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Alumni

To Make Greener Buildings, Try Innovating around the Edges

The building industry is slow to change. But three Yale alumni are finding ways to make changes on the margins and in the process offer solutions that aren’t easy to ignore.

A aerial photo of a 20th-century building retrofitted with solar panels.
  • Even Small Businesses Need Corporate Governance

    For startups and family businesses, establishing a professionalized, independent board and other aspects of corporate governance tend to be far down the priority list. Two experts explain why investing in corporate governance is critical to long-term success.

    Illustration of a small team at a table sitting on top of a larger table with board members
  • Why We Need Finance to Fight Climate Change

    There won’t be a transition to clean energy without a way to finance what could be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken. Yale Insights talked with Jeffrey Schub ’13 of the Coalition for Green Capital about what a National Climate Bank could achieve.

    A solar generation project outside Linyi, China. Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images.
  • Can Civics Education Repair a Failing Democracy?

    Louise Dubé ’88 of the nonprofit iCivics argues that engagement in civic life requires skills that many schools no longer teach.

    Students recite the Preamble to the Constitution during a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., in 2017. Photo: Jeff Reed/National Archives/Flickr
  • Curtis Chin ’90 on Navigating Right and Wrong across Cultures

    Curtis Chin ’90, Asia Fellow at the Milken Institute, on finding solutions to cross-cultural ethical dilemmas.

    Traffic in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1995. Photo: Forrest Anderson/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images.
  • James Robertson ’99 on the Fallout from Doing the Right Thing

    James Robertson ’99, former CEO of the India HIV/AIDS Alliance, on facing the consequences of a tough ethical call—and the unexpected upside that can result.

    James Robertson and his team at the India HIV/AIDS Alliance
  • What Does it Take to Bring Offshore Wind to Massachusetts? 

    Offshore wind could bring cheap power to Massachusetts and help turn the state into a green tech hub. But before the turbines start turning, a variety of stakeholders, including the state’s iconic fishing industry, need to be brought on board.

    A wind farm off Rhode Island's Block Island. Photo: Deepwater Wind.
  • Can the Occasional ‘Nudge’ Make You Better at Your Job? 

    At Google, Laszlo Bock ’99 applied data analytics to human resources questions that have long been answered with hunches. His company Humu is now extending that approach for other organizations by providing AI-generated prompts to their employees.

    A woman at a desk being nudged by a falling acorn
  • How Do You Plan for Explosive Technological Change?

    Nasir Wajihuddin ’89, CEO of Anedom Mobile Group, says that after five and half decades of Moore's law, technological change is coming so quickly that longstanding strategic frameworks are becoming irrelevant.

    Newly introduced iPhones at an Apple event in September 2018. Photo: Noah Berger/AFP/Getty Images.
  • Ranji Nagaswami ’86 on Telling Hard Truths

    As chief investment adviser for New York City, Ranji Nagaswami ’86 delivered the unvarnished truth when she discovered unwelcome news about the city’s pension funds.

    New York City Hall at night
  • Ken Ofori-Atta ’88 on Going Where You Can Make a Difference

    Ken Ofori-Atta ’88, finance minister of Ghana, on integrity and the risks required to strengthen society.

    Ken Ofori-Atta at 2018 Capital Market Week in Accra, Ghana. Photo: Owula Kpakpo/Wikimedia.