Join us on this special Earth Week episode of The Impact Report as we introduce our new host, Professor Renay Loper. Renay shares her journey to becoming a pivotal voice in sustainability and gives us a glimpse into the transformative education at Bard College’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability.

In this episode:

• Renay’s personal leadership path and her role at Bard’s MBA in sustainability program.
• The significance of asking “How are you arriving?” and its impact on personal and organizational leadership.
• Insights into the GPS journey toward justice, equity, diversity, and anti-racism.
• A reflection on the essence of leadership in sustainability and the power of leading from where you are.
• Renay’s diverse professional background, from consumer banking in the U.S. to teaching English in Japan and civic engagement in Greece, illustrates the multifaceted nature of sustainability leadership. Her experiences have shaped her approach to building cross-sector partnerships and fostering tri-sector collaborations globally.

Tune in to discover how sustainability leaders are driving change and how Bard’s MBA program is nurturing the next generation of innovative leaders. Let’s celebrate Earth Week by diving deep into the stories of those making a real impact.

*Bonus* If you're new to the podcast and want to get familiar with the show, check out this helpful episode from last spring featuring Eban Goodstein, an economist and Director of the Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability. He discusses leading the expansion of Bard's environmental policy and sustainability programs, as well as coordinating national climate change education initiatives across thousands of academic institutions. LISTEN HERE

Bard’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability cultivate leaders who break through existing systems, innovating solutions to critical social, environmental and economic challenges. 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class from M.S. in Environmental Policy degree at Bard CEP and the 10th graduating class from the Bard MBA in Sustainability program. The 2023 graduating MS EP, MS CSP, MEd and MBA classes will bring the Bard GPS alumni community to over 500!

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Ending Energy Poverty One Bboxx at a Time:  Anthony Osijo, Chief Financial Officer at Bboxx

Bboxx manufactures, distributes and finances decentralised solar powered systems in developing countries and has head offices in London and Rwanda with operations across Africa and Asia.

As a vertically integrated business, their super platform business model is based on two pillars: a digital highway Bboxx Pulse®, Bboxx’s proprietary fully integrated operating system and a physical highway with our extensive on-the-ground network to provide goods, services and utilities across Africa.

Bboxx  offers African households, businesses and communities a highly convenient and affordable way to access life-changing solutions, through data-powered logistics and innovative financing methods. They are expanding and scaling by forging strategic partnerships with governments and world-class corporates to provide access to any products and services to our rural and urban customers across Africa.

In January 2021 Bboxx, appointed Anthony Osijo as its new Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Head of Relationship Management, to support the company on its accelerated growth trajectory.

After serving as a long-term adviser to Bboxx over the last ten years, Anthony Osijo’s core responsibilities now involve leading the finance, accounting and relationship function of the global business. He has taken on the role as Bboxx’s former Group CFO Thomas Chevillotte joins French consulting firm Enea Consulting.

With over 20 years of working in financial services, finance and associated industries, Anthony is an internationally recognised financial leader. Most recently, he has worked as Managing Director responsible for Credit Agricole’s debt product sales and strategy.

Over the last three decades, he has worked across the globe in the UK, Europe and Asia – from a large Swedish Pension Fund, to UBS as a Director in the Equity Derivatives business, and to Deutsche Bank in Switzerland as Head of Investment Banking. At Credit Agricole in Hong Kong, he also worked on developing the business in Asia as COO and Head of Business Development and was Treasurer of ASIFMA (Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association). During the course of his career, he has been involved in raising millions for start-ups and sits on numerous charitable boards.

The Impact Report’s Series Producer, Katie Ellman speaks with Anthony for this episode of the Impact Report. 

Brains Meet Beauty: René Graham, FOUNDER & CEO, Renzoe Box

A native of Texas, René Graham is a licensed architect and holds a Master in Architecture from Rice University. Before entering the world of product design, beauty-tech, and entrepreneurship founding Renzoe Box, Graham achieved significant and diverse experience in architectural practice and real estate development. She is the co-founder of LaurelHouse Studio, a boutique architecture practice and design studio based in Bryan, Texas. She is also the co-founder of BCS Modern, a real estate development company focused on design-driven community-based development in Downtown Bryan, Texas. Graham has taught at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. She has received grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, has been featured on national TV, won the international Good Design Award®, received the 2022 Mayor's Impact Award, finalist for SXSW Pitch, is a Tory Burch Fellow & Ladies Who Launch Fellow, has raised funding from Andreessen Horowitz, and holds national & international patents & trademarks for Renzoe Box®. She has served as a design critic at Harvard University, SciArc, Syracuse University, Rice University, Texas Tech, Louisiana State, University of Texas, & Texas A&M University.

Bard MBA’s Rolena Richardson speaks with Rene for this episode of the Impact Report. 

