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Colleagues

Colleagues

From faculty to students, there are many social impact and sustainability colleagues at Ross and the University of Michigan at large.  Find like-minded impact advocates and resources in the sections below. Need another kind of resource?  You may find it in our Careers section.

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Gerardo Ampudia

MBA (’23)
gampudia@umich.edu

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Akbar Arsiwala

MBA (’24)
arsiwaak@umich.edu

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Aman Bedi

MBA (’24)
amanbedi@umich.edu

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Annie Eng

MBA (’25)
annieeng@umich.edu

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Josh Ferguson

MBA (’24)
joshferg@umich.edu

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Jason Herzfeld

MBA (’24)
herzfeld@umich.edu

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Jacob Kennedy

MBA (’25)
jacoken@umich.edu

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Supreya Kesavan

MBA (’24)
skesavan@umich.edu

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Mahima Obhrai

MBA (’24)
mobhrai@umich.edu

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Katie Plaxe

MBA (’23)
kplaxe@umich.edu

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Maddie Parrish

MBA (’24)
maddiejp@umich.edu

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Nick Rojas

MBA (’24)
nerojas@umich.edu

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Drashti Thakrar

MBA (’24)
dthakrar@umich.edu

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Aiko Ueda

MBA (’23)
aikou@umich.edu

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Vivek Varma

MBA (’24)
vivekvar@umich.edu

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Christian Warner

MBA (’24)
jcwarner@umich.edu

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Richard Wu

MBA (’24)
richqwu@umich.edu

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Robin Baker

(MBA ’24)
robinfb@umich.edu

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Chloe Bally

(MBA ’24)
ballyc@umich.edu

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Jill Dannis

(MBA/MS ’24)
jdannis@umich.edu

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Eli Forrester

(MBA/MS ’24)
eliforr@umich.edu

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Qamar Ghani

(MBA ’24)
qghani@umich.edu

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Victoria Jenkins

(MBA/MS ’24)
jenkinv@umich.edu

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Yashvi Patel

(MBA ’25)
yashvip@umich.edu

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Mackenzie Paull

(MBA ’24)
mpaull@umich.edu

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Ricardo Peres-da-Silva

(BBA ’25)
rpds@umich.edu

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Brianna Ross

(MBA ‘ 25)
bvross@umich.edu

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Liam Sullivan

(MBA ’24)
liamsull@umich.edu

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Allison Weina

(BBA ’24)
aweina@umich.edu

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Faye Xiao

(BBA/CS ’25)
xiaofx@umich.edu

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Ariana Almas

Global Diversity & Inclusion - Mgr of Employee Forums, Microsoft
arianana@umich.edu

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Karen Biddle Andres

Director of Policy and Market Solutions - Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
karenbiddleandres@gmail.com

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Lily Hamburger

Director of Small Business Attraction & Retention - Detroit Economic Growth Corp.
lilyham@umich.edu

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Neesha Modi

Senior Program Officer - Kresge Foundation
nbmodi@umich.edu

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Paula Reinman

Marketing Strategist - Impactful
preinman@impactful-marketing.com

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Allie Schachter

Director of Development - Greater Boston Food Bank
schachtr@umich.edu

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Charlene Franke

Finance & Operations Analyst - Washington Area Community Investment Fund, Inc.
cfranke@umich.edu

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Matthew Muench

Director of Workforce - Innovation City of Chicago
muench.matthew@gmail.com

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Allan Afuah

Ross School of Business Professor of Strategy
afuah@umich.edu

Professor Allan Afuah has authored six books. His latest research focuses on how crowdsourcing, multi-sided platforms, and business model innovation can be used to explain how to create wealth, even in countries that have remained desperately poor despite being heavily endowed with natural resources.
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Ravi Anupindi

Ross School of Business Colonel William G. and Ann C. Svetlich Professor of Operations Research and Management, Professor of Technology & Operations, Faculty Director, Center for Value Chain Innovation
anupindi@umich.edu

Professor Ravi Anupindi’s main research areas include supply chain management, strategic sourcing, supply chain risk, lean operations, supply chain sustainability, value chains for economic development and health care delivery in low and middle income countries. Under a USAID grant, he has assisted University of Johannesburg in South Africa develop a graduate degree program in Supply Chain Management.
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Norm Bishara

