PBN Leaders & Achievers 2024 Awards
Julie Owens | Social Enterprise Greenhouse | CEO
THE MOST IMPORTANT quality for being a successful leader is curiosity, says Julie Owens, CEO of the Social Enterprise Greenhouse. That, and having the courage to ask questions when you don’t have the answers.
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“None of us knows everything. You need to be able to reach out to resources and to rethink,” she said. “If you’re stuck in yesterday, you’ll never move forward. It’s important to seek out perspectives that are different from your own.”
Social Enterprise Greenhouse, based in Providence, provides support and networking to local entrepreneurs and businesses whose goals are positive social and economic change in the community. Clients, including Feast & Fettle Inc., Asthenis Pharmacy and Gnome Surf, have taken advantage of SEG’s access to more than 250 volunteer advisers who contribute their expertise and make introductions. SEG also offers incubator programs and helps map out business plans.
After graduating with an MBA in 1999 from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Owens knew she wanted to work in a field where she could make an impact. She began looking for opportunities where she could help people who were struggling due to flawed and inequitable systems.
She focused on health care. Then, when organizations started turning to the concept of social enterprise as a framework for doing business, she says, it clicked for her.
Owens has been CEO at SEG since 2022, and she admits it was a stretch after a career in consulting. Turns out it was a glide path to a role that’s a perfect fit for her after 25 years as a consultant.
What’s good about Rhode Island is its size, she says. You can see the results right away.
“When I was in the consulting world, I worked on projects without seeing the long-term results. Now we’re working with entrepreneurs who are addressing initiatives tackling health care or climate change and I see the impacts right away,” Owens said. “They inspire me. When the world seems off-kilter, I feel I’m part of a community of change-makers. It’s fun and innovative. I learn so much every day; it’s exciting to feel part of change.”
