Sharon Prince, CEO and Founder of Grace Farms, has fulfilled an ambitious vision to build both a foundation with an interdisciplinary humanitarian mission and an intentionally-designed space that embodies hope and peace. Housed in the sinuous, innovative River building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA, Grace Farms focuses on programming in five areas--justice, nature, community, faith and the arts--with a particular emphasis on addressing modern slavery and advancing gender and racial parity. Sharon is taking an entrepreneurial approach to tackling a wide range of social and cultural issues, including pivoting early in the pandemic to supply PPE, developing an ethical supply chain, creating Design for Freedom, a movement to end modern slavery in the building industry, and launching a social venture, Grace Farms Foods. In this conversation, Sharon talks about the importance of setting clear goals for a project, hiring a values-aligned team, how her previous experience running a clothing brand helped prepare her, the importance of making a commitment to a goal, and how each of us has a role to play in asking how the products we use are being made.
Highlights of the episode
How the idea for Grace Farms came about
Its mission of advancing good through five initiatives
The role of architecture in creating a more just world
Building a values-aligned team
How Sharon’s entrepreneurial experience prepared her
Developing an ethical supply chain
Human trafficking as a priority issue for Grace Farms
How the Design for Freedom movement began
Working together to rid the building industry of forced labor
Pivoting during the pandemic to address urgent needs
Creating a social venture business as an income stream for non-profits
The importance of asking how products are being made
Grace Farms Foods’ ethically sourced products
Partnering with chef Siliva Baldini to creates a Fair Trade cookie
An entrepreneurial ethos as key to non-profit success
Links in this episode
Grace Farms
Grace Farms Foods
Design for Freedom
Grace Farms on Instagram
Grace Farms on Twitter
Grace Farms on Facebook
SANAA
Sharon Prince LinkedIn
Silvia Baldini
Astonish Media
Susan Ferry Price Instagram
Susan Ferry Price Twitter
Susan Ferry Price Website
Promoting Justice in an Amazing Space