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Business Law and Business Ethics
nbishara@umich.edu

Norm Bishara teaches business law and business ethics at the Ross School, where his research is focused on human capital law and policy, corporate governance, and corruption issues. He has previously taught nonprofit management and presented on international nonprofit and social enterprise issues with the William Davidson Institute. Professor Bishara has coached the Ross BBA nonprofit case competition team and covered social entrepreneurship, base of the pyramid, CSR, and related issues in both his BBA and graduate-level business ethics classes. He volunteers with several local nonprofits, including Growing Hope, the Neutral Zone, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.
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Thomas Buchmueller

Ross School of Business Waldo O. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Chair of Business Economics and Public Policy
tbuch@umich.edu

Professor Buchmueller is a health economist who is an expert on the economics of health insurance and related public policies. He has done extensive research on the link between health insurance and the labor market in the U.S., consumer demand for health insurance, the interaction between public policies and private insurance markets, and health care reform. He is an expert affiliate of Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan’s major initiative dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of poverty.
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Paul Clyde

Ross School of Business President, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, Tom Lantos Professor of Business Administration, Movses and Maija Kaldjian Collegiate Lecturer of Business Economics and Public Policy
pclyde@umich.edu

Professor Clyde’s recent work in emerging markets has focused on health care delivery to the poor in emerging markets. Over the past fifteen years he has advised or run 70 health-care projects in twelve different low or middle-income countries. He has worked with faculty from the Medical School, Nursing School and Law School in developing a financially self-sustainable health care business model that serves the poor.
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David Hess

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Business Law
dwhess@umich.edu

David Hess’ research and teaching are in the areas of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and related corporate governance issues. He has conducted research on the governance of public pensions in the United States and in developing countries. In the near future, he plans to investigate the issues surrounding the new legal structures for hybrid organizations (e.g., low-profit, limited liability companies, etc).
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Andrew J. Hoffman

Ross School of Business; School of Natural Resources & Environment Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise; Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Natural Resources; Director of Global Sustainable Enterprise
ajhoff@umich.edu

Dr. Andrew (Andy) Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan; a position that holds joint appointments at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources & Environment. Professor Hoffman’s research uses a sociological perspective to understand the cultural and institutional aspects of environmental issues for organizations. In particular, he focuses on the processes by which environmental issues both emerge and evolve as social, political and managerial issues.
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Aneel Karnani

Ross School of Business Professor of Strategy
akarnani@umich.edu

Professor Karnani’s interests are focused on three topics: strategies for growth, global competition, and the role of business in society. He is interested in global competition, particularly in the context of emerging economies. Karnani researches poverty reduction and the appropriate roles for the private sector, the state and civil society. He is interested in how society can strike the appropriate balance between private profits and public welfare in tackling major societal problems.
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Gautam Kaul

Ross School of Business John C. and Sally S. Morley Professor of Finance
kaul@umich.edu

Dr. Gautam Kaul is the founding Managing Director of the Social Venture Fund (SvF) housed in the Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies. He has published extensively in the top journals on topics covering a wide spectrum of finance and is a leader in developing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Coursera. He was awarded the Senior Faculty Research Award for sustained, exceptional, and continuing contributions to scholarly research in the field of business, and noteworthy contributions to building and maintaining a strong research environment at the Ross School of Business.
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Aradhna Krishna

Ross School of Business Dwight F. Benton Professor of Marketing
aradhna@umich.edu

Professor Aradhna Krishna’s research focuses on how sensory inputs impact consumers’ perceptions, judgements and decisions. Dr. Krishna also studies how contextual factors and design interfaces affect behavior with a focus on food and health, corporation social responsibility and donation, and voting behaviors.
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Jun Li

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Technology and Operations, Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow
junwli@umich.edu

Li conducts research in empirical operations management and business analytics spanning areas across revenue management and pricing, healthcare management, supply chain risks and corporate social responsibility, and public sector operations. Her current research centers around improving the wellbeing of children and young adults through better education and care.
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Bill Lovejoy

Ross School of Business Associate Dean for Specialty Programs, Raymond T. J. Perring Family Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Technology and Operations, Professor of Art, School of Art and Design
wlovejoy@umich.edu

