JESSE NISHINAGA

Jesse Nishinaga is a seasoned corporate sustainability and business and human rights professional with 20 years of diversified industry experience advancing responsible business policies, strategies, and processes. As Director of Operations & Advisory Services at Article One, Jesse helps clients develop and implement management frameworks and tools to operationalize Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles within core business functions. Jesse also leads Article One’s operational effectiveness.

Previously, Jesse served as Program Director of UC Berkeley’s Human Rights and Business Initiative, a joint program of the Human Rights Center at Berkeley Law and the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business. In this role, Jesse led all programmatic components of the initiative, co-chaired the Annual Microsoft Conference on Business, Technology, and Human Rights, and advanced new partnerships, curricula, and research on relevant topics, such as the role of technology in addressing human rights challenges in global supply chains, AI for social impact, and the Future of Work(ers).  Jesse also worked with Article One senior advisor, Dr. Sanchita Saxena, to launch a course on Business and Labor Rights in Global Supply Chains.

Prior to UC Berkeley, Jesse oversaw Corporate Citizenship (now part of SLR Consulting)’s U.S. West Coast practice, where he advised Fortune 500 clients on ESG issues, conducted socioeconomic impact studies, and developed internal roadmaps to drive corporate action on key ESG issues, such as responsible sourcing and climate change. Before Corporate Citizenship, Jesse was a manager at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), where he launched BSR’s Procurement Leadership Group, directed grant-funded research on mobilizing CSR for population health, and developed integrated solutions, frameworks, tools, and scorecards for materiality, stakeholder engagement, reporting, sustainable procurement, and human rights due diligence. Jesse also worked with BSR’s member companies to advance global living wages and science-based climate targets.

Jesse began his career in international corporate retail at Gap Inc., where he served in a variety of business-critical roles to deliver operational and financial impact. While at Gap Inc., Jesse spent several years in Tokyo, Japan, to help expand Gap Inc.’s in-country operations. Early on, Jesse spent time in corporate and field roles at PepsiCo, Nike, and Johnson & Johnson.

Jesse holds an M.B.A. and B.S. from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, where he focused on corporate responsibility and received a certificate in global management. He and his family are based in Seattle, Washington, to serve Article One’s clients in the Pacific Northwest.