A very important component of my Social Entrepreneurship class this semester is to work on real world projects that can potentially have real use for social enterprise organizations. Two of the projects involved making strategic recommendations for Greyston Bakery, an innovative social enterprise that's focused on making hiring practices more equitable, and Career Gear, a nonprofit that helps underserved men to enter or reenter the workforce so that they can be better contributors to their families and communities (I'm the co-chair of the board of directors for Career Gear).
We were very fortunate to have board members from both organizations for us in class today to see student presentations: Susanna Moyer from Career Gear, and Joan Binstock and Andrew Yearley from Greyston. It is so important for students to get the experience of presenting to not only their peers, but also accomplished professionals and leaders who have direct knowledge of the subject matter being presented. The students also had the opportunity to do field research at both organizations and conduct primary research and interviews with staff and other stakeholders.
Thank you so much Susanna, Joan, and Andrew for visiting our campus and for taking time out of your schedule to make this experience very memorable for our students!
Bios:
Susanna Moyer is an entrepreneurial creative director, business executive and educator. She has managed multi million dollar brands, developed business strategies and elevated design team levels driving business results.
Her experience in the fashion industry in both women’s and menswear has led her to work for a number of high profile brands including Christian Dior Paris, Liz Claiborne and Hickey Freeman. During 10 years Susanna designed, financed and oversaw all operations of her namesake collection selling to Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and over 250 specialty stores.
Susanna serves on the board as the Creative Director for CADA, (Council of Asian Designers of America), Issachar Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Career Gear, a nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to empower men to look and feel their best while entering or reentering the workforce.
Susanna is currently a Part-Time Assistant Professor at Parsons School of Design teaching in the BFA and MPS programs and Adjunct Professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology. She has created sustainable and ethical modules as a Visiting Professor at The American University in Paris, and has taught and lectured for LIM College, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), FIDM, Parsons Paris and Wenzhou University. Susanna is a member of Fashion Consort an agency of experts and professionals who create, produce and deliver content that inspires, entertains and educates businesses, students and consumers, with a focus on current issues, innovations and authentic human connections.
Susanna received a BFA from Parsons School of Design and MPS at The Fashion Institute of Technology in the Global Fashion Management graduate program.
Joan is chief financial officer and a partner at Lord Abbett & Co. She has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, and was formerly the chief operating officer at Morgan Grenfell Capital Management.
Joan has an extensive background in operations, as well as in financial and regulatory issues facing the financial services industry. Her previous positions include principal and national director of Investment Management Regulatory Consulting at Ernst & Young LLP, vice president and director of Compliance at JPMorgan Mutual Funds, chief administrative officer at BEA/Credit Suisse, and chief administrative officer for the Capital Markets Group at Goldman Sachs.
Joan currently serves on the board of directors for the Association of Institutional Investors and is a certified public accountant. She holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BA from the State University of New York.
Andrew is a managing director in Lazard’s Restructuring Group in North America, and has over 20 years of experience in the restructuring field.
His background includes work as a vice president at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown’s Restructuring Group (originally BT Alex Brown), and positions in the Restructuring and Reorganization Group at Ernst & Young LLP, the Structured Finance Division of Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Leveraged Transactions Group at BZW, the investment-banking arm of Barclays PLC.
Andrew has expertise in a wide range of corporate finance activities, including restructurings and reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia Business School, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and New York University’s Stern School of Business, teaching case studies on the topic of restructuring. He also is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences.
Andrew holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Duke University.