We’re happy to have Cecily Joseph join our community as an Expert in Residence (EIR) for the spring 2020 semester. She will offer her expertise to PGS students on the latest sustainability thinking, based on her vast experience. For over 20 years, Cecily has developed and managed programs and teams in environmental sustainability and has served on several non-profit boards. She is the former vice president of corporate responsibility at Symantec Corporation and now serves on the board of directors of Net Impact, a global non-profit focused on addressing social and environmental challenges.
As she applied sustainability practices and principles in Symantec, Cecily says she brought a perspective “that was always new, and that challenged the company to think differently.”
For instance, she sees the connection of diversity to sustainability, which she promoted at Symantec. “In approaching diversity as a focus area and pillar of corporate responsibility, we were able to elevate it as a priority for the company and hold the company accountable early on,” Cecily explains.
As an EIR at the Presidio Graduate School, Cecily plans to share her expertise in ensuring that the corporate sector “is impactful in creating positive environmental and societal change and that our future leaders will drive that change either as internal agents or as external catalysts.”
She says she will share her experiences in the technology sector with the PGS community to “help them on their journey of becoming impact leaders.”
“I believe strongly in sustainability as a driver of business value, the intersection of diversity and corporate responsibility, and shared value-leveraging philanthropy for business and society,” she affirms.
PGS students will certainly benefit from Cecily’s business expertise, and the school will surely benefit from her vast network. She says: “I look forward to sharing my insights with the PGS community on what skills corporations are looking for in their next-generation leaders.”
