Boston, massachusetts
Jhana Senxian, a Brandeis & Harvard-trained social anthropologist, is the Founder and CEO of The Guild — a powerful model of public-private partnership and a transformational urban sanctuary network & new business ecosystem.
Founded in 2012, The Guild is a direct action network of intergenerational, POC residents and their committed, cross sector allies and partners. The Guild network is comprised of resident-led nonprofit and for-profit initiatives and entities focused on racial equity, healing, art, culture, stewardship and development.
With an established record of innovative collaborations and policy impact, the Guild is leading a fresh model of resident led and controlled asset and opportunity creation. Jhana brings over 20 years of experience in quantitative & qualitative research, direct action and cross-sector collaboration in the US, Europe and Africa, with a passion for co-creating and piloting new models for community leadership in urban resilience, art and cultural power. At the Boston-based Aberdeen Group, she led the development and launch of the Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility global research practice.
There, she analyzed the sustainability strategy and impact of over 6000 private, NGO and public sector entities. Jhana has published over 20 reports and briefs on sustainability outcomes and leading practices and is a co-author of Green IT for Dummies (Wiley 2009). Also in 2009, Jhana was featured in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry Green Revolution exhibit on black creativity and leadership within the burgeoning green movement. She has also been a featured speaker at TEDXFenway in 2014 on the topic of Collaborative Alchemy.
Most recently, in 2017, Jhana Senxian was the featured panelist for the panel session Radical, Rigorous & Risky: Re-imagining Knowledge Production at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting and was selected as the 2018 Franklin Environmental Center Resident at Middlebury College, Vermont.
She has developed and directed strategic partnerships with the United Nations focusing on cross-sector partnership in sustainable consumption and production and the Millennium Development Goals. She has also served as an advisor to the UN Secretary General’s Office for the launch of the United Nations International Sustainability Outreach and Communications Strategy.
Recognized for her research, publishing and grassroots action around resilience, sustainability, corporate responsibility and community transformation, Jhana is currently leading a series of projects on Collaborative Alchemy.