Founded in 1987, SVN is a community of leaders. We are company founders, private investors, social entrepreneurs and key influencers who share a commitment to building a just and sustainable world through business. The relationships and initiatives born within their network have ranged from lasting friendships to investment deals to founding organizations.
Our Mission
We connect, support, and inspire business leaders and social entrepreneurs in expanding practices that build a just and sustainable economy.
Our Board of Directors
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Cindy Curtis-Rivera is the founder of Marea Alta, a design consultancy that helps purpose-driven companies fulfill their brand promises through strategic design and operations support. With a background in design, business, and systems thinking, plus years of cross-cultural experience, Cindy works with organizations to create authentic brand experiences and people-first systems that drive growth and community impact. Marea Alta (Spanish for "high tide") reflects her belief that thoughtful business practices create ripple effects that uplift entire communities.
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Dror Yaron has focused his career on humanizing education, tech, and business. He is the founder of Ethics.Coach, a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off helping conscious leaders grow their impact, income and joy.
Yaron studied at the International Center of Photography in New York. His career path includes human resources, journalism, art education, and community robotics. This diverse background informs his unique approach to coaching business humans.
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Eryn Correa is the founder of Correa Legal LLC, a mission-driven law firm that partners with startups, social enterprises, and impact-driven organizations to navigate growth with legal clarity and purpose. Drawing from her background in both corporate law and social enterprise governance, Eryn brings deep expertise in startup structuring, ESG strategy, and benefit corporation law. A longtime advocate for equitable entrepreneurship, Eryn is committed to building legal systems that reflect care, justice, and sustainability.
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Josh Knauer is a serial entrepreneur, environmental advocate, and systems thinker with a 25+ year track record of building companies and movements that align technology, business, and social impact. He has co-founded multiple ventures, including ReSeed, which helps smallholder farmers access climate finance through verified regenerative practices, and JumpScale, which supports the operational wellness of impact-driven organizations.
Earlier in his career, Josh founded Rhiza, an award-winning data analytics firm acquired by Nielsen in 2017, and Green Marketplace, one of the first e-commerce platforms for sustainable products. His ventures have been recognized with honors including the Carnegie Science Award, and he has raised over $18 million in capital while helping advise other mission-driven organizations in raising hundreds of millions more.
Appointed by President Barack Obama, Josh served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), contributing to open data and innovation initiatives across the federal government. He is also an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a frequent speaker at global events such as SXSW, CES, and AdWeek.
Passionate about building economies that include disenfranchised people, animals, and ecosystems, Josh blends deep strategy with storytelling and systems design. He’s also a lifelong nature photographer, a fosterer of rescue dogs, and the creator of the world’s first live interspecies online chat with Koko the Gorilla.
Josh serves on nonprofit boards including the Social Venture Network and WQED Multimedia, and continues to mentor emerging leaders at the intersection of tech, sustainability, and equity.
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Julia Janai Parker has worked in both the public and private sector in community development, affordable housing and impact investing.
After stints working in the US Senate and with the City of Omaha, Julia started her nonprofit career at Building Bright Futures, a nonprofit incubator supporting organizations focused on educational outcomes for children experiencing the violence of poverty. She went on to start a nonprofit strategy consultancy, Park4029 that worked with small, high growth mission-based organizations. Julia then served as Executive Director of Omaha Small Business Network (OSBN), a community development entity.
Julia has a passion for investing in BIPOC entrepreneurs and business owners which she did as Director of Economic Development at Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation a Boston area CDFI. She focused on debt capital strategy, economic mobility, financial literacy and entrepreneurship for returning citizens. Julia also served as Senior Investments Manager at Connect Humanity, a nonprofit lender focused on digital equity and internet access for all. Most recently, Julia served as Chief Lending and Impact Officer at Appalachian Community Capital, a CDFI intermediary operating in 12 states and home to the Green Bank for Rural America.
She currently leads Park4029 Consulting full-time and holds fractional positions at the New Economy Project as Manager of Cooperative and Community Investments and at the Boston Ujima Project as Managing Director of the Ujima Fund.
Julia holds a BA in Political Science and a BA in International Relations from Creighton University and a MS in Urban Studies from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Julia has an MBA from Boston College Carroll School of Management focusing on Finance and Entrepreneurship.
In her spare time, Julia enjoys being a guest on Star Trek podcasts and doing pop culture reviews on You-Tube for her favorite nonprofit The House of Afros, Capes and Curls.
Find Julia on LinkedIn
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With an MBA in business economics and accountancy, Leen started his first AI company in 1985. Over the past 40 years he started and led around 21 international companies, mainly in technology.
In 1997 he was connected to SVN an became the European Chairman. Being inspired by the entrepreneurship with a purpose he got involved in the foundation of B Lab and in 2013 he co-founded B Lab Europe, currently with around 5000 B Corps in Europe (including UK). After 7 years as a Chairman he still is involved in B Lab Europe as a Board Member.
Besides being a serial entrepreneur Leen wrote 5 bestselling management books and is a part time walnut farmer on his medieval farm in the Southwest of France.
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A sustainability-focused producer filmmaker (recovering camera person for 18 years) with over 25 years of experience, I founded Ecodeo, a video and film storytelling and content production agency dedicated to connecting audiences with climate solutions.
My career spans from Hollywood, indie film cinematography to documentary filmmaking, having worked on projects ranging from independent films to corporate, advertising, policy, and national and UN government strategic communications
Based in NYC and New England, with frequent work on the West Coast, I collaborate with progressive decision-makers, innovators, and leaders to translate complex scientific, policy, and engineering concepts into emotionally resonant content.
At Ecodeo, we create videos, films, ads, animations, and branded stories that amplify pathways to a decarbonized, healthy regenerative and equitable economy. Our mission centers on sustainability, climate justice, emissions reduction, and promoting eco solutions across all sectors, helping organizations communicate emotional connections to their work in supporting the living systems that sustain us all.
Beyond my professional pursuits, I'm an avid sailor, hiker, camper, and traveler who enjoys going off the grid. I value authentic connections with creative minds, scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, activists, educators, and leaders working toward positive change.
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Njideka U. Harry is a trusted advisor, venture philanthropist, and C-suite executive with over two decades of experience leading systems change at the intersection of business, technology, and social impact.
A frequent contributor at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Njideka serves as an advisor to the Impact Circles on Accelerating Digital Inclusion and the Digital Transformation of Industries. She collaborates with global experts across the private, public, and citizen sectors to offer strategic insights and policy recommendations focused on education and the future of work. As Global Vice President at Ashoka, she helps mobilize high-impact entrepreneurs and connects them with social innovators to align capital, networks, and influence toward solving the world’s most urgent challenges. Her expertise spans corporate strategy, innovation, and inclusive governance—shaped by early experience in the private sector and honed through years of cross-sector leadership in international development.
Njideka began her career at General Electric and later joined Microsoft, where she delivered measurable results across P&L performance and ESG goals. She eventually left Microsoft to found Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), a globally recognized education technology nonprofit that has trained over 1.6 million youth and women across four countries in developing economies. Her leadership at YTF earned her selection as a World Economic Forum Fellow and a Clinton Global Initiative commitment maker.
Njideka is widely respected for her ability to bridge philanthropy and social impact. She currently serves on several global advisory boards including YTF, Complex Chaos and the World Economic Forum’s Education 4.0 Alliance and AI for Social Innovation task forces. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the HCL Women in Technology Award and the Tachau Gender Equality Award from the Commission on the Status of Women.
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I've dedicated my career to improving people's lives, our social fabric, and the quality of our natural world through improved leadership, business performance, and operational choices, particularly in "impact" businesses.
Since my beginnings in a highly successful family business, I've been an entrepreneur, CEO of my company and of other businesses., investor, board member, and more.
My professional mission is to multiply the positive human, social, and environmental impact businesses by contributing to healthy business performance and relationships; and to do so at a scale that meaningfully contributes to bring about my vision: a world where what we now call “the green economy” or “a just economy” is the economy.
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Rose is CEO of Green Retirement, a California Benefit Corporation focused on fossil-free and socially and environmentally responsible 401k’s. She holds both Civil Engineering and Masters in Business Management degrees.
Rose has an award-winning career empowering women as a socially and environmentally responsible business leader. In 2015, Rose was recognized by the National Association of Plan Advisors as one of the Captains of Industry. For her efforts in helping B Corps connect, build, and grow their businesses, she was honored with a B Economy Leadership Award in 2018. Rose co-founded and co-led WeTheChange, a movement of “empowered women creating a radically inclusive and richly regenerative global economy.” Comprised of women CEO's of certified B Corporations and other purpose-driven enterprises, WeTheChange received the B Corp Collective Award in 2019 and again in 2020. She was recognized by Conscious Company Media as one of the World Changing Women of 2020.
Rose ran for Congress in 2024 with a pro-family, anti-poverty campaign. Despite running in a deeply conservative and majority white district, Rose is proud to have garnered over 110,000 votes, proving that there are voters who thirst for a Care Agenda which puts working peoples’ interests, rather than identity, first. She is looking forward to continuing to help forge a future with an economy that prioritizes the interests of the many; an economic system that is just and kind and fair.
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Vincent "VFerg" Ferguson is an artist, educator, and community builder from Evans, Georgia, now based in the Bronx, New York. His work sits at the intersection of creativity, technology, and human development, where he empowers individuals and communities to discover and express their fullest potential.
Vincent is the founder of Higher Level Music, a record label and cultural exchange platform that has taken him across the globe, using music, film, and storytelling to build bridges between cultures. His touring and facilitation work often centers around themes of identity, emotional resilience, and collaboration. Through his latest venture, Amplify the Human, he combines artificial intelligence, media production, and social-emotional learning frameworks to guide participants through immersive workshops that foster personal growth and collective expression.
With a strong background in education and finance, Vincent brings a unique blend of strategic thinking and creative vision. He began his career on Wall Street before shifting into the world of education and the arts. He is a proud graduate of Morehouse College and holds a Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he concentrated in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology
Vincent's work reflects a deep commitment to equity, innovation, and connection. He is passionate about helping organizations and individuals create experiences that are joyful, transformative, and grounded in purpose.
Our Team
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Operations Administrator
Pronouns: she/herEliane serves as SVN’s Operations Administrator. With a background in social entrepreneurship and a BBA from Simon Fraser University, Eliane brings five years of experience in operations, community engagement, and project management to this role. She excels at implementing scalable systems, optimizing processes, and developing strategies that enhance organizational efficiency.
Eliane’s passion for social impact extends beyond her professional life; she has served as a founding board member for Hustle at RS Dance Society for three years and founded Get Out There, an online hub connecting youth with civic, social, and environmental opportunities in Vancouver, BC.