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Jane Chen

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Jane Chen
Chen in 2012
Born
Jane Marie Chen
NationalityTaiwanese American
Alma materPomona College
Harvard University
Stanford University
Occupation(s)Co-founder and former CEO, Embrace, and Co-founder and CEO, Embrace Innovations
Known forCo-founder at Embrace (non-profit)

Jane Marie Chen (born December 5, 1978) is the co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise startup that aims to help the 15 million premature and low birth-weight babies born every year, through a low-cost infant warmer,[1] that gives premature and low-birth-weight infants a better chance at survival. A premature baby lacks the ability to regulate its own body temperature. The Embrace Warmer uses a phase change material incorporated into a sleeping bag design to regulate the temperature of these babies, without the need for a constant supply of electricity.[2][3][4] The device is being used in clinic and hospital settings around the world, with India as its primary market (India is home to 40% of the world's low-birth-weight and premature babies).[5][6]

Currently, Chen serves as chief executive officer (CEO) of Embrace Innovations, which has a mission to design and bring to market healthcare technologies for the developing world, starting with the infant warmer. The Embrace infant warmer costs about 1% of a traditional incubator,[7] and is estimated to have helped over 300,000 babies to date.

Chen served as the first CEO of Embrace, the non-profit arm of the organization, before stepping into the CEO role for Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise that was spun off in 2012.[8]

Early life and education

Chen's early education was at Upland High School, in Upland, California.

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 (Chi Heng Foundation), and worked for the Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania.[10] She also worked at Monitor Group as a management consultant, advising Fortune 500 companies.

Chen has been a TED speaker,[11] and was selected as one of Forbes' Impact 30 in 2011.[12] 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.[13] Chen has been recognized as the Inspirational Young Alumni of the Year by Pomona College,[14] and selected as a "Woman of Distinction" by the American Association of University Women.[15] Chen has spoken at numerous international conferences, including the Skoll World Forum, Bloomberg Design Conference, Forbes Women's Summit, and the World Economic Forum.[16]

In 2012, Chen was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,[17] and was featured in Dove's "Real Role Models" campaign for women and girls.[18] She was also profiled in AOL's Makers campaign.[10] Chen is a TED Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Rainer Arnhold Fellow.

In 2013, Chen and the other co-founders of Embrace, Linus Liang, Nag Murty, and Rahul Panicker were awarded the prestigious Economist Innovation Award, under the category of Social and Economic Innovation.[19] 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.[20] In 2014, Chen was invited to the White House's first ever Maker Faire, where she presented Embrace's work to President Obama.[21] 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.[22]

Embrace

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.[1][9][23] In 2008, they co-founded Embrace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to bring their project to life.[24][25] In January 2012, Embrace moved into a hybrid structure.[26] 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. Embrace believes that this type of "hybrid" structure allows it to most effectively achieve its mission: to supply its infant warmers to every baby in need.[27] 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.[28]

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; each product sold helps to save a baby in a developing country with the Embrace warmer. The Little Lotus products leverage the technology used in the Embrace warmer to keep babies at an ideal skin temperature, thereby helping to improve their sleep.[29]

Personal life

Chen's personal hobbies include meditation, yoga and surfing. She writes a blog called Hanging Zen,[30] and a column for Forbes about the life and startup lessons she learned through surfing.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b Abrar, Peerzada (July 20, 2012). "Lessons from 50 startups: Stanford grads' Embrace Innovations build low-cost warmer to save young Indian lives". The Economic Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  2. ^ "Embrace Innovations". Embrace Innovations. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Embrace Nest Baby Warmer, Buy Low Cost Portable Warmer, Infant Warmer Manufacturers". Phoenix Medical Systems (P) Ltd. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. ^ "Embrace – Design for Extreme Affordability". Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  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. doi:10.3961/jpmph.16.022. ISSN 1975-8375. PMC 4898897. PMID 27255075.
  6. ^ Yakowicz, Will (April 27, 2016). "This Space-Age Blanket Startup Has Helped Save 200,000 Babies (and Counting)". Inc.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Bagchi, Shrabonti (September 19, 2011). "Saving little Lives". The Times of India. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  8. ^ "Embrace:Deciding on a Hybrid Structure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Lee, Ellen (November 12, 2010). "Embrace may keep babies warm and alive". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Jane Chen: Women in Healthcare". AOL. February 2, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  11. ^ "Jane Chen: A warm embrace that saves lives". TED Conference. TED.
  12. ^ "Forbes impact 30, 2012". Forbes. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  13. ^ "Futurists | AOL.com". www.aol.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  14. ^ Hua, Vanessa. "Jane Chen '00 Wins Inspirational Young Alumna Award for Innovative Incubator Invention". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  15. ^ "Women of Distinction 2019 Spotlight: Jane Marie Chen". NCCWSL. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Chen, Jane. "Speaker at Skoll World Forum".
  17. ^ "World Economic Forum, Young Global Leaders". WEF, Young Global Leaders, 2012. World Economic Forum. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  18. ^ Series, Dove. "Dove Real Role Models". Dove.
  19. ^ "Innovation awards: And the winners are…". The Economist. November 30, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  20. ^ "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. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  21. ^ Lelon, Elise (July 10, 2014). "The Baby Saving Revolution: Obama and Beyonce Embrace Founder, Jane Chen (You Will Too)". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  22. ^ Weil, Elizabeth (November 20, 2015). "Caring for Premature Babies, With a Little Help From Beyoncé". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  23. ^ Sibley, Lisa (April 17, 2008). "Stanford startup's $25 'sleeping bag' could save newborns". Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  24. ^ Dooley, Sean (December 17, 2010). "Embrace Infant Warmer Could Save Thousands". ABC News. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  25. ^ "Saving Babies" (Flash). CNN. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  26. ^ Chen, Jane (February 2013). "Should Your Business Be Nonprofit or For-Profit?". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  27. ^ Abudheen, Sainul K (August 26, 2013). "Infant warmers maker Embrace raises funding from Khosla Impact, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, others". VCCircle. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  28. ^ Chen, Jane. "How I Surfed The Wave That Nearly Drowned My Startup". Forbes. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  29. ^ "A Simple, Effective Way to Reduce Infant Mortality". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  30. ^ "Hanging Zen". Hanging Zen. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  31. ^ Chen, Jane. "Jane Chen - Jane Chen's Forbes Site". Forbes. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
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