated approach to sustainability into their business models, brand strategy and marketing. As consultants they blend the creative and strategic to build authentic narratives, safeguarding against performative marketing and greenwashing. From widespread extraction and pollution to over-consumption and waste, industries had been reckoning with their impacts on the planet. We were already at a tipping point, when a global pandemic hit. Fashion brands cancelled orders leaving numerous manufacturers and workers unpaid. Not long after, garment workers put their own health and safety at risk making PPE. And in the midst of all this, George Floyd’s murder catalyzed a racial reckoning and a wave of wokewashing. It may not seem like it, but these problems are interconnected. For this special episode of the Impact Report, Series Producer, Katie Ellman speaks with Population co-founders Lauren Hill and Catherine Tedrow and their co-host of the Unspun podcast

Strategy As A Service: Gary J. Nix, Founder and Chief Strategist, The BRANDarchist Gary J. Nix is a strategy executive who earned his stripes as a disruptor, innovator, and predictor in the entertainment, magazine publishing, and marketing industries. Known for merging traditional marketing principles with modern marketing techniques, he has used his in-house and agency experience with Fortune 500 companies to open the brandarchist: strategy as a service. Additionally, his expertise & distinct point-of-view has positioned him as a frequently sought after source in the advertising trades, guest lecturer, as well as a subject matter expert on ethics, culture, and community as a business necessity. Furthermore, his perspective led him to be named a 2020 Innovator by the Advertising Club of New York. When not tending to his consultancy, he serves as a senior leadership member for 100 Roses from Concrete & The G.R.O.W.T.H. Initiative and a strategic advisor for the communications agency Bold Culture by St

Addressing Embodied Carbon's Role in Climate Change: Stacy Smedley, Executive Director of Building Transparency Building Transparency, a 501(c) nonprofit organization that provides open access data and tools that support broad and swift action across the building industry in addressing embodied carbon’s role in climate change. Formed in 2020, Building Transparency hosts, manages and maintains the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool, which provides thousands of digital EPDs in a free, open-source database. Building Transparency strives to provide the resources and education necessary to promote adoption of the EC3 tool, including through the official materialsCAN program, and works with global policymakers to shape a better building future. In her role at Building Transparency, Stacy leads the continued management and development of the EC3 tool and works to educate and engage the building industry on actionably reducing embodied carbon emissions of building materials. Bard MBA’s Sahara Ja

Investing for Good: Peter Krull, CEO & Director of Investments, Earth Equity Advisors Peter Krull is a well-known leader in the green business community and a long-time advocate for fossil fuel free and sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing. He was selected to the 2018 Investopedia 100 list of the one hundred most influential financial advisors in America, and was one of the first individuals to earn the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation from the College for Financial Planning. His responsibilities at Earth Equity Advisors include managing all of the firm’s sustainable, responsible and impact portfolios. He also coordinates the firm’s marketing activities and works closely with the team to improve operations and processes. He has guided Earth Equity Advisors rapid growth as well as the firm’s rise to prominence as a four-time Best for the World Certified B Corporation. Bard MBA’s Johnathan Pham speaks with Peter for this episode of the Impact Report.  ImpactReportPodcast.com

Media as a Mode for Social & Environmental Good:Jessica Thurston, Director, ESG Strategy at ViacomCBS Jessica Thurston leads ViacomCBS’ environmental, social, and governance strategy. She oversees the development and implementation of key ESG programs across the global company, including ESG reporting and engagement with rankers, raters, and investors. Jessica’s background is in ESG and sustainability strategy and communications. Previously, she worked at New York-based agencies supporting clients including Chipotle, Carhartt, Keurig Dr Pepper, Merck & Co., Inc., and more. She previously worked in sustainability at Tiffany & Co., and started her career at the U.S. General Services Administration, where she worked in sustainable procurement policy and communications. Bard MBA’s Olivia Taussig speaks with Jessica for this episode of The Impact Report.  ImpactReportPodcast.com

Making Cities More Resilient By Eliminating Food Waste: A Conversation with Natasha Dyer, Senior Recycling Program Coordinator for the City of Atlanta In her role with the Mayor’s Office of Resilience, Natasha Dyer focuses on creating municipal programs that increase wasted food diversion from landfill as part of the City’s Climate Action and Food Access plans.  This includes programs that recover edible surplus food to feed food insecure residents and collaborating with external partners to create decentralized composting systems that then benefits local urban agriculture.  In her role with the City, she has also created and administers a citywide Sustainability Ambassador Leadership Program that graduates just under 100 participants per year. Bard MBA's Emma Chandler speaks with Natasha for this episode of the Impact Report. ImpactReportPodcast.com