Meet Brianna Ennis-Brown, Purppl’s new Service Lead & Entrepreneur in Residence
Please help us welcome Brianna to the Purppl team, stepping into the role of Service Lead & Entrepreneur in Residence for Impact Measurement and Organizational Sustainability. In this role, Brianna supports organizations to define impact measurement frameworks, co-create sustainable business models, and embed social and environmental sustainability into core operations.
When asked how she would describe her work in the world, Brianna says, “I help build strategies and systems for courageous leaders seeking to drive forward meaningful change. I guide social purpose leaders to define the change they want to see, build organizational strategy around that change, and implement robust and heart-centred measurement strategies that clarify how and why their work leads to positive impact.”
Outside of Purppl, Brianna is also an instructor with BCIT’s Sustainable Business Leadership program, where she teaches impact and sustainability measurement and reporting to the next generation of social entrepreneurs. Previously, Brianna co-founded and managed Decade Impact, a Vancouver-based impact consultancy for small and medium businesses seeking to define, measure, manage and communicate their impact, often through B Corp certification.
“My work often lives in the balance between hope and despair with one eye focused on the current reality of some very broken systems, and one eye focused firmly on the promise of something better,” says BriannaStanding at this crossroads has given Brianna both the inspiration to do good and the hope for a future where this work will become tangible.
“I’m a new mom, so the conversation around legacy and future generations has just become so much more personal,” shares Briana about her young family living on the traditional territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw and Coast Salish peoples (Squamish, BC). “Essentially, I want my daughter to be proud of me and the work I’ve done. That’s my north star.”
“Throughout my journey, I’ve been deeply influenced by the clients I’ve had the honour of supporting, each looking to pursue solutions in their corner of the world – from food systems to financial systems. I’ve also been deeply impacted by movements, such as the Sunrise Movement and Green New Deal, which actively demonstrate how we can effectively balance community, policy, ambition, and groundedness.”
Her vision for this work was first fuelled by her passion for environmental sustainability. “I could see that major economic actors/corporations were responsible for so much of the environmental degradation and crisis facing our world, but they didn’t seem to be at the table when discussing solutions.” So she decided to go to business school to learn the logic and language of business “to build bridges and solutions.”
To what end? Well, she’s not convinced there is an end, but rather growth and evolution that continues over generations. “I’m on a forever-journey to answer this question, and I’ve recently been sitting with the idea that the means are just as important as the end. It matters where we’re looking to go – what change we’re seeking to create – but it’s equally important how we live that today.” Impact is relational, she says, and is built by the interactions shared with others on a similar journey, and not just a checklist of things to achieve.
On the matter of hope, Brianna’s is fuelled by the passion and action of her clients. “Despite the many, extraordinary, deeply entrenched, and seemingly insurmountable challenges that our communities and our planet face, there are people every day who are working on solutions. I think this perspective can be summed up by a quote from Adrienne Rich that has become quite a touchstone for me:
My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
So much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those
who age after age, perversely,
with no extraordinary power,
reconstitute the world.
Indeed, you’re in good company, Brianna. Thanks for sharing.
This spotlight is part of Purppl’s Purposeful People series, celebrating the unique voices committed to building a just, regenerative economy.
