Jane Chen

Last updated

Jane Chen
Jane Marie Chen.jpg
Chen in 2012
Born
Jane Marie Chen
NationalityTaiwanese American
Alma mater Pomona College
Harvard University
Stanford University
Occupation(s)Co-founder and former CEO, Embrace, and Co-founder and CEO, Embrace Innovations
Known forCo-founder at Embrace (non-profit)

Jane Marie Chen is the co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise that invented and distributes a low-cost infant warmer, [1] that gives premature and low-birth-weight infants a better chance at survival. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The Embrace infant warmers / incubators have now helped to save over 700,000 babies in 25 countries. [7] Jane served as the first CEO of Embrace, the non-profit arm of the organization, before stepping into the chief executive officer (CEO) role of Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise that was spun off in 2012. [8]

Contents

Early life and education

Chen holds a BA in Psychology and Economics from Pomona College, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, and an MBA from Stanford University. [9]

Career

Prior to Embrace, Chen worked with nonprofit organizations on healthcare issues in developing countries. She spent several years as the program director of a startup HIV/AIDS nonprofit in China, and worked for the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania. [10] She also worked at Monitor Group as a management consultant.[ citation needed ]

In 2013, Chen and the other co-founders of Embrace, Linus Liang, Nag Murty, and Rahul Panicker were awarded the Economist Innovation Award, under the category of Social and Economic Innovation. [11] In the same year, Chen and her co-founder Rahul Panicker were also recognized as Schwab Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by the World Economic Forum. [12] In 2014, Chen was invited to the White House's first ever Maker Faire, where she presented Embrace's work to President Obama. [13] In the same year, Beyoncé made a $125,000 contribution through Chime for Change which allowed Embrace to distribute its infant warmers to nine countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. [14]

Embrace

While doing her MBA at Stanford, Chen and a few other fellow graduate students were assigned a class project to create a low-cost infant incubator that could be used in rural areas. [1] [9] [15] In 2008, they co-founded Embrace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to bring their project to life. [16] [17] In January 2012, Embrace moved into a hybrid structure. [18] The non-profit entity, Embrace, donates infant warmers to the neediest areas through NGO partners, and provides educational programs on newborn health alongside the distribution of warmers. The for-profit social enterprise, Embrace Innovations, sells the warmers to paying entities, including governments and private clinics, all focusing on emerging markets. [19] Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise, raised its Series A round of financing in 2012 from Vinod Khosla's Impact Fund and Capricorn Investment Group. The company raised a second round of investment capital from Marc Benioff in 2014. [20]

In 2016, Embrace Innovations launched a line of consumer baby products called Little Lotus Baby (temperature regulating swaddles and sleeping bags), which have a buy-one give-one model. The Little Lotus products use the technology used in the Embrace warmer to keep babies at an ideal skin temperature, thereby helping to improve their sleep. [21]

Embrace's nonprofit arm donated over 2,500 incubators to Ukraine in 2022, [22] and donates incubators to emergency responses and humanitarian crises around the world. [23]

Awards and recognition

Chen has been a TED speaker, [24] and was selected as one of Forbes' Impact 30 in 2011. [25] In 2019, Chen was featured in AOL/Verizon/Yahoo's "FUTURIST" Series, profiling industry leaders across all different disciplines who are advancing their fields with technology, innovation, and fearlessness. [26] Chen has been recognized as the Inspirational Young Alumni of the Year by Pomona College, [27] and selected as a "Woman of Distinction" by the American Association of University Women. [28] Chen has spoken at numerous international conferences, including the Skoll World Forum, Bloomberg Design Conference, Forbes Women's Summit, and the World Economic Forum. [29]

In 2012, Chen was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, [30] and was featured in Dove's "Real Role Models" campaign for women and girls. [31] She was also profiled in AOL's Makers campaign. [10] Chen is a TED Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Rainer Arnhold Fellow.

Chen's memoir was acquired by Penguin Random House, and will be published in 2025. [32]

Related Research Articles

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a Swiss not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 that provides platforms at regional, national, and global levels to promote social entrepreneurship. The foundation is under the legal supervision of the Swiss Federal Government. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Each year, it selects 20–25 social entrepreneurs through a global "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" competition.

A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services, starting with management training and office space, and ending with venture capital financing. The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) defines business incubators as a catalyst tool for either regional or national economic development. NBIA categorizes its members' incubators by the following five incubator types: academic institutions; non-profit development corporations; for-profit property development ventures; venture capital firms, and a combination of the above.