Professor Bill Lovejoy has worked with companies on new product development, the management of innovation, and process assessment and improvement; and with hospitals and clinics on health care operations. He is currently the faculty co-director for the University of Michigan’s Master of Entrepreneurship degree and an expert affiliate of Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan’s major initiative dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of poverty.
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Ted London

Ross School of Business Ford Motor company clinical professor of business administration; Senior research fellow, William davidson institute; area chair of business administration
tlondon@umich.edu

Ted London is the Ford Motor Company Clinical Professor and Area Chair of Business Administration at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and a senior research fellow at the William Davidson Institute. An internationally recognized expert on the intersection of business strategy and poverty alleviation, his research focuses on how organizations can achieve impact at scale, with a particular focus on building sustainable, scalable enterprises for low-income markets.
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Thomas Lyon

Ross School of Business Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Professor of Natural Resources
tplyon@umich.edu

Professor Lyon is a leader in using economic analysis to understand corporate environmental strategy and how it is shaped by emerging government regulations, non-governmental organizations, and consumer demands. His current research focuses on corporate environmental information disclosure, greenwash, the causes and consequences of renewable energy policy, and voluntary programs for environmental improvement. His teaching experience includes energy economics and policy, environmental governance, non-market strategy, regulation, managerial economics, business and government, game theory, business strategy, and the management of innovation.
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Dave Mayer

Ross School of Business Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations
dmmayer@umich.edu

Professor Mayer’s research interests concern social and ethical issues in organizations. Specifically, he conducts research in three major areas: (1) behavioral ethics, (2) organizational justice, and (3) workplace diversity. A hallmark of his research is a focus on the effects of the organizational context (e.g., leadership, coworkers, climate) on employees’ unethical and pro-social behavior.
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Nigel Melville

Ross School of Business Associate Professor of Technology and Operation
npmelv@umich.edu

Professor Melville has over 20 years of experience researching, teaching, and consulting on the topic of organizational transformation enabled by digital information systems. His recent research examines how the information systems field could help society and business interests make the transition to a sustainable world.
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Sarah Miller

Ross School of Business Assistant Professor, Business Economics and Public Policy
mille@umich.edu

Sarah Miller is an assistant professor of business economics and public policy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Miller’s research interests are in health economics and, in particular, the short-term and long-term effects of public policies that expand health insurance coverage. In addition to her work on health economics, she is also a principal investigator in the Open Research Lab Guaranteed Income Randomized Controlled Trial.
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Dana Muir

Ross School of Business Robert L. Dixon Collegiate Professor of Business, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Business Law, Area Chair of Business Law
dmuir@umich.edu

Professor Muir is a nationally recognized expert on fiduciary and remedial issues especially in the fields of investments, pension plan funding, plan investment selection and investment policies, and investment advice. She is a passionate supporter of Ross School research showing that business can play a positive role in society and the way law supports business in playing that role. Her research reaches extensively into her peer academic community (both domestically and internationally), the legal community at-large, as well as the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the U.S. government. Her work has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts. Professor Muir was the Editor-in-Chief of the annual supplements to Employee Benefits Law, the treatise for the employee benefits field and is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel as well as a member of the College’s Board of Governors.
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Amiyatosh Purnanandam

Ross School of Business Professor of Finance
amiyatos@umich.edu

Dr. Purnanandam’s research covers a wide range of topics in financial intermediation and corporate finance. His recent research work is mostly related to banking, the subprime crisis, and mortgage finance. He is especially interested in studying the role of financial regulation and markets in promoting financial inclusion and growth in minority and low income areas. He is an expert affiliate of Poverty Solutions, University of Michigan’s major initiative dedicated to the prevention and alleviation of poverty.
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Cindy Schipani

Ross School of Business Merwin H. Waterman Collegiate Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Business Law
schipani@umich.edu

Much of Professor Schipani’s research has focused on women in business leadership positions. Her research has also included analysis of directors’ duties utilizing tools of financial economics, consideration of specific issues confronting directors of financial institutions, analysis of the corporate fiduciary duties of care and loyalty, issues of liability for environmental violations and ethical links between corporate governance and sustainable peace.
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Eric Schwartz

