Events

Join us as Warby Parker CEO & Co-Founder Neil Blumenthal talks about conceiving, growing and scaling a social impact business. This event is sponsored by SIPA's Management Specialization, in partnership with USP, TMAC, Entrepreneurship and Policy Initiative, and Columbia Entrepreneurship. Warby Parker is a transformative lifestyle brand that offers designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses. Prior to launching Warby Parker in 2010, Neil served as Director of VisionSpring, a non-profit social enterprise that trains low-income women to start their own businesses selling affordable eyeglasses to individuals living on less than $4 per day in developing countries. In 2005, Neil was named a Fellow for Emerging Leaders in Public Service at NYU Robert F. Wagner School for Public Service. In 2012, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. In 2013, he became a member of the United Nations’ Global Entrepreneurs Council and was named one of Crain’s “40 Under Forty”. In 2013, he received an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Neil serves on the board of RxArt and on the United Nations Global Entrepreneurs Council. A native of New York City, Neil received his BA from Tufts University and his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a Social Enterprise Fellow and a Leadership Fellow. Neil lives in Greenwich Village with his wife Rachel Leigh, the founder of Cricket's Circle.