In 2006, Jenna Feldman was one of six Haas CSR Fellows invited by McDonald's Corp. to look at its beef supply chain from every angle: the environmental issues, animal welfare, and labor and social concerns. The team visited ranches, feedlots, and processing plants, and had access to corporate executives. The results of their analysis can be read in McDonald's worldwide corporate responsibility report, posted on the firms' web site. "McDonald's had been wrestling with these issues for a long time, so a lot of our findings weren't new to them. But I have to give them credit for taking a chance and opening their doors to us," she says.

It wouldn't have happened, Feldman says, without Adjunct Assistant Professor Kellie McElhaney, executive director of the Center for Responsible Business at Haas. "Kellie took a risk herself, that McDonald's would be open to the idea. She encouraged us every step of the way." Feldman's CSR Fellowship, which required 10 to 15 hours of work a week, complemented her regular coursework. "It was a terrific opportunity to see first-hand the intersection of corporate responsibility and the bottom line."

Feldman is applying what she learned on the job at Origo, Inc., a consulting firm that helps businesses create environmental and social value along with profit. "The issues are so complex. There are so many moving parts. You need broad thinking and collaboration to arrive at solutions that will work across the system," she says.

That's the kind of thinking she encountered among her Haas classmates. "They constantly surprised and impressed me," she says. "A new skill or expertise would emerge whenever it was needed. Each of us took the lead when our strengths were needed to solve a problem."