Ross School of Business Assistant Professor of Marketing
ericmsch@umich.edu

Professor Eric Schwartz’s expertise focuses on predicting customer behavior, understanding its drivers, and examining how firms actively manage their customer relationships through interactive marketing. His research in customer analytics stretches managerial applications, including online display advertising, email marketing, video consumption, and word-of-mouth. His work has taken him to Detroit and to Flint for work in the water crisis.
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Jagadeesh Sivadasan

Ross School of Business Buzz and Judy Newton Professor of Business Administration, Area Chair, Business Economics and Public Policy, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
jagadees@umich.edu

Jagadeesh Sivadasan is the Buzz and Judy Newton Professor of Business Administration in the Business Economics and Public Policy group of the Ross School of Business, and a faculty associate at the Institute of Social Research, at the University of Michigan. His recent research is focused on understanding the drivers of firm growth and productivity, and worker performance and mobility. Ongoing and recent work include analysis of the effect of commute improvement on worker performance, review of the recent evolution of the retail sector in the US, analysis of firm growth patterns using a novel decomposition and data on the universe of US employers, evaluation of frictions from acquisitions-related legal doctrine on firm dynamics, and examination of the effect of non-compete laws on worker mobility.
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Jim Walsh

Ross School of Business A.F. Thurnau Professor, Gerald and Esther Carey Professor of Business Administration, Professor of Management & Organizations, Professor of Strategy
jpwalsh@umich.edu

Walsh examines cross-level relationships: the influences between and among individuals, organizations, and society. Additionally, his work looks at how business leaders can make the world a better place. Broadly, how organizations enhance or undermine well-being is the study of corporate governance. His research explores the purpose, accountability, and control of the firm (and even more generally, business itself) in society.
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Glenn Bugala

Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, Business+Impact
gbugala@umich.edu

Glenn manages the marketing and communications for the Center. He has worked with a variety of local and national nonprofits in member services, events and marketing roles. He worked for Michigan Ross in Executive Education and the Marketing Communications prior to coming to Business+Impact. His work with nonprofits like the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Microsoft Healthcare Users Group, the Ann Arbor Symphony and Ann Arbor Civic Theatre has prepared him for the diverse offerings of the Center and the marketing channels utilized. Glenn has an MFA from Purdue and a BA from the University of Michigan.
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Paul Clyde

President, William Davidson Institute
pclyde@umich.edu

Prior to joining WDI, Paul Clyde served as the academic director of the part-time MBA program at Michigan Ross and as an economist in the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Over the past 15 years, he has advised or directed more than 80 healthcare, education and finance projects in more than a dozen low- and middle-income countries. Clyde received his doctorate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and his bachelor of business administration from Indiana University.
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Sarika Gupta

Managing Director, Zell Lurie Institute
sarikag@umich.edu

Sarika Gupta leads the development and execution of the Zell Lurie Institute’s student-oriented programs. In this role she also advises U-M student teams to help them advance their businesses. Sarika has extensive start-up experience as a manager, mentor, and coach. Sarika has extensive start-up experience as a manager, mentor, and coach. She served as President & CEO of Dance Telephone – a group party game, COO of V-teractive – an online gaming start-up, and Associate at MyBandStock.com – a site that delivers exclusive digital access to music fans. Additionally, she was a Senior Quantitative Research Associate at Cambridge Associates for 3 years.Sarika holds a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan College of Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
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Dr. Neil C. Hawkins

B+I Executive-in-Residence, CEO & President, World Environment Center President, Michigan Sustainability Associates Research Advisor/Instructor, Harvard University

Neil Hawkins has spent a career collaborating to define a positive and impactful role for business in global sustainable development and public policy. For 31 years, he was a key leader at Dow, ultimately serving as Chief Sustainability Officer and CVP, Environment, Health, & Safety for the last twelve years – part of the top leadership of the company. After Dow, as President of Michigan’s Erb Family Foundation, a $350mm regional philanthropy, he focused over four years on improving regional arts, the Great Lakes ecosystem, promoting environmental justice, and founding the Sustainable Business Network of Detroit. Currently, he is interim CEO and President of the World Environment Center, a leading global sustainable business association in Washington, DC; President, Michigan Sustainability Associates; and Research Advisor/Instructor at Harvard University in the Master of Sustainability program. He graduated from Harvard University with a Doctor of Science in Public Health (Environmental Health Sciences) and is also an alumnus of Georgia Tech (Health Physics/Nuclear Engineering).
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Cat Johnson

