Careers in Social Innovation

Social innovators are diverse and dynamic. They create change from within established organizations as intrapreneurs, through their own organizations as entrepreneurs and everywhere in between. Read on to see how and where social innovators are shaping a better world.

Where Social Innovators Work

Organizations Focusing on Social Change

  • Foundations
  • Government Agencies
  • Grassroots Organizations
  • Impact Investing Firms

Organizations Creating Economic, Social and Environmental Value

  • Social Enterprises
  • B-Corps
  • Hybrid Businesses

Corporate Departments Giving Back to Society

  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Sustainable Development
  • Community Engagement
  • Environmental Sustainability 

Local, State and National Governments

  • Public-Private Partnerships
  • Departments and Programs Serving the Public
  • Policy Offices
Bianca Alvarado

Bianca Alvarado '18 (MASI)

Co-Founder, Baja Urban and Program Director, Casa Azul Productions

Bianca’s work with issues along the border inspired her to create Baja Urban. Throughout the years Baja Urban has expanded into many projects that carry out her mission of promoting Hispanic culture. Today Baja Urban produces bilingual digital books that teach kids about social issues. This project came about after her studies on indigenous traditions in México through a grant provided by the Kroc School.

More recently with the help of the U.S. Department of State and an Alumni TIES grant, Casa Azul Productions' Apprenticeship Program came to life. Now it has evolved into Casa Azul Productions 2.0, where her work consists of taking other organizations’ programs online and creating digital media content that is sensible to youth needs based on culture and demographics.

Nico Darras '18 (MASI)

Founder and CEO, AND ME Consulting

While attending the University of Connecticut on a baseball scholarship, Nico majored in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies. After an injury abruptly ended his baseball career, he enrolled in the Kroc School’s Master of Arts in Social Innovation program to gain new skills while furthering his understanding of gender, masculinity and sexual violence. On his journey through the program, he identified the need for a sexual violence prevention training program specifically tailored to athletes. As a result, Nico founded AND ME Consulting which teaches male athletes the importance of positive masculinity and encourages them to join in the fight to combat sexual violence. More recently, to strengthen his business and grow his expertise, Nico started his EdD in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University.

Nico Darras
Claire Bergstresser

Claire Bergstresser '19 (MASI)

Grants & Compliance Coordinator, International Rescue Committee

Claire graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2015 with both a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Law as well as a BS in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Since then, she has served in several capacities with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego, including working with more than 500 volunteers and interns as they support refugees in their resettlement. Claire is trained in program capacity building, implementation, and crisis management. In 2019, she completed her Master of Arts in Social Innovation at the Kroc School, which equipped her with the skills, knowledge and experience to enhance her impact with IRC and the San Diego community in her role as a Grants & Compliance Coordinator. In this position, she is supervising the implementation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding. Additionally, she was invited to a Special Advisory Committee on disability inclusion at IRC worldwide because of the confidence and skills the MASI program brought her.