Initiatives
Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC)

BSIC is an initiative to enable Blockchain so that it works for social good

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

I read engineering and then economics at Cambridge and graduated in 1961. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK in 1965 and then spent many years in corporate management based in the USA (VP Manufacturing, CFO, etc) Subsequently I did consulting work for the World Bank, the UN and others in more than 50 countries trying to bring together the idea of good accounting as a foundation for good management and good performance no only for the corporate entity but also for people, the community, the government, the country. The idea that society and the environment matter just as much as profit and financial wealth was no more popular in the 1980s and 1990s than it is now and while profits and financial wealth have soared to all time highs, social and environmental stress have increased in dangerous ways. I have been developing True Value Impact Accounting (TVIA) as a way to make impact accounting as powerful as conventional double entry money profit accounting (see http://truevaluemetrics.org ) and am exploring / planning to make this practical using blockchain concepts. My career experience in both the private sector corporate environment and in developing countries at the community and national level was that as soon as the right things got measured, the right decisions got made and the right results were achieved. I have been thinking about the problems of 'numbering' impact for a very long time. In 1975 I saw children dead from poverty and hunger for the first time even though the place had huge wealth and it became clear to me that when the financial metrics dominate everything, then the outcomes are only going to be good for those working in that space leaving everyone else behind. Subsequently have I have seen a lot more death and destruction because there is massive socio-enviro-economic system dysfunction and no metrics that really work to help with decision making. Since 1975 there has been a huge increase in the potential for the world to be a better place, but this has not been realized because was still do not have really efficient performance metrics around quality of life, the functioning of created people built systems and stress on the environment that we can use for the individual, the family, the society, the place, the environment (in all its dimensions), the organization, etc. We need a framework that is as powerful for all of this as we use for the financial performance of the corporate organization, investor portfolios and the poverty of government. I want my thinking to be part of an Open Knowledge initiative that will help reform the numbering that gets done in every corner of the socio-enviro-economic system. BLOCKCHAIN FOR SOCIAL IMPACT HOMEABOUTHACKATHONRESOURCES CONTACT About Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC) incubates, develops, and implements confederated and customized blockchain products and solutions that can address social and environmental challenges across the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to inspire, federate, and create bridges between NGO’s, and government agencies, foundations, impact investors, philanthropists and technologists by focusing on the following focus sectors: Financial Inclusion Supply Chain Identity & Vulnerable Peoples Energy & Environment The Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition is an initiative of ConsenSys, a venture production studio based in Brooklyn, NY. Coalition Members Alice logotype underneath 300ppi.png Disberse Logo.png edudao logo.png New America.png Slave Free Trade.png Solve Logo.jpeg si logo large.png ASLogoGoodFinalT.png What We Do We promote the creation of Ethereum blockchain solutions and applications which address social and environmental issues. By working to shift economic and social paradigms through blockchain technology, we increase the economic prosperity of individuals and communities. We are currently pursuing opportunities in each of the below areas: Consulting Research and publications Hackathons Meet-ups Annual Conference Speaking Opportunities Frozen river Kujalleq Municipality, Greenland.jpg
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Our Team
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Joseph Lubin, Founder, ConsenSys Joseph Lubin, Founder, ConsenSys Joe Lubin is a Canadian entrepreneur and a co-founder of blockchain computing platform Ethereum, a decentralized application platform incorporating a virtual machine that executes peer-to-peer contracts paid for via micropayments of the cryptocurrency ether. He is the founder of Consensus Systems, a Brooklyn-based software studio building decentralized applications. ConsenSys is one of the largest and fastest-growing companies in blockchain. Joe graduated from Princeton with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He worked in the Princeton Robotics Lab, at tomandandy music developing an autonomous music composition tool, and at private research firm Vision Applications Inc. building autonomous mobile robots. As a software engineer and consultant, Joe worked with eMagine on the Identrus project, and was involved in the founding and operation of a hedge fund with a partner. He held positions as Director of the New York office of Blacksmith Software Consulting, and VP of Technology in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs. Through these posts Joe focused on the intersection of cryptography, engineering, and finance. Switching gears, Joe moved to Kingston, Jamaica to work on projects in the music industry. Two years into his musical endeavors, Joe co-founded the Ethereum Project, and has been working on Ethereum and ConsenSys since January 2014. LinkedIn | Twitter
