About Root Cause
Social Impact Research is a new division of Root Cause Inc., a 501(c)3 based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded by CEO Andrew Wolk in 2004. Root Cause develops and supports enduring solutions to social problems through strategy consulting, knowledge sharing, social impact research, and the building of sustainable social enterprises. In just four years, Root Cause has grown to a team of more than 30 people with ongoing relationships with national foundations including Atlantic Philanthropies and the Wallace Foundation. As a result, SIR has its roots in a growing consultancy that has already worked with dozens of organizations to develop comprehensive business plans that include establishing rigorous performance measurement systems.
Learn more about Root Cause: rootcause.org
Leadership
Andrew Wolk —CEO, Root Cause
Andrew leads the overall strategic direction of Root Cause as well as Social Impact Research. He has consulted to dozens of organizations working in the fields of civic engagement, economic development, education, the environment, seniors, and others. Additionally, he is a senior lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. Andrew began exploring the idea of Social Impact Research three years ago, drawing on his consulting experience, the development of the Social Innovation Forum, which aims to connect nonprofits with social impact investors, and his experience teaching social entrepreneurship for almost a decade. He previously founded InnerCity Entrepreneurs and the Social Innovation Forum, two social enterprises under the Root Cause umbrella. Andrew has recently released two publications: One is the first in a series of Root Cause How-to Guides, entitled ”Business Planning for Enduring Social Impact.” The second is a chapter in the Small Business Administration’s annual report to the president of the United States, entitled ”Social Entrepreneurship and Government: A New Breed of Entrepreneurs Developing Solutions to Social Problems.” Andrew began his career as a private sector entrepreneur, having founded, built, and sold a multi-restaurant delivery business in the 1990s. He holds an M.B.A. in entrepreneurship and nonprofit management from Boston University and a B.A. from Lehigh University.
Colette L. Stanzler—Director
Colette is a founding member of the SIR team; she is responsible for developing and refining the research methodology in addition to leading the development of report products and services. Colette began her work with Root Cause in 2006 to develop the feasibility study for SIR as a graduate student at MIT to. She has more than seven years of experience in product development and internal strategy consulting experience at financial service firms, most recently as a vice president in Equity Research at Deutsche Bank. As a graduate student, Colette focused on business strategy and social sector entrepreneurship, specifically how to measure organizational effectiveness to improve social impact. She holds an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a B.A. from the University of Rochester.
Team
Steven H. Goldberg—Senior Root Cause Fellow, Social Impact Research
Steve is currently writing a book on the Social Capital Markets. He has nearly thirty years of experience in economics, law, government, and business management, most recently as executive vice president for Business Development and General Counsel at Imagitas, Inc., a marketing services company acquired by Pitney Bowes in 2005. Steve co-authored Y2K Risk Management: Contingency Planning, Business Continuity and Avoiding Litigation (Wiley 1999). He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and M.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.
Steven Doll—Root Cause Fellow, Social Impact Research
Steven joined Root Cause in the summer of 2007 as a fellow for the Social Impact Research project working on product development and research methodology. Prior to joining Root Cause, Steven worked with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea as a member of the civilian support staff. Steven is currently an M.B.A. candidate at Oxford University Saïd Business School, focusing on corporate social responsibility and conflict resources. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.