What’s the business of business?
In a fast-changing world, business and civic leaders play an increasingly important role in addressing systemic inequities and helping to solve some of our most intractable social and environmental problems.
Social Impact and Business
The Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation is the destination for students and civic and corporate leaders looking for research-backed insights and industry experts in corporate social responsibility; environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG); civic leadership; and more.
Through our research, events, supported courses, and programs, we help companies, nonprofits, and others examine the social and financial consequences of their decisions to achieve meaningful change.
Social Impact Consulting Projects
We connect corporations and nonprofits with Booth students and alumni to tackle complex social and environmental challenges.
Social Impact Consulting Projects
Social Impact Courses
Social impact courses at Booth prepare future leaders to develop effective, sustainable solutions to complex problems.
Social Impact Courses
Social Impact Competitions
Participating in a social impact competition is an unparalleled opportunity to grow your network and explore careers in the social sector.
Social Impact CompetitionsSocial Impact Events
The Rustandy Center hosts social impact events around the world, offering insights into how the sector operates and helping community members prepare to solve complex problems. Beyond the Innovating for Social Equity Series, here’s a sampling of the center’s events on this topic:
Perspectives in Sustainability
Get insights into the most challenging issues facing our planet and learn how you can use your business skills to tackle them.
Perspectives in Sustainability
Intersection of Business, Society, and Self
Learn about balancing your interest in social impact with a corporate career in this workshop series featuring prominent Booth alumni.
Intersection of Business, Society, and SelfMeet Our Executives in Residence
Our executives in residence mentor Booth students who are interested in the field and offer an industry perspective on careers and opportunities. They also share lessons learned in the field during our events.
Brian Fabes, Civic Impact
Brian Fabes is managing director of the Corporate Coalition, a collaborative of over 30 Chicago companies committed to using their assets, capabilities, and employees to address economic inequities in the region. Previously, Fabes was CEO of the Civic Consulting Alliance, senior vice president at National Louis University, associate principal at McKinsey & Company, and associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Arizona.
Brian Fabes, Civic Impact
Sonny Garg, AB ’89, MBA ’00, Civic Impact
Prior to joining DNS Capital as phunhousian in chief, Sonny Garg spent 25 years as a senior executive in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He led the energy division at Uptake Technologies, was a member of the executive committee at Exelon Corporation, and worked in the administrations of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley and US president Bill Clinton. Garg serves on the boards of the Invisible Institute and the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago.
Sonny Garg, AB ’89, MBA ’00, Civic Impact
Daphne Mazarakis, ’99, Sustainable Food and Entrepreneurship
Daphne Mazarakis is an independent food and sustainability consultant and a former consumer-packaged-goods executive. Her longest-standing clients include Grow Forward, a firm specializing in sustainable food investing, and LocalCoho, a sustainable seafood company where she also serves as a board director. Previously, Mazarakis was CEO of FairAcre Traders, a company she sold in 2017. Mazarakis also worked at Kraft Foods and Tula Foods.
Daphne Mazarakis, ’99, Sustainable Food and Entrepreneurship
Liz Michaels, AB ’88, MBA ’06 (XP-75), ESG
Liz Michaels is co-head of Aperio (part of BlackRock), where she also led Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts. Before that, Michaels led the $11 billion defined contribution managed accounts business at Ibbotson Associates, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Previously, she was Chief Operating Officer of Morningstar, president of Jellyvision, Inc., an interactive firm known for its game You Don't Know Jack™, and associate dean/director of the Career Advising and Planning Services office at the University of Chicago.
Liz Michaels, AB ’88, MBA ’06 (XP-75), ESGDive Deeper into Booth Resources in This Area
Corporate Social Responsibility Revisited
In 1970, Milton Friedman wrote a landmark op-ed about business and society. This event series examines his ideas, fifty years later.
Corporate Social Responsibility Revisited
Milton Friedman 50 Years Later, a Reevaluation
Discover an e-book collection of articles on the shareholder-stakeholder debate. The 28-piece series first appeared on ProMarket.
Milton Friedman 50 Years Later, a Reevaluation
