Multidisciplinary Corporate Sustainability Conference - Leavey School of Business

Join us for the 2nd Annual Multidisciplinary Corporate Sustainability Conference at Santa Clara University on May 6, 2026. Discover how scholars and industry leaders are shaping the future of sustainable business.

Agenda

Time	Agenda Item
8:30- 9:00	Breakfast
9:00- 9:10	Welcome and introductions
9:10- 10:10	30-minute research presentations Gueyon Kim (UC Santa Cruz): The Role of College Education in the Rise of “New Work”: Measurement and Evidence Jacquelyn Pless (MIT Sloan): How DOEs Government Funding Fuel Scientists?
10:10- 10:20	Break
10:20- 11:20	30-minute research presentations Jane Danyu Zhang (U of Oregon): Sustainability in Retirement Savings Ewan Kingston (SCU): Deceptively Aligned Intelligence Explosions: the Other AI Sustainability Issue
11:20- 11:30	Break
11:30- 12:30	Fireside chat moderated by Brian Thomas (SCU) Theme: Is Silicon Valley building a future that is both smart (AI) and sustainable? City of Santa Clara: Reena Brilliot, Director of Economic Development & Sustainability Silicon Valley Power: Kathleen Hughes, Assistant Director
12:30- 1:45	Lunch + Poster Session featuring Sustainable Business Institute (SBI) Research Scholars Theme: Is Silicon Valley building a future that is both smart (AI) and sustainable? Application: Adobe - Diwas Timsina and Vivek Juyal Data Center: Equinix - Jacqueline Martinez, Daniel Koo, Nina Mahdawe, Alexis Vuong, and Kayla Fong Energy: Silicon Valley Power - Lana Villegas, Tiffany Doan, Abigail Wilwerding, and Sophia Zuchetto Water: Ingomar Packaging - Ella Moyer, Gavin Chen, James Ponzio, and Tor Rothrock
1:45- 2:45	30-minute research presentations Meir Statman (SCU): Separating Positive Impact from Warm Glow Stacey Ritter (SCU): Too Big to Report: Evidence from SEC Climate Disclosure Enforcement
3:00-4:15	Happy Hour Reception at The Hut
	The conference is sponsored by the Sustainable Business Institute at Santa Clara University. The organizing committee includes Audrey Guo (Economics), Stacey Ritter (Accounting), Brian Thomas (SBI Faculty Associate), Jianlin Wang (Economics), and Victoria Wenxin Xie (Economics). We are also grateful for support from Chris Norris (Executive Director) and Carol Kelly (Program Director).