Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) recently announced the creation of a college-community partnership initiative, led by inaugural Executive Director Chris Van Bergen '93.

The program called the Public Exchange is run out of the University’s Brown School, a social work and social policy community whose mission is “to engage multidisciplinary faculty, staff and students to create a better and more equitable society through leading rigorous science, transformative education and authentic partnerships.” The Exchange will harness WashU’s intellectual capital to help solve community problems with a simple formula: connect university researchers with external organizations (public or private) to accelerate problem-solving and turn research into actionable solutions.

Van Bergen brings pertinent experience to the Public Exchange. As CFO and COO of Nest, a nonprofit focused on the global artisan economy, he helped lead innovative programs that promote gender equity and economic inclusion across 120 countries with the support of corporate partners ranging from Target to Bloomberg Philanthropies to Hermès. He has taught on social impact and sustainability at NYU’s Stern School of Business, where he earned his Executive MBA in Global Business, Strategy, and Leadership. 

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