Anna M. Clark is a fellow of the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at Southern Methodist University and the co-founder of the Inclusive Economy Consortium. In partnership with the Hunt Institute, Anna researches the intersection of corporate social responsibility (CSR), social enterprise, and inclusive business. She was also a key organizer of the Institute’s Climate Extremes conference, the largest event on the issue ever to be held in Dallas.
Anna began her career as a management consultant with PwC Consulting and IBM. In 2005, she founded EarthPeople Media, a sustainability communication consultancy. In 2017, she joined Hill+Knowlton Strategies as a principal, providing senior counsel in corporate affairs and CSR to industry leaders. Presently she works as a senior strategist at Zen Media and advises her creative team at Heirloom Digital, a heritage storytelling company she launched in 2019.
When asked why she was drawn to work with the Hunt Institute she replied, “The first expression of my desire to use business as a vehicle for creating social impact came in sustainability consulting—helping companies ‘go green’ and implementing corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Serving as a fellow at the Hunt Institute has increased my understanding of how to apply market-based solutions to address social needs. I’m excited to use these learnings in my new company to create positive change as a social entrepreneur. The network we’re creating with the Inclusive Economy Consortium is another powerful source of thinking for successful social innovation. It’s inspiring to learn from others who are also dedicated to using their work to help create an economy that respects nature and works for all.”
Over the course of her sustainability career, Anna has advised startups, global corporations, universities such as SMU and Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in Dubai, and international organizations such as International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of The World Bank.
A published author, Anna has written the Eco-Leadership column for Greenbiz.com since 2009 and has contributed to The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, HuffPost, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Dallas Morning News. She is a Public Voices Fellow at the OpEd Project and a Fellow at the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at SMU. She also serves on the boards of the American Women’s Financial Education Foundation, the Little Things Matter Foundation, and Green Source DFW, which awarded her a Sustainable Leadership Award in 2016.
Anna holds an M.A. in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives with her family in one of the first homes in Dallas to earn a Platinum LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.