Managing Director, Business+Impact
catjohn@umich.edu

In her role as managing director of the Business+Impact Initiative, Cat leads the team in their work across the school and the University to develop and support impact-related activities. Her career spans nonprofit, social enterprise, and higher education leadership, with a focus in workforce development. Prior to joining the Business+Impact team, Cat was Chief Operating Officer at Detroit-based social enterprise Empowerment Plan. She has also worked previously at the Ross School of Business on social enterprise and social innovation programming, and with social enterprises in the U.S. and around the world. Catherine earned a BA, MBA, and MSW from the University of Michigan.
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Esther Kyte

Managing Director, Center for Positive Organizations
ekyte@umich.edu

Esther Kyte is the Managing Director at the Center for Positive Organizations. She previously served as the Associate Director of Partner Relations, bringing many years’ experience working with companies and foundations to CPO. She has consulted with companies on issues ranging from helping corporations build an ethos of sustainability far into their supply chains to setting up successful social impact programs. Esther also spent a number of years managing relationships with members at the Clinton Global Initiative and the Global Philanthropy Forum. She has a Masters of International Affairs from George Washington University and is returning to the University of Michigan community after having completed her undergraduate studies here.
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Francine Lafontaine

Associate Dean, Business+Impact
laf@umich.edu

Francine Lafontaine’s areas of interest are in the field of Industrial Organization, with a special focus on vertical relationships, including franchising and other forms of inter-firm contracting, and related antitrust issues. Her research is mostly concerned with the application of advances in contract theory to the analysis of organizational issues in the vertical chain, especially into distribution. She also considers the effect of contracting practices on firm performance, as well as issues surrounding business creation and survival in retail and small-scale service industries more generally.
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Terry Nelidov

Managing Director, Erb Institute
tnelidov@umich.edu

Terry leads the Erb Institute’s staff of seven to design and deliver sustainability impact across research, teaching and business engagement. The institute’s five-year strategic plan expands Erb’s traditional focus on strictly environmental sustainability to also consider social, labor and human-rights risks and opportunities for business. Likewise, Terry has expanded the geographic perspective of the institute’s work, to highlight the accelerating impact of emerging markets on sustainability worldwide.
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Haley Phillips

Associate Director of Student and Community Engagement
hphill@umich.edu

As Interim Program Director, Haley leads the advancement of Business+Impact’s engagement with students, faculty, staff, and partners across multiple schools and colleges through the development and implementation of programming and events, including the Board Fellowship Program, Summer Internships and Programming, Social Entrepreneurship competitions, and the Social Innovation Speaker Series. Haley also supports the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of the +Impact Studio space, programming, and graduate course. Prior to joining our team, Haley worked as a Program Assistant for community engagement programs at the School of Information. She earned her B.A. in International Relations and Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and her M.A. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan.
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Leslie Lynn

Ross School of Business, Impact Career Services
lclynn@umich.edu

Lead Career Development Office MBA Coaching Team in delivering high-quality career search coaching, and education programming. Experienced career coach to top talent MBAs, BBAs, and alumni from the Ross School who are seeking career transition or fine tuning in their career progression. Our MBA team provides coaching on self-assessment, resume writing, networking and communication, professional presence and delivery, interviewing, and negotiations. Serve on the senior leadership team for Ross CDO in steering strategy, team development, and goal planning.
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Loren Townes

Ross School of Business, Associate Director of entrepreneurship & Social Innovation
lotownes@umich.edu

Loren’s expertise is informed by years of cross-channel marketing, strategic outreach, program development, event management, and building community relations. For the last 6+ years of his career, he’s served as a Higher Education practitioner on both sides of the institution; academics and workforce & community development. Most recently, Loren served as the Manager of Corporate & Community Engagement, and Director of Ironworkers Education at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI. His primary focus was to help develop, implement, and oversee the Colleges’ engagement strategy with community-based organizations and businesses in Washtenaw County. Loren holds a BSBA and MBA from Wayne State University.