Jane Chen Explained

Jane Chen
Birth Name:Jane Marie Chen
Alma Mater:Pomona College
Harvard University
Stanford University
Nationality:Taiwanese American
Occupation:Co-founder and former CEO, Embrace, and Co-founder and CEO, Embrace Innovations
Known For:Co-founder at Embrace (non-profit)

Jane Marie Chen is the co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise that invented and distributes a low-cost infant warmer,[1] that gives premature and low-birth-weight infants a better chance at survival.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The Embrace infant warmers / incubators have now helped to save over 700,000 babies in 25 countries. [7] Jane served as the first CEO of Embrace, the non-profit arm of the organization, before stepping into the chief executive officer (CEO) role of Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise that was spun off in 2012.[8]

Early life and education

Chen holds a BA in Psychology and Economics from Pomona College, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, and an MBA from Stanford University.[9]

Career

Prior to Embrace, Chen worked with nonprofit organizations on healthcare issues in developing countries. She spent several years as the program director of a startup HIV/AIDS nonprofit in China, and worked for the Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania.[10] She also worked at Monitor Group as a management consultant.

In 2013, Chen and the other co-founders of Embrace, Linus Liang, Nag Murty, and Rahul Panicker were awarded the Economist Innovation Award, under the category of Social and Economic Innovation.[11] In the same year, Chen and her co-founder Rahul Panicker were also recognized as Schwab Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by the World Economic Forum.[12] In 2014, Chen was invited to the White House's first ever Maker Faire, where she presented Embrace's work to President Obama.[13] In the same year, Beyoncé made a $125,000 contribution through Chime for Change which allowed Embrace to distribute its infant warmers to nine countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.[14]

Embrace

See main article: Embrace (incubator). While doing her MBA at Stanford, Chen and a few other fellow graduate students were assigned a class project to create a low-cost infant incubator that could be used in rural areas.[15] In 2008, they co-founded Embrace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to bring their project to life.[16] [17] In January 2012, Embrace moved into a hybrid structure.[18] The non-profit entity, Embrace, donates infant warmers to the neediest areas through NGO partners, and provides educational programs on newborn health alongside the distribution of warmers. The for-profit social enterprise, Embrace Innovations, sells the warmers to paying entities, including governments and private clinics, all focusing on emerging markets.[19] Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise, raised its Series A round of financing in 2012 from Vinod Khosla's Impact Fund and Capricorn Investment Group. The company raised a second round of investment capital from Marc Benioff in 2014.[20]

In 2016, Embrace Innovations launched a line of consumer baby products called Little Lotus Baby (temperature regulating swaddles and sleeping bags), which have a buy-one give-one model. The Little Lotus products use the technology used in the Embrace warmer to keep babies at an ideal skin temperature, thereby helping to improve their sleep.[21]

Embrace's nonprofit arm donated over 2,500 incubators to Ukraine in 2022,[22] and donates incubators to emergency responses and humanitarian crises around the world.[23]

Awards and recognition

Chen has been a TED speaker,[24] and was selected as one of Forbes' Impact 30 in 2011.[25] In 2019, Chen was featured in AOL/Verizon/Yahoo's "FUTURIST" Series, profiling industry leaders across all different disciplines who are advancing their fields with technology, innovation, and fearlessness.[26] Chen has been recognized as the Inspirational Young Alumni of the Year by Pomona College,[27] and selected as a "Woman of Distinction" by the American Association of University Women.[28] Chen has spoken at numerous international conferences, including the Skoll World Forum, Bloomberg Design Conference, Forbes Women's Summit, and the World Economic Forum.[29]

In 2012, Chen was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,[30] and was featured in Dove's "Real Role Models" campaign for women and girls.[31] She was also profiled in AOL's Makers campaign.[10] Chen is a TED Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Rainer Arnhold Fellow.

