Thought Leaders

Nov 30, 2020

Better Business Teaching Note

This guide is to be used by the thousands of academics incorporating elements of the B Corp movement into their curriculum. Many people view B Corporations as just another certification, but this book details how the foundations of the movement can be used in every business model. 

Oct 27, 2020

How Investors Can Better Support Women and People of Color-owned Businesses

A study funded by the Ford Foundation and conducted by a team including Jessica Thomas, director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative, and Jeffrey Pollack, associate professor of entrepreneurship, explains the importance of investors supporting women and persons of color-owned startups. 

Aug 25, 2020

B Academics Network Hosts the 2020 Global B Academics Paper Development Workshop

The B Academics network recently held its 2020 Global B Academics Paper Development Workshop. B Academics is 501c3 that brings together over 1900 academics and supporters from 612 institutions and 52 countries. It is a growing movement with a vision to “advance the state of academic study into business as a force for good,” and is led by their president, Jessica Yinka Thomas who is the Director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative and a faculty member in the Poole College of Management at NC State. The topic of the Workshop was Nuts and Bolts of Research on B Corps: Empirical Methods and Research Design.  

Aug 5, 2020

New Case Study Focused on Driving Conversations around Race, Brands, and Corporate Social Responsibility

by Rachel Haynes, BSC Associate and Jenkins MBA Candidate 2021 “When Professors Stanko and Miller reached out about the case, I could immediately feel the weight of importance in what… 

Jun 21, 2020

BSC Director Jessica Yinka Thomas Interviewed on WUNC’s The State of Things

BSC Director, Jessica Yinka Thomas, joined Frank Stasio, the host of WUNC's The State of Things for an in-depth interview about her experience growing up in the US and West Africa, her career path from designing educational toys to teaching business sustainability and her passion for writing social justice novels. 

Jun 11, 2020

In an Economy Ravaged By COVID-19, B Corps Open a Door for Change

As the world struggles to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, B Corporations may offer the reeling economy a way forward. Jessica Yinka Thomas, director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative (BSC) explains how these businesses are better positioned than many other companies to withstand economic downturns. 

May 17, 2020

BSC Director Wins 2020 Fuqua Leader of Consequence Award

BSC Director, Jessica Yinka Thomas, recently received the 2020 Fuqua Leader of Consequence Award. The award, established in 2012, recognizes alumni from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business whose exemplary professional accomplishments are matched by the significant positive social or environmental change they have created. Recipients embody Fuqua's concept of a "Leader of Consequence" by using their degree to make a difference both inside and outside of the boardroom. Thomas was recognized for her work teaching business as a force for good and leading the global B Academic network. 

Feb 11, 2020

Jessica Yinka Thomas Featured As World-Changing Woman in Business

Thomas was recognized as part of a Conscious Company series recognizing 13 women who are leading the “fourth wave of social enterprise” for her efforts in the Business Sustainability Collaborative at NC State and B Academics by working to advance the state of academic study into business as a force for good. 

Dec 3, 2019

Why Do B Corps Matter?

Poole’s Jessica Thomas, lecturer and director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative, breaks down what a B Corp is and how they are changing the future of business. 

Oct 27, 2019

Measuring the Impact of Ventures Led by Women and People of Color

A new series of studies, funded by the Ford Foundation and led by Poole College faculty, examines the social and environmental impact of investment in ventures led by women and people of color. The project is a collaboration between the Business Sustainability Collaborative and LIFT Economy, an impact consulting firm, worker-owned cooperative, and Certified B Corporation.