Social Innovation and Sustainability Transition (PDF)

Geoff Desa is a professor of management at the Lam Family College of Business. He is a member of the Sustainability Group within the Lam Family College of Business and teaches business and society, strategic management, and social entrepreneurship. Geoff's research examines resource mobilization and venture development in the technology and social entrepreneurship sector. He earned his Ph.D. in business from the University of Washington in Seattle with emphases in technology entrepreneurship, strategic management, and public affairs. Prior to that, Geoff worked at Novera Optics and at Hewlett Packard as an optical engineer. He earned his M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He is on the board of the Common Data Project, a technology social venture engaged in information technology privacy.


Xiangping JIA is the Chief Scientist of International Agricultural Research Group at Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). He obtained the PhD from University of Hohenheim in 2008, Germany. He has been researching a broad range of development issues associated with agricultural sustainability and innovations, combined digital and human advice in agriculture, agro-food chain governance, sustainable food systems and social finance.



He has been an advisor and consultant for several international organizations (the World Bank, FAO, IFAD, UNEP, SDC, etc.) and a variety of entities of the private sector and the civil society. Thinking and working in hybrid constructions of issues and teams, he values partnerships and impact-oriented changes from system perspectives.