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Better Soil Produces Better Wine: Laura Díaz Muñoz, Winemaker and General Manager of Ehlers Estate

“This is the philosophy I bring to my winemaking. I believe that if you start with great ingredients, there’s no need to complicate the process in the cellar.” 

Laura Díaz Muñoz’s winemaking perspective is rooted in the old world, shaped by a broad cross selection of cultures, regions and vineyard sites. She is driven by her own never-ending desire to learn and experiment. 

Laura joined Ehlers Estate as Winemaker and General Manager for Ehlers Estate in June of 2018. Located in the northern part of Napa Valley's St. Helena appellation, Ehlers Estate is a historic winegrowing site where premium grapes have been cultivated since the mid-1800s. The Ehlers Estate team prioritizes the preservation of their land and history by embracing organic farming practices.  Under Laura’s leadership, Ehlers has expanded their sustainability practices in response to a changing climate through the implementation of replanting efforts, and the use of biochar, vermifiltration and other methods. 

Bard MBA’s Erin Seglam speaks with Laura for this episode of the Impact Report.

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The Importance of Acknowledging Disabilities in the Workplace: Hannah Olson,Co-Founder & CEO, Disclo

Hannah Olson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Disclo, an innovative HR software helping employees to safely disclose and ask for accommodations at work. Hannah’s own experience navigating her career while undergoing intensive treatment for Lyme disease sparked the idea for her first venture, Chronically Capable, now one of the largest and most-used disability recruiting platforms in North America. She is known globally for her disability advocacy, with recent features in Forbes, Inc Magazine, FastCompany, and more.

Bard MBA’s Jasmine Graham speaks with Hannah for this episode of the Impact Report.

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Climate Advancing Solutions For Planetary Health: Sophie Bakalar, Partner at Collaborative Fund

Sophie Bakalar is a Partner at Collaborative Fund, a leading New York based venture fund with over $1 billion in assets under management to invest at the intersection of for-profit and for-good. Sophie leads the firm’s climate investments, including a new dedicated $200M+ climate fund called Collab SOS, to fuel a more sustainable economy across materials,ingredients, energy, and supply chains. Key investments: AMP Robotics, Brimstone Energy,Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Dandelion Energy, Kula Bio, Lyft, Mango Materials, Natural Fiber Welding, Quaise, among others.

Bard MBA’s Arielle Chaifetz speaks with Sophie for this episode of the Impact Report.

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Leading the Change & Changing the Game: A Conversation with Eban Goodstein, Director of Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability

Eban Goodstein is an economist and Director of the Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability which houses the Center for Environmental Policy and the MBA in Sustainability. Goodstein led the expansion of the Center for Environmental Policy which now offers master’s of science degrees in environmental policy and climate science and policy as well as an MEd in environmental education. He also  founded  the #1  ranked  MBA in sustainability in 2012. In recent years, Goodstein has also coordinated a series of national educational initiatives on climate change involving over 2500 colleges, universities, high schools and community organizations. He is the author of a college textbook, Economics and the Environment now in its ninth edition; Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction: How Passion and Politics Can Stop Global Warming; and The Trade-off Myth: Fact and Fiction about Jobs and the Environment. He serves on the editorial board of Sustainability: The Journal of Record, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Follett Corporation. He holds a B.A. in Geology from Williams College and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Bard’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability cultivate leaders who break through existing systems, innovating solutions to critical social, environmental and economic challenges. 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class from M.S. in Environmental Policy degree at Bard CEP and the 10th graduating class from the Bard MBA in Sustainability program. The 2023 graduating MS EP, MS CSP, MEd and MBA classes will bring the Bard GPS alumni community to over 500! 

The Impact Report's Series Producer, Katie Ellman, speaks with Eban for this episode of the Impact Report.

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Championing Modern Governance: Lisa Edwards, Executive Chair, Diligent Institute

Lisa Edwards is the Executive Chair of the Diligent Institute, the modern governance think tank and global research arm of Diligent Corporation. In her role, Lisa is responsible for expanding the institute’s position as the leading authority on governance, risk, compliance, audit and ESG trends and insights. 

Lisa previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Diligent Corporation, where she was responsible for commercial growth and performance, including global sales, marketing, customer success, services, partnerships and 24/7/365 worldwide support. 

Before joining Diligent, Lisa served as EVP of Strategic Business Operations at Salesforce after a finance leadership role running Global Corporate Services. Prior to Salesforce, Lisa led global strategic partnerships for Visa, Inc. as SVP/Head of Global Strategic Alliances and Global IP Strategy and earlier served in an operations role as Head of Global Corporate Services. Earlier in her career, she was a serial entrepreneur, serving as CEO of KnowledgeX, a venture-backed database startup which she led in a sale to IBM and co-founder of Valubond, a fintech firm where she served as President, COO, and head of the ATS (Alternative Trading System) prior to its acquisition by Knight Capital.

Bard MBA’s Hannah Hintz speaks with Lisa for this episode of the Impact Report. 

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