The ways we've tried to make sustainability happen are not working well - and in some ways, not at all. As we approach both the fast and slow collapse of important systems, it's urgently time to reconsider our approach. Through my own reflection and experience, I've seen several things. One in particular is that we need to give up on the idea that sustainability can fit inside our current standard business model. This means sustainability can't be used just as a 'competitive advantage'… Show more The ways we've tried to make sustainability happen are not working well - and in some ways, not at all. As we approach both the fast and slow collapse of important systems, it's urgently time to reconsider our approach. Through my own reflection and experience, I've seen several things. One in particular is that we need to give up on the idea that sustainability can fit inside our current standard business model. This means sustainability can't be used just as a 'competitive advantage' and can't remain secondary to making money. Holding the thought for a moment of *how* we might even make a transition like that, let me share a bit about the *why*. One simple, logical view is that we have not figured out how to decouple economic growth from material and energy consumption (and no, the circular economy is not solving that for us, despite its promises). For every percent of growth we generate, this volume increase needs to be ‘cancelled’ out by a corresponding increase in sustainability. We continue to consume and fall further and further behind. But a more felt, emotional answer -- and this is valid way of perceiving the world, too -- is that our economic system is not serving us and the more-than-human world in meaningful, life-affirming, generation-spanning ways. Yes, we might cite statistics that say that we have on average gotten wealthier or physically healthier, but those measurements fail to acknowledge equally important aspects of meaningful lives that can't be quantified. Perhaps you can feel this yourself.Transitioning will not be simple (nor ‘practical’ - big change never is). The paradigm of growth is deeply built into our system. However, to begin I’m shifting my own work. I'm now focusing on open-sourced sustainability research and cross-organizational sustainability collaborations. See morethansustainability.com for details. And if you're interested in how I might support you, let's talk - contact me at carrie@morethansustainability.com. Show less

I am fortunate (and privileged) to have taken a six-month sabbatical from my professional engagements. I spent time regularly out in nature with the more-than-human world, with the intent of feeling and understanding more deeply: how can I - and we collectively - be in service of all life on this planet? This informed a pivot in my approach to sustainability, as reflected in my new venture, More Than Sustainability.

So why did I leave a secure professional home and a known platform, where I was regularly offered new roles?The answer is simple: mission. The circular economy represents an opportunity for businesses to both profit and minimize environmental impact—and I want to help make this a reality.My aim is to bring value chain players—from suppliers to manufacturers to customers—together in a way that amplifies the outcome for all and cuts waste from the equation.My areas of… Show more So why did I leave a secure professional home and a known platform, where I was regularly offered new roles?The answer is simple: mission. The circular economy represents an opportunity for businesses to both profit and minimize environmental impact—and I want to help make this a reality.My aim is to bring value chain players—from suppliers to manufacturers to customers—together in a way that amplifies the outcome for all and cuts waste from the equation.My areas of expertise include:☑ Reuse and redistribution☑ Remanufacturing and refurbishment☑ Closed-loop supply chain management☑ Circular economyFor these practices to be successful, there must be collaboration across and within companies, which is why my experience in cross-functional teamwork matters. In every corner of a company, employees specialize and develop their own priorities and direction. Essentially, each team has its own language. Consider me a translator between functions. I’ve done work in operations, sales and marketing, finance, and more. I speak engineers’ language. I speak sales language. Supply chain terminology? Second nature to me. My functional experience across these groups provides me with entry to all of these worlds—and as a result, I craft solutions that work companywide and forge truly circular processes. Whether you’re managing operations or sustainability, or have leadership responsibilities across a business unit, I can support you by developing and implementing strategies to create closed loops for your products. You’ll be exhilarated by how much value you can capture.When I connect people across your company, together we:☑ Develop new ways of designing, manufacturing, selling, and collecting products☑ Create staged roadmaps for increased value capture☑ Outline the change management required to execute on those plans☑ See the project through to completionConnect with me here on LinkedIn so that we can explore overlap in our interests. Show less

