Kathryn Wendell has over two decades of experience leading global sustainability, ESG, corporate responsibility, and social entrepreneurship programs within the business and higher education sectors.
Kathryn lives in Boulder and is the Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR) at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business. At CESR, she helps empower business leaders to drive solutions to environmental, social, and ethical challenges. Previously, she was a Director at Stanford University’s Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (known as Stanford Seed) where she managed program operations and a high performing team of ten employees. Kathryn led the development and deployment of systems and processes that enabled Stanford Seed’s programs to scale globally.
Earlier in her career, Kathryn worked as a Corporate Responsibility Manager at Chevron Corporation, a Sustainable Development Specialist at the World Bank, Program Manager at the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador, and Microloan Officer at Accion.
Currently she serves on the Advisory Board of The Climate Initiative (TCI), a national nonprofit organization. Kathryn has an MBA from UC Berkeley, an MA in Forestry & Cultural Anthropology from Yale, and a BA with honors from Dartmouth College. She speaks Spanish and has enjoyed adventure traveling through over 80 countries around the world.
Specialties: Corporate Social Responsibility, Community Engagement, Social Performance, Sustainable Supply Chain, Sustainability, International Development, Natural Resource Management, Social Investment, Social Entrepreneurship, Community Relations, Indigenous Peoples, Microfinance, Sustainable Development, Public private partnerships, Latin America, Protected Areas.
