Grace Wright, MBA

COLOSTATE-gracekh
Director of Sustainability
Dean's Office

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About

Grace Wright. is the Director of Sustainability for the CSU College of Business (CoB) and the Co-Chair of CSU's President's Sustainability Commission (PSC). She has taught entrepreneurship and social and sustainable business in the COB since 2014. 

As the Director of Sustainability, Grace focuses on co-creating, managing and executing the College’s sustainability initiatives, which span research, curriculum, and engagement. The Director of Sustainability is a key member of the College's leadership team, helping to drive progress towards "Business for a Better Word".

In her role as PSC Co-Chair, she leads a group of 40+ appointed university representatives who are responsible for guiding the university’s sustainability strategy, including achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040, through policy development, project oversight, and campus-wide coordination. The PSC advises on major initiatives like the District Energy Conversion (DEC) project, climate action planning, and resource management while ensuring alignment with CSU’s long-term environmental and financial goals.

Grace also chairs the PSC Academic & Research Subcommittee, chairs the CoB Green Team, is the staff lead for the CoB's undergraduate sustainable business concentration, is an advisory board member for the CSU Climate Initiative and serves on the SOGES Curriculum Committee

In the Impact MBA, Grace is the faculty of record for and co-manages the Corporate Sustainability Fellowship Program (BUS 687), where (as of Summer 2025) they’ve placed 175 Impact MBA students in corporate sustainability roles in companies throughout the country.  She also manages Pollution Prevention Fellowships as a part of a partnership & grant with the EPA and Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment. In the Online MBA, Grace teaches BUS 639: Corporate Social and Sustainable Responsibility. 

Grace studied Political Science at the University of Denver and received her MBA from CSU’s Impact MBA (formerly called the Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA). Prior to working for CSU, Grace worked for We.Org (formerly Free the Children) and Whole Foods Market, two businesses that showed her the positive impact of business and the power of young people to make a difference. After graduating from CSU, Grace co-founded a international health nonprofit (Ascent), founded a software literacy training enterprise for business professionals (Aptitech), and launched Wright Ventures, which helps early-stage startups in Denver formalize, launch, and scale. Grace works to equip her students at CSU with the knowledge that they can be powerful entrepreneurs and change makers in business. Grace has been recognized as a CSU Career Impact Award Honoree (2024),  CSU Best Teacher (2017), Colorado Woman of Influence (2010), and a Northern Colorado Superwoman (2016).

Read these two articles by the College of Business to get to know Grace a little better: Approaching Complexity with Compassion and Department of Management- Faculty Features 

Courses Taught:

BUS 639: Corporate Social and Sustainable Responsibility, MGT 667: Global, Social and Sustainable Entrepreneurship, BUS 686: Summer Practicum, BUS 687: Corporate Sustainability Fellowship, BUS 690: Building Teams and Partnerships, MGT 340: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, MGT 360: Social and Sustainable Venturing, MGT 420: New Venture Creation, BUS 405A: Contemporary Business Topics- Entrepreneurship, BUS 479: Strategic Management, MGT 495: Independent Study (Impact Measurement), and MGT 495: Independent Study (Venture Launch).

Current Service:

Co-Chair, President's Sustainability Commmission

Chair, Academic and Research Subcommittee, President's Sustainability Commission

Advisory Board Member and Curriculum Committee Member, CSU Climate Initiative

Climate Across the Curriculum Planning Committee, CSU Climate Initiative

Curriculum Committee, School of Global Enviornmental Sustainability 

Sustainable Business Club Advisor

Prior Service:

Faculty Mentor, Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA

Alumni Network President, Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA  

One Health Institute Fellow

Net Impact Hybrid Chapter Advisor

Mentor, Institute for Entrepreneurship Venture Accelerator 

Todos Santos Program Development Lead- College of Business