Iris Cole is a social entrepreneur, the founder of Do Good Artist, and Founding Partner of She Raises the Bar, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability consulting firm. Iris’ background includes 20+ years of experience working as an executive and sustainability consultant in both the public and private sectors. She works with investors, businesses, government agencies, and NGO’s to help them leverage and execute more impactful social/ environmental investment strategies, inclusive business models, and community engagement, as well as manage risk and identify strategic growth opportunities through the lens of their stakeholders. Her clients include multi-national, family-owned, and small businesses and start-ups, and her experience in a broad range of industries helps foster best practices and bottom-line results for her clients.
Ms. Cole is a champion of artists and devotes time to help broaden their capacity to apply their skills in multi-disciplinary environments. She has spearheaded various collaborative learning projects with universities in the state of North Carolina, in the Caribbean, and abroad. She is an instructor of artist leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the Kenan Institute for the Arts and UNC School of the Arts. She is also a mentor for Winston Starts, a Winston-Salem based entrepreneurial incubator.
Iris serves as the Board President of the Hispanic League and the REACH Women’s Network, and is a board member of Piedmont Federal Savings Bank, Reynolda House, the Arts Council, and the Flywheel Foundation. She is a member of the Leadership Winston Salem Class of 2019.