{"367121":{"#nid":"367121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Profile: Tech Provided Great Environment for Edgerton to Explore Sustainability","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore enrolling in Georgia Tech\u2019s MBA Program, Brian Edgerton had long been interested in sustainability. \u201cBut when I came to Tech, I had the opportunity to embrace it,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEdgerton, MBA 2013, served as president of Georgia Tech\u2019s Net Impact chapter during his studies. The Tech chapter, which earned Gold Standing from the national organization in 2013, is one of more than 300 worldwide, including 40,000 students and professional leaders who are focused on creating positive social and environmental change in the workplace and around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow a business user coordinator in distribution at Target\u2019s headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Edgerton gained insight into sustainability-related careers while attending Net Impact\u2019s national conference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs I listened to a panel discussion, I realized that none of the experts entered their companies in a sustainability role,\u201d he says. \u201cYou don\u2019t necessarily have to find a sustainability position right away, but you can find a corporate culture aligned with your values and build relationships there to influence change as your role evolves. Sustainability is a holistic process.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAttracted to Target by its community impact and environmental initiatives, Edgerton worked as a project engineer for Polytron before joining Tech\u2019s full-time MBA program in 2011. He previously earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from Tech in 2006.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI had a gut feel that the culture of the Tech MBA was what I needed,\u201d says the native of Charlotte, N.C. \u201cIt has a strong sense of community and is consistently highly ranked in operations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEdgerton, who focused his MBA studies on both operations and strategy, won the Dean\u2019s Prize for Full-time MBA Student Excellence at the end of his second year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the MBA program, he served as a graduate research assistant for Scheller College\u2019s Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship, which enabled him to assist with initiatives focused on values-based business practices and socially responsible entrepreneurship, including the Ideas to Serve Competition and Global Social Venture Competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe was excited about the founding of the Center for Business Strategies for Sustainability during his time in the MBA program. He particularly enjoyed the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EBusiness Strategies for Sustainability\u003C\/em\u003Ecourse taught by Center founder Beril Toktay, professor of operations management and holder of the Brady Family Chair.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe course included an innovation tournament, in which students generated business-model or product ideas that would have a positive environmental or social impact. Edgerton\u2019s concept was a for-profit food-truck business that would deliver fresh produce and prepared meals to people living in \u201cfood deserts,\u201d which are often low-income communities where nutritious food is difficult to obtain.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBefore enrolling in Georgia Tech\u2019s MBA Program, Brian Edgerton had long been interested in sustainability.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Before enrolling in Georgia Tech\u2019s MBA Program, Brian Edgerton had long been interested in sustainability."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2015-01-22 17:20:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:54","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-01-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"367131":{"id":"367131","type":"image","title":"Brian Edgerton","body":null,"created":"1449245817","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:16:57","changed":"1475895103","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:43","alt":"Brian Edgerton","file":{"fid":"201719","name":"edgerton.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/edgerton_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/edgerton_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":30811,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/edgerton_0.jpg?itok=cTiWKDLu"}}},"media_ids":["367131"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/scheller.gatech.edu\/centers-initiatives\/center-for-business-strategies-for-sustainability.html","title":"Center for Business Strategies on Sustainability"},{"url":"http:\/\/scheller.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Management"}],"groups":[{"id":"1316","name":"Green Buzz"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"115611","name":"center for business strategies on sustainability"},{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"1209","name":"MBA"},{"id":"167089","name":"Scheller College of Business"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:hope.wilson@scheller.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EHope Wilson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brad.dixon@scheller.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrad Dixon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAssistant Director of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}