1. Eric Orts, Wharton IGEL
Personal Bio:
Eric Orts is the Guardsmark Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He’s a tenured professor in the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department with a secondary appointment in Management. He also serves as the faculty director of the Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL): https://igel.wharton.upenn.edu/. He has an extensive academic research record, including two books published by Oxford University Press on Business Persons: A Legal Theory of the Firm (rev. ed. 2015) and The Moral Responsibility of Firms (co-edited, 2017). He lives in West Philadelphia with his wife Julie, a dog Butterbean, and Zen Dude Cat.
Why are you interested in joining the Board? Provide an explanation of the skills, expertise and unique value that you would bring to the Board.
I am interested in joining the board of SBN to help advance its mission. I have experience on other nonprofit boards (First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, the French International School of Philadelphia, and currently the Global CO2 Initiative of the University of Michigan), and I believe that my experience for more than a decade as the founding director of the Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership at Wharton would provide value as well. I have taught at Wharton since 1991, and so my general experience in a leading business school should also prove to be a source of some useful knowledge.
What do you personally hope to gain from participating on the SBN Board, and what would make this position meaningful and worthwhile to you?
I am interested personally in making connections in the local sustainable business community. Most of my interactions at Wharton have involved large firms, but I now see smaller enterprises as key to larger scale transformation. Smaller enterprises are often able to commit more strongly to sustainable goals than large enterprises governed by financial measurements of performance rather exclusively. I would also personally benefit from seeing SBN expand and become more powerful in the local community. I have also become more interested in the political power of well-intentioned businesses to effect change. See my recent talk: https://vimeo.com/359380200
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2. Kim Quick, Sustrana
Personal Bio:
Kim Quick provides consulting services to organizations seeking to manage and realize performance improvements through sustainability best practices. She also teaches a graduate-level class at the University of Pennsylvania, Leading Change for Sustainability. Through her consulting work, she has helped a wide range of organizations align sustainability goals with business strategies. Kim's big picture purpose is to be a commitment to modelling mindful, positive, and courageous leadership in service of a flourishing world. She lives with her family in Mt. Airy, just a short walk from the beautiful Wissahickon Valley Park.
Why are you interested in joining the Board? Provide an explanation of the skills, expertise and unique value that you would bring to the Board.
I love being part of the SBN community and attending events every chance I get. I am inspired by the incredible work that SBN and its impact-driven members are doing in the Greater Philadelphia region. To serve as a member of the Board would be a great pleasure and honor. There is so much to be done to bring about a flourishing world. I believe that my background in sustainability management, expertise in strategic planning, and strong relationship building skills will be a valuable contribution to the Board.
What do you personally hope to gain from participating on the SBN Board, and what would make this position meaningful and worthwhile to you?
As a member of the Board, I would seek to deepen existing relationships and form new connections with members of the SBN community. As a lifelong learner, being exposed to new concepts and innovative approaches to advancing business as a force for good would make the position meaningful and worthwhile. Playing a role in co-creating these approaches would be the ultimate reward for my service on the Board. Thank you for considering my application!
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3. Jenn Richey Nicholas, Pixel Parlor
Personal Bio:
Jenn Richey Nicholas is a Partner and Creative Director for the Certified B Corp design studio, Pixel Parlor. Driven by a passion to push the boundaries of design and empower thoughtful organizations, she leads a team that specializes in branding, print, environmental graphics, and web design. Jenn’s continuous effort has helped transform the studio into a triple bottom line business that focuses on supporting people, the planet, and profit. Pixel Parlor is a three time winner and proud recipient of the B Corp Best for the World Changemaker award.
Why are you interested in joining the Board? Provide an explanation of the skills, expertise and unique value that you would bring to the Board.
As an owner of a B Corp who is actively engaged in the community, I seek to use my passions and business to help support and create innovative business practices focused on sustainability and socially conscientious endeavors for the city of Philadelphia and beyond.
As a design thinker who has experience studying the built environment, and infrastructure via the languages of urban planning, landscape, architecture, print and interactive design, on a city and regional scale, my perspective can help bring multi-dimensional problem solving, communication strategies, and human connection to SBN to help increase impact across industries.
What do you personally hope to gain from participating on the SBN Board, and what would make this position meaningful and worthwhile to you?
My hopes to gain from joining the SBN Board include learning directly from and building relationships with peers who are equally passionate about sustainability, and engaging in a deeper focus and concentration on sustainability and social issues so that I can bring innovation back to my business and to my clients to help create a more efficient and substantial impact.
As a triple bottom line business, maintaining focus on the issues requires constant devotion to learning, innovating, and implementing strategies, keeping up with technologies, and brainstorming new ways to use these techniques in innovative ways to increase impact.
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4. Micah Shapiro, PEER Environmental
Personal Bio:
Micah Shapiro; landscape architect, father, entrepreneur. Since finishing his Landscape Architecture degree in the early 00’s Micah has had his finger on the pulse of the stormwater management industry throughout the Mid‐Atlantic region. A Philly area local, Micah has been positioned as office‐bound site designer, construction superintendent, and grant writer, as well as started, purchased, dissolved, and operated businesses. Most recently he spends his days as the Director of Design‐Build at PEER Environmental, creating and operating engineered stormwater management systems in the Philadelphia area. His nights and weekends are all about his son and getting outside.
Why are you interested in joining the Board? Provide an explanation of the skills, expertise and unique value that you would bring to the Board.
I am knowledgeable, intelligent, outspoken, and I present well. I have experience with small businesses, sustainable systems, and hiring from underserved communities. My professional and personal networks are extensive and diverse. Additionally, my demographic and professional background bring additional diversity to the board.
What do you personally hope to gain from participating on the SBN Board, and what would make this position meaningful and worthwhile to you?
I have been active with the organization since 2010 and have always felt that I am among like-minded people. Especially since Anna has taken the reigns, I have never felt like I was too small to be heard or that my opinion was unwanted. Anna and her staff have been instrumental in the most recent growth that my company has experienced, and I’d like to give back to the organization as much as I have received.
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5. Chris Jacobs
Personal Bio:
Chris is a management consultant specializing in the intersection of public policy and technology. He works with trusted locally focused organizations to empower individuals, families, and communities to take control of their lives.
Chris was the Chief Executive Officer of Communally, a mission-driven Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp that combined technology and public policy with a commitment to community outreach to deliver practical solutions to the complex problems of poverty.
He has also held leadership positions in Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, international technology consortia, a national labor union and many political campaigns. He has lived and worked in six countries on four continents and, ultimately, chose to settle down, build a company and grow a family in Philadelphia.
Please describe your experience on the SBN Board and why you would like to serve for a 2nd term.
I came onto the Board 3 years ago with a very specific goal: To expand the understanding of “sustainability” to encompass the economic needs of low-income urban and rural communities, the equitable capital requirements of social impact companies, the recognition that workers must balance effort with replenishment to avoid burn out, as well as environmental stewardship.
As I look at the composition of the Board today and the Policy Statement that it approved this year I can see how far we have come down that path. Both within SBN and the wider Philadelphia community we are seeing a recognition that issues of racial and economic equity are closely linked to environmental challenges not in opposition to each other. Clearly our task is not complete, and I would be honored to be able to continue to work with such a thoughtful, lively, articulate group of Board members and staff who support each other through challenges and triumphs. |
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