Council of Advisors

Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D.

Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D. is Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. He is one of Fast Company Magazine's '100 Most Creative People in Business' and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of "12 pioneers inventing the future of aging and how we will all live, work and play tomorrow." He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and is recipient of one its highest honors - the Pollack Award for Productive Aging for demonstrated excellence in translating research into practical application improving the lives of older people. He was appointed by President Bush to the White House Conference on Aging Advisory Committee. Dr. Coughlin has advised numerous governments, the World Economic Forum, OECD, and the Council on Foreign Relations on demographic change, technology and strategic advantage. A Fellow of Switzerland's World Demographics & Ageing Forum, he consults to businesses worldwide on product innovation and market strategy.

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta

Mr. Mineta's distinguished career includes 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and cabinet service under the last two United States presidents. Mr. Mineta joined the administration of President George W. Bush in January 2001, becoming the 14th Secretary of Transportation and was the longest serving Secretary in the history of that cabinet post. He is recognized for his accomplishments in economic development, science and technology policy, foreign and domestic trade, the environment, budgetary issues and civil rights. Following the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, Secretary Mineta guided the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, an agency with more than 65,000 employees, and the largest mobilization of a new federal agency since World War II. Among his numerous accomplishments, Secretary Mineta received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the US.

Andrew Wolk

Widely recognized as a leading social innovator and a pioneering teacher of social entrepreneurship, Andrew founded Root Cause in 2004 and now leads its overall strategic direction. He has consulted to dozens of organizations working for civic engagement, economic development, education, the environment, seniors, and more. Andrew recently authored the first in a series of Root Cause How-to Guides, entitled Business Planning for Enduring Social Impact, as well as a chapter in the Small Business Administration's annual Report to the President of the United States on social entrepreneurship and government. He designed and taught one of the first courses on social entrepreneurship in the country for Boston University's School of Management, which recently awarded him the first ever Rising Star Award. Andrew is a senior lecturer in social entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management and Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. He began his career as a private-sector entrepreneur, having built and sold a multi-restaurant delivery business in the 1990s. He holds an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management from Boston University and a B.A. from Lehigh University.