We equip people to gain fresh perspectives on problems, spot opportunities others miss and courageously put ideas into action.

We believe young people have the power to change their communities and the world. Why wait?

We span the creative arc from design thinking (what to create and why people care) to entrepreneurship (how to launch ideas into the world). We incorporate methods from Stanford’s d.school, IDEO and global entrepreneurship programs. And, perhaps more importantly, we cultivate a lifestyle of curiosity and freedom from the fear of failure.

Jess Munro loves grokking big systems challenges, like reimagining the future of higher ed, as much as she loves working one-on-one with young leaders and entrepreneurs to discover the sense of purpose that fuels their work.

She is passionate about igniting entrepreneurs through design thinking and has had the privilege of working with some of the brightest young entrepreneurs from around the globe.

Jess teaches at Stanford University, with courses ranging from Human Values in Design for undergraduates, co-taught with David Kelley, to Entrepreneurial Studies for gifted high schoolers from around the globe. With the d.school, she recently helped Stanford imagine the new futures for the year 2025 and beyond. What if students declared a mission, not a major? Meet Purpose Learning.

Jess has over a decade of experience leading design work for Fortune 500 companies and startups alike and equipping others through workshops and immersive learning. As an experience designer, she loves to create magical learning experiences that ignite new behaviors and nurture creative cultures within organizations.

During her years at IDEO, she led global innovation work with Fortune 500 companies such as Kaiser Permanente, Medtronic and PepsiCo and helped embed a culture of innovation. She spearheaded the Design for Social Impact domain, which grew into IDEO.org, and helped jumpstart a series of open-source toolkits with the HCD (Human-Centered Design) Toolkit for social entrepreneurs.

She launched the flagship Entrepreneurship program at African Leadership Academy, a pan-African startup school for future leaders. As Dean of Students, she built systems for this startup school that invited students to innovate in their own back yard – on the Academy itself!

Jess loves to build with her hands and can be frequently found holding a Skil-saw or power drill with her 5-year old son to craft a portico for a new train engine.