d.school Levinthal Fellow 2008-2009 & Lecturer

As a fellow and lecturer at the Stanford Institute of Design, Corey teaches graduate- and executive-level design thinking courses and leads initiatives to help shape the future of the d.school. He brings to the d.school his experience as a journalist and film producer for the PBS series FRONTLINE as well as his leadership, entrepreneurship, and general business training as an MBA at The Stanford Graduate School of Business.

In addition to co-teaching Design Thinking Boot Camp, the d.school's introductory class to its design thinking process, Corey is currently focused on the following initiatives:

• Media + Design
  Corey came to Stanford to figure out how to redesign journalism. He wants to build a self-sustaining media company that retains the values of "old media" journalism while creating a media experience that is more relevant and engaging to the audience. Corey believes design thinking is the secret weapon to uncovering innovations in media and is developing a partnership with Stanford's Knight Fellows to design the future of journalism. He will co-teach the media + design advanced practicum class in the spring.
  
  
• Launch Pad: Entrepreneurship + Design
  Corey believes entrepreneurship + design is a potent combination that will empower teams to launch successful companies straight out of the d.school. He is developing an initiative called Launch Pad, a place where aspiring entrepreneurs can radically collaborate with graduate students from across the university and use the design thinking process to discover, iterate, and implement an innovative entrepreneurial idea.
  
  
• Radical Collaboration
  Corey strives to make 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 > 4. Acting as a hub of Stanford University, the d.school brings together graduate students from a variety of disciplines and cultures. Leveraging his training and experience in coaching individuals, leading high performance teams, and interpersonal dynamics, Corey is focused on providing d.school teams the tools they need to leverage their diversity in order to achieve greater innovations and overcome their work style differences.

If you are interested in learning more about these initiatives, please reach out to Corey at cford@stanford.edu.

Prior to joining the d.school, Corey attended The Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he not only learned the fundamentals of business and management, but also gained deep expertise in entrepreneurship, leadership, and design thinking. He trained as an executive and peer coach, served as a leadership fellow, organized a global study trip, and co-led the Arts, Media, & Entertainment club. For his summer internship, Corey worked on the financing of Salma Hayek’s new production company, Ventanazul, for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Los Angeles.

Before Stanford business school, Corey managed the production of 17 films from creative inception to broadcast for the PBS public affairs series FRONTLINE, wearing the various hats of journalist, director, researcher, coordinator, manager, editor, and coffee boy along the way. He never suspected that journalism would later prepare him for the deep empathy required for design. Each film allowed him to continually quench his desire to discover the world by immersing him in new subjects (from terrorism to the music industry), sending him on adventures (from riding around with gang cops in LA to tracking down a mountain lion), and introducing him to people from all walks of life (from traveling with a struggling truck driver to taking a dead drop from a high level government official on a dark DC street corner). Corey’s team at FRONTLINE always strived to combine deep, investigative journalism on important contemporary issues with cinematic, character-driven narrative filmmaking.

Corey was part of the FRONTLINE team that won the prestigious duPont-Columbia Gold Baton Award for excellence in reporting and analysis in response to the events of September 11, 2001. In 2006, he field-produced the Emmy-winning documentary Can You Afford To Retire?

Corey uncovered his passion for discovering the world by taking advantage of the extraordinary opportunities provided to him as a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During a summer internship at National Geographic Film & Television, Corey realized he could follow his passion by making a career out of documentary film production. His most memorable experience as a Morehead Scholar was spending a summer as a coach for the San Francisco Giants' minor league baseball team in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.

Originally from Chicago, IL, Corey currently lives in Stanford, CA with his wonderful wife Jenna and their two cats.