Kriss Deiglmeier
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Passions and Voice

Get to Know Kriss

 

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Kriss Deiglmeier is a dynamic board director, CEO, and thought leader who drives growth and innovation. Known for her strategic leadership and transformative approach, she has served on numerous boards, helping them evolve by recruiting new members, restructuring committees, and improving governance practices. Her extensive experience spans both public and private sectors, with a particular focus on delivering value across industries and geographies.

An avid traveler, Kriss's passion for adventure and love of learning has shaped her belief system and fueled her commitment to positively impacting the world. Her diverse personal and professional experiences inspire her to create a better future for everyone’s family, friends, and communities. 

fun facts

  • Kriss believes you grow when you “repot” yourself. She has worked in the corporate, philanthropy, nonprofit, social enterprise, and academic sectors. 

  • She has backpacked around the world and visited more than 50 countries and counting.

  • Kriss has presented nationally and internationally on, social innovation, stakeholder economy, ESG,  responsible AI, design thinking, and impact investing. 

  • Each year, she picks a “word for the year” and strives to live by it — believing firmly in keeping things simple.

  • Kriss’s core beliefs include:  “Learn something new every day” and “Be adventurous. Be afraid.”

  • She loves walking meetings and agrees with Nilofer Merchant that “sitting is the smoking of our generation.” 

  • She prefers research articles over what seems like an infinite number of “blogs” 

  • She co-authored the most cited article on social innovation, Rediscovering Social Innovation—with over 3,200 citations. 

  • Her family, friends, and colleagues bring her joy and keep her going. 

 

Shop and Give for a Better World

The winter holidays are not only an occasion for spending time with friends and family, they can also be a great time to make a difference. Fundraising success in the holidays translates directly into helping solve the social problems we all care about — feeding the homeless, helping disadvantaged youth get a good education, saving the Amazon, or restoring the local watershed. Without a doubt, it’s an important time to give — and give generously.

For better or worse, it’s also a time to shop — so why not shop wisely, too? Our dollars do a great deal of walking and talking. Here’s a list I’ve created with opportunities for social purpose-buying that can help us all to be more strategic in our purchases. If you’re not familiar with these options, hopefully they will give you ideas for your holiday gift list. If you already know about them, they may serve as a useful reminder of how you can spend your money in service to the social good.

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For the person who has everything, check out World of Good, which offers unique, attractive gifts ranging from clothes to jewelry to home décor. As their site says, every purchase has a positive social impact by supporting local artisans around the world.

For kids’ stockings, who doesn’t find Greenpeace’s Mr. Splashy Pants or polar bear t-shirts fun, fashionable, meaningful, and affordable?

For young people in or out of college who are looking for meaning and inspiration, Nancy Lubin’s book Do Something: A Handbook for Activists could be just the thing. With this mere $10 buy, you may well be helping to cultivate the next generation of socially responsible leaders.

How about those last-minute presents you need for holiday party hosts, grab bags, or forgotten neighbors? Fair trade coffee and tea always make wonderful gifts and are often easy to find at your local Starbucks or favorite shop.

Let’s also not forget The Body Shop. More than 30 years have passed since Anita Roddick pioneered the simple idea that “businesses have the power to do good,” and her stores’ earth-friendly lotions and cosmetics are still going strong.

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This holiday season, give the gift of innovation and inspiration. A gift subscription to the Stanford Social Innovation Review is a great way to tell your friends and family that you recognize their commitment to changing the world. Each issue of the award-winning magazine is full of the most innovative solutions to social problems. It is a provocative, practical, and powerful resource.

Remember that smart holiday purchases not only help support good causes — they also send a message. As Albert Einstein once noted, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.” So, this holiday, think about using your gifts to remind your loved ones about what’s important and how they, too, may contribute to the betterment of our world through a little bit of creative spending.

Other responsible gift ideas include:

Responsible Purchasing during the Holidays:

  • Rent a Tree from your local nursery, and if they don’t do that, suggest that they do.

  • Send electronic holiday cards instead of printed cards.

  • Purchase carbon offsets if you are traveling for the holidays.

  • Avoid paper waste by using reusable gift bags or comic strip paper instead.

  • Consider drawing straws for a gift exchange and exchanging one big gift instead of giving many smaller, less used gift items that may get thrown away.

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