Alumni of the Week: Amanda Medress

CSR Reporting Uber-Nerd
Foresight: USDS/Immersion 2006 Fellow, Staff 2009-2011

Currently: Stakeholder Engagement Manager for the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Career Path: USDS/Immersion 2006 > B.A. Creative Writing and Environmental Studies from Oberlin College > Foresight Design > Edelman (where I transformed into a CSR reporting uber-nerd that led me to) > SASB

Next Step: My current project is to understand sustainability from an investor perspective, and to learn to translate sustainability in a way that resonates with this audience. More mainstream investors acknowledging the financial impact of sustainability issues will increase the demand for clear and comparable sustainability data. Investor demand will cause corporations to listen. As Peter often says, it’s about system-wide transformation—in this case, transforming capital markets to account for sustainability

Personal Sustainability: I used to shy away from sharing CSR articles on Facebook, as I knew many of my family and friends weren’t immersed in this topic. But I’ve since realized that just because they’re not immersed, doesn’t mean they’re not curious to learn.

Currently Reading: Sustainability bloggers I like to follow include Marc Gunther, Andrew Winston, Joel Makower and Aman Singh.

Recommendations for Sustainability-Interested People: Brewing your own kombucha is easier than you think! And involves adopting a cool organism (a SCOBY, symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast).

Foresight Memories: One of our USDS/Immersion projects was to advise the Museum of Science and Industry on creating a more sustainable energy exhibit—their exhibit at the time lauded oil as the energy of the future. I remember marveling at the discrepancy between how quickly sustainability issues were progressing and how slowly some large institutions were able to respond (understandably so).

Next Gen Advice: There are plenty of opportunities to work with purpose, in all sectors. You don’t have to settle.

Dream Job: A few years ago, I had the opportunity to write and illustrate an environmental children’s book. I’d like to really study this art form and have another go at creating one of my own.