About Us

Download our Executive Summary here.
Download our team recruitment flyer here.

OUR REQUEST

We need seed funding to make our model a reality. We seek a planning grant of $70,000 to pilot our website prototype. Consumers can make an enormous difference - with the right tools. Join us in our mission to empower them.

OUR TEAM

Our team has more than doubled since we first enrolled in the "Social Enterprise Collaboratory" course at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The course functions as an incubator for social enterprises.

Stéphane de Messières
 Executive Director
 sdemessieres@citizensmarket.org
Stephane

Stéphane conceived Citizens Market years ago in his (ongoing) efforts to learn about the social and environmental impacts of the companies behind the brands he buys. He recently graduated with a Master in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he was the Co-President of the student Corporate Responsibility Council. Stéphane currently works as a consultant for the Private Sector Team at Oxfam America, designing tools to build their capacity for innovative collaborations with companies. He has worked as a caseworker, manager and independent consultant for various nonprofit mental health housing organizations in New York City. Stéphane holds a B.A. in international relations from Haverford College. He grew up in the fine state of Maryland and currently lives with his wife, Justine, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Luke Griffiths
 Web Development
 lgriffiths@citizensmarket.org
Luke

Luke brings experience from consulting industries including transportation engineering, strategic analysis, and environmentally friendly building design, and combines it with a budding career as a no-holds-barred entrepreneur. He maintains a freelance web development practice and acts as advisor for multiple startup companies in the Boston, MA area. When he's not working on one project or another, he practices Zen and Kundalini Yoga, plays the guitar and keyboard, and has aspirations of mixing electronica. Luke recognizes that information technology provides individuals with exponentially increasing power, and seeks to influence the growth of this new power by providing outlet and exercise for the basic human impulse to do good for others. Additionally, he has an academic interest in artificial intelligence and memetics, hence a fascination with the potential for collaborative decision-making to surpass individual and model-based judgment. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University.

Juliette Heydenrych
 Graphic Design
 jheydenrych@citizensmarket.org
Juliette

Juliette is a creative graphic design professional from Portland, Oregon. She has several years of experience in design, web, and creative projects alike, managing undertakings for both local and national clients from concept to delivery. Juliette holds a BA in Graphic Design from Portland State University, where she also studied philosophy and cultural anthropology. She is currently planning to attend graduate school for a certificate in environmental studies and an MFA in Communication Design, while working to promote social standards of ethics, sustainability, and environmental conservation. Juliette eats, breathes, and sleeps for design, art, and its power to change.

Kyle Magida
 Operations Development
 kmagida@citizensmarket.org
Kyle

Kyle is a senior at Harvard College, where he is majoring in History and Science with a sub-concentration on Physics and Astrophysics. Kyle has gained leadership skills and nonprofit experience by working on affordable housing issues. When he's not designing algorithms for our Review and Data Point models, Kyle hauls out his mountain bike for extended cross-country tours. He currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Todd Pinkerton
 Web Development
 tpinkerton@citizensmarket.org
Todd

Todd has several years experience as a technology consultant to early-stage web and mobile startups. Prior to his consulting business, Todd was a senior engineer at European wireless carrier Orange, where he developed award-winning services for mobile networks. Todd holds a Bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and expects to receive a Master's degree from Harvard University in spring 2008. He currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Isaac Wohl
 External Relations Development
 iwohl@citizensmarket.org
Isaac

Isaac recently graduated with a Master in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, concentrating in international trade and finance. He also studied negotiation, budgeting and financial management, and social entrepreneurship - which is how he became interested in making the marketplace more socially conscious. Isaac currently works as an International Trade Analyst with the U.S. International Trade Commission and recently completed consulting research for the World Bank. Isaac has worked on community organizing in various capacities. He spent the summer of 2006 reopening an elementary school in post-Katrina New Orleans, and has researched user-generated online journalism, carbon emissions trading systems, and transportation in Africa. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Uganda from 2003 to 2005 where he trained educators and managed community development projects. He studied mathematics and philosophy as an undergraduate at Grinnell College, and worked as a carpenter in Richmond, Virginia from 2001 to 2002. He plays guitar and is writing a book about his experiences in Uganda. Isaac was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Vanessia Wu
 Web Development
 vwu@citizensmarket.org
Vanessia

Vanessia has several years of experience advising businesses and managing projects, with a particular focus on technology. She was an international strategy and marketing consultant with Simon-Kucher and Partners in Cambridge, MA. She also interned at Citigroup in Hong Kong and at World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, D.C. At WRI, she was part of an early venture that sought to understand how companies can profitably serve people at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Vanessia holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Development Studies from Brown University. She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin and lives in Cambridge, MA.

OUR BOARD OF ADVISORS

Our current Board of Advisors includes: