Presidian Blog
Learning the Language of the New Economy
I was a humanities major as an undergrad. Asian Studies, with a concentration in Japanese language. Part of the challenge of learning a new language for me was this: It was not just the words I needed to learn, it was an entire way of thinking, a world view, and a shared cultural understanding. In …
Teaching entrepreneurship in prison: Learning how to run a business from behind bars
This article was originally published on geekwire.com on November 5, 2015. Sonja Skvarla is an alumni of Pinchot University’s MBA in Sustainable Business. She launched A Social Ignition in 2011 while still a student at Pinchot. Today’s class is about failure. Sonja Skvarla, who teaches the basics of entrepreneurship in this small classroom twice …
Steve Schein Interview: The Hidden Power of Environmental Worldviews
Why do we do what we do as sustainable practitioners? It’s a question that comes up again and again in circles of sustainability. People like myself who do this work at institutions like Presidio want to know where did the motivations come from that give people the well of strength to be sustainable business leaders? …
Alumna Lyrica McTiernan (C11) Makes The Business Case For Sustainability At Facebook
Name: Lyrica McTiernan Cohort: C11 Company: Facebook Title: Sustainability Manager Interview by Dany Warman (C19/PA5) I had the opportunity to attend Facebook’s Sustainability @Scale 2015 event this Summer. The event overall was very inspiring, and I got to meet Alyssa Holt and Lyrica McTiernan, the two alumni leading sustainability changes at Facebook. After playing phone and …
Three ways Presidio Graduate School prepared me for my EDF Climate Corps Fellowship
If you’re looking for reassurance that today’s energy problems are being considered by the best and the brightest our generation has to offer, look no further than the 117 EDF Climate Corps Fellows deployed across the country this summer. The fellowship program recruits and trains top graduate students, traditionally from MBA and engineering programs, …
In the News: Startups by Ned LeBlond (C15) & Valéria Miranda (C10) are solving social problems
Published in: Santa Cruz Sentinel Business Alumnus Ned LeBlond (C15) enters the startup world as a social entrepreneur with his new venture EquityStone (@EquityStone). A social non-profit public-private partnership connecting homeowners to ideal renters to help pay their mortgages. Ned is tackling the affordable housing shortage by meeting the needs of homeowners struggling to pay their …
Sustainability Champion Erin Decker (C10) Joins Market Leader Renewable Choice Energy
Published in CSR News Renewable Choice Energy announced today that Erin Decker (C10) has joined their team as a Senior Director of Business Development to oversee their growing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) division. Previously, Erin was at Salesforce who lead their global sustainability team by setting a 100% renewable energy commitment and strategy. Decker earned her …
Presidian at Large: From Filmmaker to Digital Strategist
During a short visit to Boulder, CO for a friend’s wedding, I had the opportunity to connect with alumnus Scott Bright (C17) – a.k.a. ‘ScottieB‘- and learn about how Presidio Graduate School prepared him for his dream job. Alumnus: Scott Bright (aka ScottieB) C17 Location: Boulder, CO Company: Mondo Robot – Creative Digital Agency Title: Digital Strategist …
Aligning Entrepreneur and Investor Incentives
This post was originally published on lunarmobiscuit.com on August 25, 2015. In the last post, I talked about how revenue-based investments are a lower cost of capital than traditional equity. In this post, as promised, I’ll explain how they also better align the incentives of an investor with the entrepreneur. To start with, always remember …
Transition To A Career In Sustainable Business
Smart. Successful. Professional. Ambitious. Confident. I associate these words with management professionals and my classmates at Presidio Graduate School (PGS). Genuine. Selfless. Positive. Passionate. Dedicated. These characteristics may not always be the first ones used to describe business people, but these words clearly described my fellow classmates at PGS. Presidio offers a truly unique management …