Chen's memoir was acquired by Penguin Random House, and will be published in 2025.[32]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Abrar. Peerzada. Lessons from 50 startups: Stanford grads' Embrace Innovations build low-cost warmer to save young Indian lives. August 13, 2012. The Economic Times. July 20, 2012.
  2. Web site: Embrace Innovations. Embrace Innovations. 2019-11-13.
  3. Web site: Embrace Nest Baby Warmer, Buy Low Cost Portable Warmer, Infant Warmer Manufacturers. Phoenix Medical Systems (P) Ltd. 2019-11-13.
  4. Web site: Embrace – Design for Extreme Affordability. 2019-11-13.
  5. Tellapragada. Chaitanya. Eshwara. Vandana Kalwaje. Bhat. Parvati. Acharya. Shashidhar. Kamath. Asha. Bhat. Shashikala. Rao. Chythra. Nayak. Sathisha. Mukhopadhyay. Chiranjay. May 2016. Risk Factors for Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Among Pregnant Indian Women: A Hospital-based Prospective Study. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. 49. 3. 165–175. 10.3961/jpmph.16.022. 1975-8375. 4898897. 27255075.
  6. Web site: This Space-Age Blanket Startup Has Helped Save 200,000 Babies (and Counting). Yakowicz. Will. 2016-04-27. Inc.com. 2019-11-13.
  7. Web site: Home . 2024-06-02 . Embrace Global . en.
  8. Web site: Embrace:Deciding on a Hybrid Structure . 2014-03-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140513091724/http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Embrace.pdf . May 13, 2014 . mdy-all .
  9. News: Lee. Ellen. Embrace may keep babies warm and alive. August 13, 2012. San Francisco Chronicle. November 12, 2010.
  10. News: Jane Chen: Women in Healthcare. August 13, 2012. AOL. February 2, 2012.
  11. News: Innovation awards: And the winners are… . The Economist . November 30, 2013 . April 14, 2014.
  12. Web site: Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Announces Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 | World Economic Forum - Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Announces Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 . Weforum.org . February 15, 2013 . April 14, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140415162849/http://www.weforum.org/news/schwab-foundation-social-entrepreneurship-announces-social-entrepreneurs-year-2013 . April 15, 2014 .
  13. Web site: The Baby Saving Revolution: Obama and Beyonce Embrace Founder, Jane Chen (You Will Too). Lelon. Elise. 2014-07-10. Huffington Post. 2017-10-30.
  14. News: Caring for Premature Babies, With a Little Help From Beyoncé. Weil. Elizabeth. 2015-11-20. The New York Times. 2017-10-30. 0362-4331.
  15. News: Sibley. Lisa. Stanford startup's $25 'sleeping bag' could save newborns. August 13, 2012. Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal. April 17, 2008.
  16. Web site: Embrace Infant Warmer Could Save Thousands . July 1, 2012. December 17, 2010. Sean. Dooley. ABC News.
  17. Web site: Saving Babies. CNN. Flash . July 1, 2012.
  18. Chen. Jane. Should Your Business Be Nonprofit or For-Profit?. Harvard Business Review. February 1, 2013. February 2013.
  19. Web site: Abudheen. Sainul K. Infant warmers maker Embrace raises funding from Khosla Impact, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, others. VCCircle. August 26, 2013. 2013-08-26.
  20. Web site: How I Surfed The Wave That Nearly Drowned My Startup. Chen. Jane. Forbes. en. 2020-02-05.
  21. News: A Simple, Effective Way to Reduce Infant Mortality. Bloomberg.com. 2017-10-30.
  22. Web site: News . A. B. C. . Video Nonprofit sends portable incubators to pregnant women in Ukraine . 2024-06-02 . ABC News . en.
  23. Web site: Kavilanz . Parija . 2023-10-25 . Anticipating premature births as crisis deeps, this nonprofit is racing to get its portable incubators into Israel and Gaza CNN Business . 2024-06-02 . CNN . en.
  24. Web site: Jane Chen: A warm embrace that saves lives. TED Conference. TED.
  25. News: Forbes impact 30, 2012. August 13, 2011. Forbes.
  26. Web site: Futurists AOL.com. www.aol.com. 2020-02-05.
  27. Web site: Hua . Vanessa . Jane Chen '00 Wins Inspirational Young Alumna Award for Innovative Incubator Invention . April 26, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110516163102/http://www.pomona.edu/news/2011/04/26-jane-chen-inspirational-alumna.aspx . May 16, 2011 .
  28. Web site: Women of Distinction 2019 Spotlight: Jane Marie Chen. NCCWSL. en-US. 2020-02-05.
  29. Web site: Chen. Jane. Speaker at Skoll World Forum.
  30. Web site: World Economic Forum, Young Global Leaders. WEF, Young Global Leaders, 2012. World Economic Forum. August 13, 2012.
  31. Web site: Series. Dove. Dove Real Role Models. Dove.
  32. Web site: Deahl . Rachel . Book Deals: Week of December 19, 2022 . 2024-06-02 . PublishersWeekly.com . en.