Each week MIT Solve is inviting social impact leaders to speak in our First Year Discovery class, "How to Change the World: Experiences from Social Entrepreneurs." But it is so much more than a class! Join us for this free event with free refreshments open to the public to be inspired by incredible leaders. No RSVP needed!

This week, we'll have Doug Rauch, Co-CEO of Conscious Capitalism, Founder of the Daily Table, and Retired President of Trader Joe's. 

Doug spent 31 years with Trader Joe’s Company, the last 14 years as a President, helping grow the business from a  small, nine-store chain in Southern California, to a nationally acclaimed retail success story. He developed their prized buying philosophy, created their unique private label food program, and wrote and executed the Business Plan for expanding Trader Joe’s nationally. He graduated from Trader Joe’s in 2008.

Doug is also the Founder/President of Daily Table, an innovative non-profit retail solution tackling the issue of hunger/obesity by utilizing the excess, high quality, nutritious food that would otherwise be wasted. Daily Table offers tasty, nutritious grab-n-go meals and groceries at affordable prices to the food insecure (49 million Americans) in our inner cities in a manner that delivers dignity and economic sustainability.

He received his Executive M.B.A. from the Peter Drucker School of Management, Claremont University, where he won several honorary awards including the Early Career Outstanding Entrepreneur Award from Peter Drucker.

Doug is also a Trustee at Olin College of Engineering; Board of Overseers at WBUR; and serves on the board of several for-profit and non-profit companies.

Class description:

Every week, we’ll meet role models who will provide a taste of what it means to change the world through social innovation. We’ll span from micro to macro: interviewing individual entrepreneurs, and exploring the broader ecosystem that supports change-makers, both around MIT and globally. Each session will cover an aspect of making an impact, from identifying opportunities for change, to market fit, and planning for scale. We will feature conversations with social entrepreneurs from MIT Solve’s portfolio. Each student will get hands-on mentoring from established leaders within the Solve, MIT and, Kendall Square ecosystem. This includes visits to MIT labs and offices in the Cambridge innovation community. Through these speakers and field trips, students will gain a greater understanding of how technology-based, impactful solutions can address global challenges. 

At the end of the semester, students will be confident in their ability to identify and address social and environmental problems. They will understand the relevance of this work for their time at MIT. They will see how to bring their ideas to fruition and extend their ties with the Solve community.