Founder, President and CEO
Erika Gregory
Erika Gregory is President and Founder (2005) of Collective Invention, a multi-disciplinary consultancy dedicated to innovation for the common good. Based in San Francisco, Collective Invention works with governments, private sector clients, NGOs and civil society to develop both the cultural characteristics and the practical skills necessary for systemic innovation.
Co-Founder (1997) of The Idea Factory, an innovation center now based in Singapore, Erika has been instrumental in the development of tools and methodologies that support social innovation. She has coached boards and leadership teams across Europe, Southeast Asia and the United States, focusing on the role of leadership in fostering innovation culture. Erika has designed and managed projects for senior leaders and their direct reports in government ministries, industry consortia and Fortune 100 clients.
Working closely with US-based organizations Grantmakers for Education and KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Erika is leading a multi-year innovation process for educational philanthropists investing in the transformation of learning in America. Foundations engaged in this work include the WK Kellogg, John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur, Bill and Melinda Gates, Intel, Carnegie, Nellie Mae, Stupski and Hewlett Foundations, among others. Meanwhile, Erika and her colleagues have recently facilitated the accreditation redesign process for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the regional accreditor for 160 senior colleges and universities including the University of California and California State University systems.
Building on work begun in 2007 with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, Erika is currently engaged–in conjunction with the UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption (CSCP)–in the development of a simulation of sustainable living in the year 2050. Designed to catalyze innovation among UN member nations and industry partners, the work was introduced at the UN Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD) meeting in May 2011 under the auspices of the Swedish government. As a result, Erika is now engaged in development of the Future We Want, which has been identified as the theme for the UN Rio+20 conference to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June, 2012.
As Director of Scenario Communications at Global Business Network from 1994-1997, Erika used the arts and technology to enliven globally relevant strategic scenarios. She has written, directed and produced in a variety of media, from live theater to strategy simulations and installations.
Erika holds a BFA from the Juilliard School in New York City.
