Welcome Missy Martin, 2024 CRB Fellow
The Center for Responsible Business is proud to introduce Missy Martin as our 2024-2026 Fellow. The inception of the CRB Fellowship in 2011 is a symbol of our commitment to advancing graduates who will redefine conventional business practices and strive for impressive social impact. Missy’s dynamic education and professional experience present her as a change-maker and an embodiment of Haas’ Defining Leadership Principles.
Meet Missy, In Her Own Words
Tell us a little about yourself…
I am a community builder, an environmentalist, and a creative. I was born and raised in Illinois, and since then, I have enjoyed living in multiple states across the U.S. Living in different regions has taught me about unique approaches to sustainability and social impact. I believe we can all learn from each other. To facilitate more collaboration, I am currently developing a 12-city national salon dinner series focused on sustainable food systems. Before this series, I was the Chief Sustainability Officer at a blockchain startup called Sapien, exploring areas such as regenerative business models, social impact through blockchain, and decentralized science. Prior to Sapien, I supported business development at circular economy platform, Loop, as well as led leadership development and mentorship programs at Tesla and BEACN. I am a former participant in Harvard’s Executives in Sustainability Leadership program and graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Society and Environment. In my free time, I love dancing, practicing yoga, learning the cello, writing poetry, roaming bookstores, and playing Bananagrams.
What drew you to the sustainability and social impact space?
My passion for the sustainability and social impact space stems from my childhood. Growing up, my mom always emphasized supporting and serving our local community — whether it was through coordinating clothing drives, organizing electronics recycling, or gifting homemade lasagna and homegrown lilac flowers. Her example cultivated a deep sense of responsibility, appreciation, and love for people and the planet. In school, my sustainability interest evolved further with environmental education. One of my earliest sustainability memories is from second grade. The fifth graders visited our class to give a 5-minute talk on water conservation, and immediately, I felt the need to take action. It was the first time I learned that humans have a large impact on the planet, and I can be a part of creating a more harmonious relationship with the environment. I often come back to that memory because it serves as a reminder that even a short conversation can change someone’s life. For me, the fifth graders planted a seed from which my entire career grew.
Why did you choose UC Berkeley Haas?
Berkeley Haas is a magical place. There is no place like it. The community, passion, and innovation are unparalleled. I had the opportunity to take Haas classes as a Berkeley undergraduate student, and I learned a lot about the world and myself. Those classes opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and perceiving the systems around us, especially through sustainability and equity lenses. I wanted to come back and build on those experiences. In addition, as someone with a nontraditional business school background, I knew Haas was a perfect fit. Haas not only welcomes diverse experiences but celebrates and sees them as catalysts for innovation. I resonate with Haas’ Defining Leadership Principles, specifically “question the status quo,” as I am someone who is known to take less conventional paths to inspire positive change.
What do you hope to achieve by joining the CRB?
There is incredible sustainability and social impact work happening not only at Haas but at Berkeley as a whole and beyond. As a fellow, I hope to act as a bridge and relationship builder for the Center for Responsible Business, supporting its vibrant community and developing valuable and strategic partnerships across multiple spaces to further its impact. As a Berkeley College of Natural Resources alum, I think I have a unique perspective of sustainability and social impact initiatives happening outside of the business school. Beyond Berkeley, I have worked in intersectional environmentalism in different capacities for about a decade. I hope to cross-pollinate my experiences, skills, and relationships from my undergraduate and professional journeys with the needs, goals, and resources of the center. I believe that collaboration is powerful, and I am excited to facilitate more cross-disciplinary dialogue to promote collective action.
What motivates you and what are you excited about for the future?
I am motivated and inspired by the next generation’s leaders. For the past 8 years, I have mentored amazing and passionate students for an international sustainability competition. Out of thousands of students, only 12-16 are selected as finalists to work on their own high-impact climate action projects, and it is with these innovative projects that I help students ideate, plan, and execute their goals. I have supported a variety of projects, such as implementing an agricultural food program in Mexico and creating a medical school’s environmental justice curriculum here in the United States. Every year I am impressed by students’ tenacity, creativity, and thoughtfulness. I am reminded that there is an abundance of new ideas, energy, and hope for the future, motivating and re-energizing my passion for sustainability and social impact. Mentorship has inspired me to work toward a career as a ‘pracademic’, or someone who is actively practicing in their field and teaching in academia. I am excited about the potential to work in the sustainability space while also being a business professor who teaches sustainability and supports students in their innovative ideas for a more responsible and regenerative society.
About the Fellowship
The CRB Fellowship is one of the ways the Center encourages the development of business leaders who will redefine business for a sustainable future and address the great challenges of our time. Started in 2011, the CRB Fellows are part of a growing network of graduates leading the movement to integrate sustainability into their work and the practices of the firms that employ them.
The CRB Fellowship is graciously funded by retired Goldman Sachs Partner and CRB Senior Advisory Board Member Scott Pinkus. Upon earning the fellowship, this thought-leader serves as a liaison between the Center for Responsible Business and the Haas student body and receives automatic placement on the CRB Student Advisory Board to help calibrate and accelerate the agenda for the CRB. Additional benefits include close access and mentorship from our Senior Advisory Board, CRB Staff and Faculty, and donor Scott Pinkus.
