Preparing Leaders of Innovation

Innovation is critical to our economic and social prosperity. When we think about innovation, we often think about the outcome – the innovative ideas and products – yet it is people who develop, modify, and implement these ideas and products. Innovation work can be a challenging endeavor, requiring navigating ambiguous problem contexts, overcoming setbacks, and persisting in the face of the status quo. How are we preparing our kids to be leaders of innovation?

Liz Gerber, Ph.D. studies innovation, technology, and organizations. She is the Allen and Johnnie Breed Junior Chair of Design in the McCormick School of Engineering and School of Communication at Northwestern University, and a professor in the Segal Design Institute at NU. Gerber holds courtesy appointments in Management Science and Industrial Engineering, the Kellogg School of Management, and the School of Education and Social Policy. She is the principal investigator for The Creative Action Lab, which investigates how technology fosters innovation, specifically focusing on crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and innovation education.

Gerber is the founder of Design for America, an award-winning nationwide network of interdisciplinary student teams and community members using design to create local and social impact. DFA offers students the opportunity to innovate solutions to real problems in their local community and empowers them to do creative, effective work. DFA studios are currently hosted by 14 different universities, with more than 2,000 students in their network and 350 core team members. DFA is a pipeline of innovators, change makers, and social entrepreneurs. DFA, its students, and projects have been featured in Fast Company, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and O, the Oprah Winfrey Magazine. As noted in a 2011 Fast Company article, the DFA approach is to “define, discover, reframe, ideate, prototype, and implement … to have an idea and make it happen.”

Gerber received her BA from Dartmouth College, and her MA and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Prior to DFA, she taught business and design at Stanford’s d.school and worked in the toy industry.