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Vanessa Grellet, ConsenSys Executive Director, Enterprise & Social Impact Vanessa Grellet, ConsenSys Executive Director, Enterprise & Social Impact Vanessa Grellet is a Global Executive with over 15 years of expertise in the Financial Services industry. Prior to Joining ConsenSys she was the CEO of IIH an innovative Wealth Management firm, a key member of PwC’s global wealth management team and served as a corporate strategy executive for the NYSE focusing on M&A. She chairs the Nexus Working Group on Impact Investing, dedicated to educating, empowering, and connecting Next-Gen impact investors, philanthropists, and social entrepreneurs. Vanessa is an Advisory Board member of Cornerstone Capital, an ESG asset manager, sits on the Advisory Board of The Resolution Project dedicated to activating young leaders through social entrepreneurship and is a Partner at Acumen fund focused on impact investing. She is a Milken Institute Young Leader and a Young Leader Board member of the Off the Record lectures series (OTR) affiliated with the Foreign Policy Association. Mrs. Grellet graduated Cum Laude from Law School (Paris II Assas) and Business School (HEC). LinkedIn | Twitter
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Benjamin Siegel, Impact Policy Manager Benjamin Siegel, Impact Policy Manager Ben Siegel is the Impact Policy Manager at ConsenSys. He is working on bringing blockchain technology into humanitarian work. After spending time working in the political sphere, Ben became extremely interested in exponential technologies and the potential they had for the impact sector, leading him to ConsenSys. LinkedIn | Twitter
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Thessy Mehrain, ConsenSys DCT, Product & Innovation Thessy Mehrain, ConsenSys DCT, Product & Innovation Working more than 15 years across different domains she creates experiences for enterprises that look to gain efficiency and transparency via the Ethereum blockchain, and designs products that are uniquely enabled by blockchain technology to create new interaction models. Thessy holds a Masters degree in Human-Computer Interaction. Prior to joining ConsenSys, she was VP of User Experience/Product Strategy at JPMorganChase for 6 years, partnered in a consultancy, and had a start-up which co-created a scientific peer review system/digital library with the Association of Computing and Machinery (ACM) reducing publicationtimes of scientific material and inspire global collaboration. Working at the intersection of technology entrepreneurship and social change, she promotes inclusion as essential to creating a world that works for everyone. She taught UN teams innovation methodologies, works with the Alternative Banking Group on financial inclusion, consults on Women’s Leadership and started the NYC Women-in-Blockchain Meetup. LinkedIn | Twitter
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Sophie Qinyi Gu, Intern Sophie Qinyi Gu, Intern Sophie is passionate about economic development and social innovations. She is currently building a network of investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and future enthusiasts who are keen on delivering social impact at the NEXUS and ConsenSys. She is also a researcher at Ashoka Social Finance Services analyzing Ashoka Fellows' cases of structural innovations, working toward an understanding of the mechanisms of ratings, trademark and certification as in as in Fairtrade, LEED, FSC and B Corp Certified. Previously she worked for Bill Easterly at the Development Research Institute at NYU and has written policy briefs for over a dozen research papers on economic development and public policy. Sophie has a Master’s degree of Economics from NYU and a Bachelor’s degree of Finance and Statistics from NYU Stern School of Business. LinkedIn | Twitter
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Thomas Rush, Venture Architect Thomas Rush, Venture Architect Thomas Rush is a serial entrepreneur with nearly a decade of founding and advising startups. Thomas is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers and serves on the Advisory Board of Rutgers University Design Thinking program. He is also the cofounder of the Propeller Social Innovation Incubator, a business incubator and co-working space for impact-driven organizations that is home to over 80 organizations and continues to be a hub for the social impact ecosystem in the New Orleans region. Previously, Thomas held leadership positions in a diverse set of industries, most recently working in business development and innovation at IPG Mediabrands, a global media holding company. Prior to that, he led the effort to obtain $2.5MM in funding for a regional urban water management plan in the New Orleans area, and established the first city-wide, industry-agnostic coalition of sustainable organizations. LinkedIn | Twitter
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Learn More About Us What We Do Contact — JOIN THE COALITION POWERED BY CONSENSYS