Social venture capital is a form of investment funding that is usually funded by a group of social venture capitalists or an impact investor to provide seed-funding investment, usually in a for-profit social enterprise, in return to achieve an outsized gain in financial return while delivering social impact to the world. There are various organizations, such as Venture Philanthropy (VP) companies and nonprofit organizations, that deploy a simple venture capital strategy model to fund nonprofit events, social enterprises, or activities that deliver a high social impact or a strong social causes for their existence. There are also regionally focused organizations that target a specific region of the world, to help build and support the local community in a social cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Finney</span> American author, entrepreneur, innovator, and businesswoman

Kathryn A. Finney is an American author, researcher, investor, entrepreneur, and businesswoman. She is the founder of Genius Guild, a $20 million dollar venture fund & studio that invests in Black entrepreneurs building scalable businesses that serve Black communities and beyond. She is also founder and Board Chair of The Doonie Fund, a social platform that provides micro-investment to Black women entrepreneurs. Finney first made her mark as a tech entrepreneur when she sold “The Budget Fashionista” after running the site-turned-media company for 11 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Case</span> American businesswoman (born 1959)

Jean Case is an American businesswoman, author, and philanthropist who is chair of the board of National Geographic, CEO of Case Impact Network, and CEO of the Case Foundation. She is married to AOL co-founder Steve Case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Lublin</span> American nonprofit executive and businesswoman

Nancy Lublin is an American nonprofit executive and businesswoman who was the founder and former CEO of Crisis Text Line and the founder of Dress for Success. She was also the CEO of Do Something Inc., a company that mobilizes youth to participate in social change, from 2003 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water.org</span> Non-profit organization in the USA

Water.org is an international nonprofit organization that helps people living in poverty get access to safe water and improved sanitation through affordable financing. This organization was founded by Matt Damon and Gary White.

The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation was an office new to the Obama Administration, created within the White House, to catalyze new and innovative ways of encouraging government to do business differently. Its first director was the economist Sonal Shah. The final director was David Wilkinson.

Rebecca Onie is the co-founder with Rocco J Perla of The Health Initiative, a nationwide effort to spur a new conversation about - and new investments in - health. In 2017, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine as a nationally recognized leader in the intersection of social determinants, population health, and healthcare delivery. Onie is also the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Emerita of Health Leads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Haot</span> American businesswoman and entrepreneur

Rachel Haot is an American businesswoman. She is currently Chief of Staff at Bedrock. Prior to this, she was executive director of the Transit Innovation Partnership, a public-private initiative of the Partnership for New York City and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Haot was previously the chief digital officer and Deputy Secretary for Technology of New York State for two years. Prior to this role, Rachel was Chief Digital Officer for the City of New York from January 2011 to December 2013. She co-founded and ran GroundReport between 2006 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Sharkey</span> American entrepreneur, advisor, and investor

Tina Sharkey is an American entrepreneur, advisor, and investor. Noted for "discovering ways to bring consumers and businesses together," she co-founded Brandless and iVillage; served as chair and global president of BabyCenter; led multiple business units at AOL, and served as president of the Sesame Street Digital Group. She is a member of the PBS Board of Directors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fran Hauser</span>

Francesca Hauser is a startup investor and advisor, funding and advising consumer-focused companies such as HelloGiggles, Levo, Mogul, The Wing and Gem&Bolt. Formerly President, Digital for Time Inc.'s Style and Entertainment Group, she is also a philanthropist and advocate for women in business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahul Panicker</span> Indian technologist

Rahul Alex Panicker is a technology leader and entrepreneur, formerly Chief Innovation Officer at the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and best known as the President and Co-founder of Embrace Innovations and Embrace, a social enterprise startup that aims to help premature and low-birth-weight babies, through a low-cost infant warmer.

Embrace Innovations is an Indian healthcare technology company specializing in infant warmers. The company produces neonatal warming bags which are used to help reduce the risk of hypothermia in pre-term infants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Razmig Hovaghimian</span> American entrepreneur

Razmig Hovaghimian is an American entrepreneur. He is co-founder and CEO of the international online streaming video site Viki, and senior executive officer of global content, board observer and Entrepreneur in residence at Japanese ecommerce company Rakuten. He is also a co-founder and board member of non-profit neonatal health company Embrace. He also founded Hoodline, formerly Ripple News, a hyper-local, automated data newswire later acquired by social media neighborhood site Nextdoor.

Ted Gonder is an American entrepreneur and the co-founding CEO of Moneythink, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building the financial capability of young adults through technology-enhanced peer mentorship. Until July 2015, he was also a member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans.

