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Welcome to Emerson Collective.

We work in pursuit of a world where every individual has access to opportunity, health, and well-being.

We bring together entrepreneurs and academics, artists, community leaders and more to build solutions that spur measurable, lasting change. We work collectively to make the greatest difference possible.

Learn more About Us and our Issue Areas, read a Letter from Our Founder, and see How We Work.

Demo Day

Demo Day 2022

Hear from extraordinary artists, leaders, and entrepreneurs who are working at the intersection of climate, social justice, education, immigration, and health at our annual event.

Each year, Demo Day serves as a source of inspiration, reminding us that human ingenuity, idealism, and resolve can forge new possibilities for individuals, communities, and our nation. Our 2022 speakers are dedicated to finding solutions from voting rights and health equity to education and environmental justice.

This year, these leaders are united by a common thread—our changing climate. As they reimagine and reshape the world through advocacy, art, and action, their work contributes to our shared climate future.

Our Demo Day visual theme is inspired by the work of Corita Kent, a groundbreaking artist, educator, and activist.

Speakers and Performances

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford

Artist

Dario Calmese

Dario Calmese

The Institute of Black Imagination

Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D.

Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D.

College Track

Julia Collins

Julia Collins

Planet FWD

Caitlin Dickerson

Caitlin Dickerson

The Atlantic

Marc Elias

Marc Elias

Democracy Docket Legal Fund

Explore PAST EVENTS

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Climate Migration

Climate-driven migration is a global issue that’s accelerating.

Rising temperatures and climate disasters are forcing a record number of people across the world to migrate. Over 200 million individuals are expected to be displaced by 2050 due to climate crises. At Emerson Collective, we believe the imperative for action is clear—it is time for an integrated response to these deeply interconnected and urgent challenges.

Learn more about Climate Migration below.

Emerson Collective Fellowship

Meet the Climate Cohort of Emerson Collective Fellows

At Emerson Collective, we know that in order to confront the climate crisis and build a pathway to a cleaner, healthier planet, we’ll need brilliant minds working together across a wide range of disciplines to reduce carbon emissions, write equitable policies for clean energy, and articulate a vision for an abundant future for all. Yes, we need people who specialize in climate—but to truly realize that abundant future, our planet needs more. We need journalists, landscape architects, artists, lawyers, poets, entrepreneurs, chefs—and everything in between.

We believe that all of us must lend our talents to the work of protecting the planet, and making sure that all of us who share it can flourish.

This is why, this year, we are excited to announce the Climate Pivoters, a new cohort of Emerson Collective Fellows—a group of extraordinary individuals from a range of backgrounds who are each in the process of embarking on a new climate-centered body of work, equipped with the knowledge and expertise they’ve built over their career. And as they turn their attention to climate change, they’ll also expand the coalition of communities working to shape our planet’s green future, delivering the breakthroughs only achievable when new perspectives are applied to our toughest problems.

Climate Cohort

Visionary individuals pivoting into climate work with bold new projects.

Jake Barton

Designer

Creating immersive experiences designed to change hearts and minds—and inspire action on climate change.

Millicent Barty

Designer & Social Entrepreneur

Elevating the voices of the Solomon Islands and Melanesia in the fight against climate change.

Eric Berlow

Data Ecologist

Making visible the hidden patterns of our world, for the benefit of people and the planet.

Sam Bloch

Author

Investigating how shade can be a powerful civic resource to protect us from climate change.

Erika Blumenfeld

Artist

Making art at the convergence of science, nature, and culture.

Charles Ellison

Broadcast Journalist & Strategist

Covering the intersection of the environment and racism.

The Emerson Collective Fellowship

The Emerson Collective Fellowship aims to encourage people of exceptional talent to advance bold new projects in Emerson Collective’s priority areas: education, immigration, social justice, the environment, media, and health. The fellowship gives individuals autonomy to advance their current work, pursue exciting new chapters with unknown destinations, and make lasting breakthroughs.

Five questions with:
Laurene Powell Jobs

Learn more about EC from our founder
and president

3 min read

q

Why did you choose the name Emerson Collective?

a

Both words are very meaningful to me. I’m deeply inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings on our ability to transcend limitations that are placed on us by society. I love the word collective because it acknowledges that we are all at our best when we learn from–and work with–team members who share a sense of purpose and possibility. Like steel sharpens steel, we make each other better. With the name Emerson Collective, we recognize that humanity is bound together, and that we can create new possibilities by drawing on one another’s gifts and talents.

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How did College Track inform Emerson Collective?

a

Working with the students, families and staff of College Track enriched my understanding of our country and the many systems within it. At its best, the public education system is an engine for social and economic mobility. But we all know it doesn’t always work that way. Education is not an isolated or siloed domain. It connects to a broader set of systems that touch people’s lives, including immigration, health, environment and economic opportunities. The understanding of just how interconnected these issues are was fundamental to the creation of Emerson Collective.

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Why are multidisciplinary solutions important to addressing society’s challenges?

a

It’s very difficult to make sustainable and sustained change. None of the issues we are trying to address have easy solutions and making progress requires a variety of approaches. We work with domain experts with a breadth of experiences, insights, and relationships, and we use a range of tools, like philanthropy, investing, convening, and storytelling to build broad coalitions. As challenges evolve, we are nimble in our response and find that a cross functional approach often yields unexpected results.

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Emerson Collective is structured as an LLC, rather than a non-profit, like traditional philanthropic foundations. Why is that structure important to the way EC works?

a

Dr. Martin Luther King said that philanthropy is a very useful and good tool, but it can’t ignore the conditions that created it. I believe that philanthropy is a very powerful tool for good, but it’s not the only powerful tool. Mission driven investing is a tool for good. Art and activism and storytelling are tools for good. The LLC structure allows us the flexibility to creatively use the best attributes of all these models to address emerging needs and opportunities.

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What is your biggest hope for what Emerson Collective can achieve?

a

I would like Emerson Collective to be a place where great leaders come to do difficult things. Through our efforts, we hope to shape a world where people are not bound by the circumstances of their birth. Instead, they have the ability and agency to design their own paths – aligned with their highest and best purpose. We work to create equitable opportunities, and my hope is that we leave the world a little improved because we have existed.

Read more in the Letter From Our Founder.

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We center our work on education, immigration reform, the environment, and health, with the understanding that the challenges we face as a society are deeply interconnected. Explore our Issue Areas.

We believe that a combination of philanthropy and venture capital can support the greatest leaps of innovation.

We are looking for colleagues with the drive to improve the world and the audacity to innovate. View Careers.

Voices from across the Collective share important perspectives and insights on our key issues.

Fellows Friday

JUN 2023

Every month, join our incredible Fellows in conversation about the work they’re doing.

Dial Fellow Michael Murphy, co-founder of MASS Design Group, sits with Jennifer Arceneaux, the senior director of Emerson Collective’s Culture Council, to discuss how architecture plays a vital role in society by creating spaces that heal and inspire. Through projects like the Butaro District Hospital and the African Leadership University campus, he emphasizes the importance of beauty, dignity, and spatial awakening in challenging existing norms and advocating for transformative design.