Bio
Derrick Feldmann is a sought-after speaker, researcher and advisor for causes and companies on social movements and issue engagement. He regularly speaks at events and organizations throughout the country and around the world on how causes and companies can drive public interest in social change. He is the author on two books, Social Movements For Good: How Companies and Causes Create Viral Change and Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement. A third, The Corporate Social Mind, will publish in early 2020.
In 2018, Feldmann created the Cause & Social Influence initiative to probe the influences and approaches that drive Americans 18-30 to engage in social movements, as well as the Influence Nation Summit to bring thought leaders and on-the-ground activists together.
Feldmann has been recognized as a leading researcher in cause engagement for more than a decade. His work is regularly cited by such outlets as Forbes, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal and as a reliable source of data on today’s cause engagement. In 2018, he led the research team for Influencing Young America to Act, a study of how young adults are influenced by and influence others to support social movements. During the prior 10 years, he led the research team for the Millennial Impact Project, producing the comprehensive Millennial Impact Reports on how the generation has engaged with causes from varying perspectives. His next project is an intergenerational study with millennials and gen z.
Feldmann is on the Leadership Faculty of the Points of Light Corporate Institute, and a member of the advisory boards of the Ad Council and Truth Initiative. He is a guest lecturer for the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs and on the board of visitors for the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.