The/Nudge Institute, formerly The/Nudge Foundation, is an Indian nonprofit organisation based in Bangalore, India, focused on poverty alleviation. Established in 2015, the organisation aims to create sustainable livelihoods for all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Burston</span>

Jane Burston is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Clean Air Fund, a philanthropic foundation tackling global air pollution that was launched at the UN Secretary General's Climate Summit in New York with $50m from 6 core funders. Previously, Jane was the Head of Energy and the Environment at the National Physical Laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Winnett</span> American entrepreneur and civic activist

Caroline Winnett is the executive director of the Berkeley SkyDeck startup accelerator at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a serial entrepreneur, civic activist, angel investor, advisor and board member of several startups, and a frequent speaker on startups, accelerators, women in business and consumer neuroscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtue Oboro</span> Nigerian visual artist

Virtue Oboro is a Nigerian entrepreneur, and co-founder of Tiny Hearts Technology. In 2016, she developed and launched Crib ‘A Glow, an LED-lit portable crib that treats jaundice utilizing solar energy, and patented the innovation in 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 Abrar, Peerzada (July 20, 2012). "Lessons from 50 startups: Stanford grads' Embrace Innovations build low-cost warmer to save young Indian lives". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Embrace Innovations". Embrace Innovations. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Embrace Nest Baby Warmer, Buy Low Cost Portable Warmer, Infant Warmer Manufacturers". Phoenix Medical Systems (P) Ltd. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Embrace – Design for Extreme Affordability" . Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Tellapragada, Chaitanya; Eshwara, Vandana Kalwaje; Bhat, Parvati; Acharya, Shashidhar; Kamath, Asha; Bhat, Shashikala; Rao, Chythra; Nayak, Sathisha; Mukhopadhyay, Chiranjay (May 2016). "Risk Factors for Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Among Pregnant Indian Women: A Hospital-based Prospective Study". Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. 49 (3): 165–175. doi:10.3961/jpmph.16.022. ISSN   1975-8375. PMC   4898897 . PMID   27255075.
  6. ↑ Yakowicz, Will (April 27, 2016). "This Space-Age Blanket Startup Has Helped Save 200,000 Babies (and Counting)". Inc.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Home". Embrace Global. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Embrace:Deciding on a Hybrid Structure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Lee, Ellen (November 12, 2010). "Embrace may keep babies warm and alive". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Jane Chen: Women in Healthcare". AOL. February 2, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Innovation awards: And the winners are…". The Economist. November 30, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Announces Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 | World Economic Forum - Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Announces Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013". Weforum.org. February 15, 2013. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ Lelon, Elise (July 10, 2014). "The Baby Saving Revolution: Obama and Beyonce Embrace Founder, Jane Chen (You Will Too)". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  14. ↑ Weil, Elizabeth (November 20, 2015). "Caring for Premature Babies, With a Little Help From Beyoncé". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  15. ↑ Sibley, Lisa (April 17, 2008). "Stanford startup's $25 'sleeping bag' could save newborns". Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  16. ↑ Dooley, Sean (December 17, 2010). "Embrace Infant Warmer Could Save Thousands". ABC News . Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Saving Babies" (Flash). CNN. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  18. ↑ Chen, Jane (February 2013). "Should Your Business Be Nonprofit or For-Profit?". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  19. ↑ Abudheen, Sainul K (August 26, 2013). "Infant warmers maker Embrace raises funding from Khosla Impact, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, others". VCCircle. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  20. ↑ Chen, Jane. "How I Surfed The Wave That Nearly Drowned My Startup". Forbes. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  21. ↑ "A Simple, Effective Way to Reduce Infant Mortality". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Video Nonprofit sends portable incubators to pregnant women in Ukraine". ABC News. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  23. ↑ Kavilanz, Parija (October 25, 2023). "Anticipating premature births as crisis deeps, this nonprofit is racing to get its portable incubators into Israel and Gaza | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Jane Chen: A warm embrace that saves lives". TED Conference. TED.
  25. ↑ "Forbes impact 30, 2012". Forbes. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Futurists | AOL.com". www.aol.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  27. ↑ Hua, Vanessa. "Jane Chen '00 Wins Inspirational Young Alumna Award for Innovative Incubator Invention". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Women of Distinction 2019 Spotlight: Jane Marie Chen". NCCWSL. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  29. ↑ Chen, Jane. "Speaker at Skoll World Forum".
  30. ↑ "World Economic Forum, Young Global Leaders". WEF, Young Global Leaders, 2012. World Economic Forum. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  31. ↑ Series, Dove. "Dove Real Role Models". Dove.
  32. ↑ Deahl |, Rachel. "Book Deals: Week of December 19, 2022". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.