In an extraordinary twist, I’ve created a circular loop with my return to the educational world. Little did I know as an undergraduate at Harvard that I would become a member of the faculty one day. An early leader in the circular economy realm, I was a natural choice to spearhead this new course, Circular Economy (ENVR E-158B), at the Harvard Extension School. Having been recognized with teaching awards twice my first time at Harvard, I’m happy to return to the classroom, particularly… Show more In an extraordinary twist, I’ve created a circular loop with my return to the educational world. Little did I know as an undergraduate at Harvard that I would become a member of the faculty one day. An early leader in the circular economy realm, I was a natural choice to spearhead this new course, Circular Economy (ENVR E-158B), at the Harvard Extension School. Having been recognized with teaching awards twice my first time at Harvard, I’m happy to return to the classroom, particularly one that’s hosted in the virtual world. And since then, I've received two letters of commendation from our dean for the high instructor scores I've received from students for this class.As I attend conferences and collaborate with companies on their circular economy vision, I recognize that the complexity of this topic is no secret. It’s an emerging field, and the class reflects that shifting landscape. Together, we’ll cover: ☑ Economics☑ Business Strategy☑ Materials & Product Design☑ Consumer Behavior, and☑ Government policy, ☑ All in the context of Systems TheoryStudents will finish this class not only with core concepts but also with their own vision of where the change is heading. They’ll have the opportunity to explore and express their own beliefs about where sustainability and market forces collide: where they complement one another for remarkable opportunities, and where they create unintended impact (both positive and negative). In my discussions with interested students, I tell them to bring their critical thinking. I’m bringing my ample experience and a keen balance of optimism and pragmatism. Learn more about this web conference, discussion-based class at https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/courses/introduction-circular-economy/24785. I’m looking forward to seeing you in our virtual classroom. Show less

During my tenure at Cisco, I was promoted on average every two years due to my ability to connect across disciplines, my analytical skills, my transparency, and my commitment to each project that I tackled.As the Director for a pre-sales program, I ensured the delivery and collection of equipment for on-site customer evaluations.I managed one of four supply chains—a closed-loop supply chain, in fact; for Cisco, handling order management, outsourced warehousing, and customer… Show more During my tenure at Cisco, I was promoted on average every two years due to my ability to connect across disciplines, my analytical skills, my transparency, and my commitment to each project that I tackled.As the Director for a pre-sales program, I ensured the delivery and collection of equipment for on-site customer evaluations.I managed one of four supply chains—a closed-loop supply chain, in fact; for Cisco, handling order management, outsourced warehousing, and customer service vendors; shipping >10k orders into and back from more than 60 countries each quarter.My accomplishments in this role include:☑ Risk reduction☑ Quality improvement☑ Improved financial managementTo ensure continued delivery of our products during a transitional project, I approached it first with research and intelligence gathering. I aligned my team, and together we created dramatic and positive change, including:☑ A massive reduction in vendor financial and operational risk☑ A reduction in order shipment times of 50%☑ A decrease in quality issues by ~66%☑ A significant elevation in employee moraleMy position allowed me to interact regularly with both internal teams as well as outsourced vendors. My primary area of focus was on sales, but I also interacted regularly with our finance, tax, legal, procurement, and IT teams to optimize end-to-end processes. Ultimately, our program supported >$1B in annual sales. Show less

When I take on a new project, I drill down to the specifics of the business. Theory and research serve as my launching point, but I quickly get practical. As the leader for implementing the pilot of a new type of “build to stock” supply chain for Cisco, in this position, I unified teams within the company to create consensus and action, including:☑ System upgrades☑ On-boarding a new logistics partner☑ Revitalizing business processes to serve the needs of a new type of supply… Show more When I take on a new project, I drill down to the specifics of the business. Theory and research serve as my launching point, but I quickly get practical. As the leader for implementing the pilot of a new type of “build to stock” supply chain for Cisco, in this position, I unified teams within the company to create consensus and action, including:☑ System upgrades☑ On-boarding a new logistics partner☑ Revitalizing business processes to serve the needs of a new type of supply chainMy cross-functional team functioned seamlessly, ensuring execution to strategy due to our cohesion, the clarity of our processes, and our shared vision.The feedback I received while I served in this role included many compliments, including:☑ “Carrie is highly intelligent, and possesses a broad perspective in diverse, non-logistics areas such as marketing, HR, project and program management, etc.”☑ “Carrie has made the program what it is today ... conscientious and diligent with her ability to track down issues and execute to a plan.”☑ “I viewed her as a manager and mentor over the last year because at times she can make presenting crucial issues look so easy and she is one of those people who makes you want to strive to be a better business person because of the bar she sets with her extensive knowledge.” Show less

