Lisa Dreier ’85

Lisa Dreier is founder and principal at the Systems Leadership Lab, an independent consultancy that equips leaders to drive systemic change on complex issues related to sustainable development and social impact. Prior to founding the Lab, Lisa developed research on systems leadership as a senior program fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Corporate Responsibility Initiative, designed executive education programs on social impact as managing director of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, and explored food-system innovations as a visiting scholar with Stanford University’s Center for Food Security and the Environment. During 13 years at the World Economic Forum, Lisa founded and led the organization’s largest and most action-oriented global program at the time, focused on transforming food systems. Engaging more than 650 organizations and 1,500 individual leaders, the initiative mobilized over 100 value-chain partnerships in 21 countries; catalyzed investments; partnered with the G7 and G20 on major initiatives; and catalyzed a 150-person Transformation Leaders Network to support food system innovators. The initiative’s unique approach was profiled in a Harvard Kennedy School case study as a prime example of systems leadership. Lisa previously worked at the U.N. Millennium Project and Columbia University Earth Institute, consulted with the World Bank and North American Development Bank, and worked for eight years at the Environmental Defense Fund. She holds an M.P.P. in Public Policy, an M.A. in energy and resources from U.C. Berkeley, and a bachelor’s from Bowdoin College. She is based in Cambridge, Mass.