Cynthia Rayner works with social purpose organizations and funders as a researcher and co-learner. Her research focuses on how organizations and communities work to shape social systems in collective ways. Cynthia is affiliated with the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation as an adjunct lecturer & senior researcher. She is also a Visiting Fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford Said School of Business. She is currently a PhD Candidate (ABD) at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business studying collective agency in pursuit of systems change.Cynthia is a qualitative researcher whose passion is finding "stories from the edge" that reveal the power of people in collectives. She recently co-authored a book, The Systems Work of Social Change, published by Oxford University Press in September 2021 (https://www.thesystemswork.org/). Previously, Cynthia served in several organizations, including Generation Ubuntu, an afterschool program educating children in Cape Town; mothers2mothers, an African social enterprise employing women to guide other women to good health; the Starfish Greathearts Foundation, a nonprofit supporting children and families in South Africa; and the DG Murray Trust, a family foundation committed to developing South Africa's potential through strategic investment. Cynthia also enjoys investing in small businesses that act as communities for people to achieve their personal potential. She and her sister, Erica Whalen, are the co-owners of The Yoga Common, a small business with studios in New York City & Austin, offering classes to a vibrant community of teachers, students and staff. Cynthia began her career working in the corporate sector as a management consultant. She has a B.A. in English Literature from Georgetown University and an MBA from INSEAD.