Biography

 

Cheryl E. Harrison develops integrated strategies for the Vivia Foundation’s project initiatives worldwide, specifically in Europe, India and the United States. As a founding director, Cheryl’s major focus is to conceive, develop and implement initiatives guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Programs for Vivia Foundation include food loss and waste reduction, development of “smarter packaging” solutions and environmental strategies for the circular economy.

She is proficient in creating innovative programs based on design principles – ranging from market assessment and research to strategic process and implementation. Her  career in applied innovation and systems design extends from marketing, communications, user-experience, environmental design, packaging development and technology integration. Ms. Harrison founded and supported numerous food, health, social, environmental and technology initiatives. Her leadership experience includes working intimately with executives of businesses, research institutions, organizations, retailers and venture companies. She has a keen ability to predict outcomes and visualize the possibilities for conceiving and piloting new solutions.

Cheryl has lead initiatives for many Fortune 500 companies in the agri-food, healthcare, energy, technology, financial and retail sectors; she has worked closely with entrepreneurs, government agencies, research institutions, and non-profit organizations.  Typically, she weaves together cause-related programs, social priorities and essential technologies. She cultivates strategic partnerships to accelerate critical impacts – at scale.

Throughout her career over the past three decades, Ms. Harrison founded and supported food, health, social and environmental initiatives, cultivating relationships with philanthropies and foundations. She served on the executive boards of non-profit academic, arts, education and civic organizations; Cheryl is a recipient of San Francisco’s Woman Entrepreneur Award, and the UC Davis 2008 Alumni Service Award. Over the past 20 years, she served as a leader and advisor to the University of California, Davis. She was a Trustee for the UC Davis Foundation, and served on the Dean’s Advisory Council as a chairperson for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Advisory Board, where she received the Award of Distinction. She serves as the Director of Global Partnerships and Steering Committee for the Global Action Platform and its annual Global Action Summit, a university-business alliance which convenes world-renowned thought leaders. 

Cheryl delivered the opening keynote at the Packaging Design Innovation & Technology Conference in Delhi (PDIT2) and presented at the 2019 United Nations COP14 on the topic of the Dry Chain for agriculture in India.

She has been responsible for the launch of new initiatives for companies and organizations including Nike, Nokia, Levi Strauss & Co, McKesson, EY, Bank of America, Williams-Sonoma, Columbia Sportswear, General Mills, Kendall-Jackson, SunWorld, Visa USA, Charles Schwab, Chevron, Shaklee Corporation, AT&T, The Trust for Public Land, Gorbachev Foundation’s State of the World Forum, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Chabot Space and Science Center, CDC – California Department of Health Services, Mitsui Chemicals (Japan); and Xinhua Finance Media (China) and ICRISAT (India), a research institute of the World Bank.

Cheryl is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, in the United States with academic degrees and research expertise in Applied Behavioral Sciences and Environmental Design.