Chris Carmody has spent over 20 years helping communities utilize sustainability, social
entrepreneurship, and philanthropy as catalysts for economic growth.
Carmody currently serves as Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable
Development and Green Plus™, an alliance of universities and chambers of commerce
that helps America’s smaller employers and their communities become more competitive
through sustainable business practices. The Institute partners with the American Chamber
of Commerce Executives (ACCE) to offer sustainable economic development support to
its 1,400 north American chambers of commerce.
More about Green Plus™ can be found at www.gogreenplus.org, and on Twitter
@GreenPlus. Green Plus™ provides several free resources for startups, early stage and
incumbent small businesses wishing to integrate sustainability into their business strategy
• The Green Plus Sustainable StartUp Road Map: http://gogreenplus.org/2011/
resources-for-startups-get-the-green-ball-rolling/
• Starting Up Green: Discovering Your Unique Entry Point in the Green Economy:
http://gogreenplus.org/2011/two-guides-to-the-green-economy/
• Make My Business Greener: Opportunities to Save Money by Going Green: http://
gogreenplus.org/2011/two-guides-to-the-green-economy/
Carmody holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, where he also served
as graduate business student body president. He has taught undergraduate and graduate
level courses in strategic management at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business,
Cleveland State University, and Oberlin College.
After graduating from Oberlin College in 1989, Carmody staffed Michael R. White in
his successful bid to become Cleveland’s second African American mayor. He served as
Mayor White’s Special Assistant for Education and Co-Director of the Mayor’s Office on
Competitiveness from 1990 – 1995. In 1998, Carmody founded the Greater Cleveland
Film Commission, which brought over $55 million in new motion picture business to
northeast Ohio during his tenure.
In 2002, Carmody was selected for the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship.
He has served as Trustee of a number of organizations promoting local business,
entrepreneurship, and sustainability, most notably on the boards of the Greater Cleveland
Partnership and the Cleveland Foundation’s Civic Innovation Lab.