Bios

Co-founder and managing director

Mary Rose Cook is a leading expert in positive social impact. The co-founder and director of Uscreates, Mary has designed, led and delivered multiple social impact programmes. Her work has addressed a wide range of social challenges across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Mary has specialist knowledge of design approaches to achieving social impact. Her PhD research, ‘The emergence and practice of co-design as a method for social sustainability under New Labour’, looked at how co-design has become a key method to tackle some of the UK’s most difficult social challenges.

Among Mary’s current responsibilities is her leadership of the research programme for Uscreates’ Business Social Impact Initiative. This has been set up to support businesses in developing ‘win-win’ scenarios: those that achieve positive social impact while advancing business objectives.

Since co-founding Uscreates in 2005, Mary has led the company to become a top social impact consultancy. In 2006, it won the NESTA Creative Pioneer Award for its innovative and creative business model. Mary was also named a Future 100 entrepreneur for demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation in launching a responsible business venture. Mary is a fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), and fellow of Goldsmiths Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship.

Mary studied design at Goldsmiths College, where her degree earned her the Business Design Centre’s ‘New Designer of the Year’ title.

Read some of Mary’s views here.