Value recovery was the bedrock of this position. Our team changed what was an $8-million cost center into an operation supporting more than $100 million annually in contribution margin.I was at the helm for determining the best reuse path for products returned through Cisco’s upgrade and distribution stock rotation programs, as well as managing the mechanism to match used-equipment demand to available supply.During this period, the circular economy transformation at Cisco was in… Show more Value recovery was the bedrock of this position. Our team changed what was an $8-million cost center into an operation supporting more than $100 million annually in contribution margin.I was at the helm for determining the best reuse path for products returned through Cisco’s upgrade and distribution stock rotation programs, as well as managing the mechanism to match used-equipment demand to available supply.During this period, the circular economy transformation at Cisco was in its infancy, and I was at the forefront of bringing theory into viable practice. We changed direction and stopped optimizing for recycling, instead making it a point to first finding reuse opportunities. We discovered how to support internal product needs (R&D labs, sales demo labs, etc.) with used equipment, reserving new manufacturing for revenue-generating customers. We helped expand Cisco’s refurbished equipment sales program, capturing new customers. One item of feedback that I received while I was in this role has stayed with me because it underlines the essence of my skill set: “In the area of cross-functional collaboration, this is an area I have personally seen Carrie excel. Carrie builds credibility and is very inclusive in her cross-functional process, in my opinion Carrie is one of the best collaborators within Cisco. She works tirelessly to support the team goals and often does this without agenda, this has allowed Carrie to exert tremendous influence across multiple organisations with the support base she has developed.” Show less

I have some remarkable stories about participating in international counterfeit raids in this role, where I led preventive programs to address grey marketing and counterfeiting of our products. My presence on the frontlines of Cisco’s worldwide brand protection team illustrates my involvement in every project I undertake: I handle both the big picture and the on-the-ground details. You won’t see me swooping in and imposing recommendations that don’t fit and then abandoning you… Show more I have some remarkable stories about participating in international counterfeit raids in this role, where I led preventive programs to address grey marketing and counterfeiting of our products. My presence on the frontlines of Cisco’s worldwide brand protection team illustrates my involvement in every project I undertake: I handle both the big picture and the on-the-ground details. You won’t see me swooping in and imposing recommendations that don’t fit and then abandoning you and your team to implement pie-in-the-sky ideas. I deliver practical, impactful solutions, and I will stick around to make sure they fit.While in this role, I received the following feedback: “As quoted by one of her colleagues, Carrie is a ‘wonderful resource’ within the Brand Protection team - she is widely respected for her reliability, analytical skills and intelligence. In particular, she has shown true leadership through the latest re-organization where she enthusiastically accepted a new role and manager, focusing as always on the best interest of the team as well as Cisco. In that respect, her integrity stands out.” Show less

To illustrate my dual skills of attending to the big picture alongside the important details, I tell the story of my stewardship for a 70,000-copy production run of Cisco Products Quick Reference Guide. This reference guide required a critical balance of concise but essential information. At the same time, production costs and turnaround time were critical variables. I achieved both significant cost savings (25%) as well as an expansion of content, making the publication less costly and… Show more To illustrate my dual skills of attending to the big picture alongside the important details, I tell the story of my stewardship for a 70,000-copy production run of Cisco Products Quick Reference Guide. This reference guide required a critical balance of concise but essential information. At the same time, production costs and turnaround time were critical variables. I achieved both significant cost savings (25%) as well as an expansion of content, making the publication less costly and more useful for the Cisco sales team members as well as resellers. Show less

I developed all the marketing campaigns for mathematics, science, and engineering books at this major online book retailer (later acquired by Barnes & Noble). We used digital marketing techniques that were on the cutting edge at the time.