Ethics and supply chain management: Learning from leaders at Peckham

Ethical leadership is not just learned in the classroom — it is best understood through real-world application. On Mar. 21, Broad MBA and undergraduate students saw it in action during a visit to Peckham Inc., a nonprofit vocational rehabilitation organization. A Great Place to Work-certified company, Peckham provides job training opportunities for people facing physical, cognitive, behavioral and socioeconomic barriers to employment. These individuals become Peckham team members and go on to work in a variety of social enterprises, including apparel manufacturing, third-party logistics and fulfillment services, contact center solutions, human services, and farming. Organizations that hire Peckham team members benefit from quality business solutions while team members gain valuable experience.

Students explored a human-centric approach to supply chain management during the visit, organized by Broad’s Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership in partnership with the Graduate Supply Chain Management Association. Focusing on the manufacturing side of Peckham, they interacted with leadership on a facility tour and listened to a panel discussion. Karl Meyer (M.S. Supply Chain Management ’17), supply chain director at Peckham, is passionate about their approach’s positive impact on operations.

“The space that supply chain management works in is uncertainty,” Meyer said. “Our human-centric approach changes this. It allows us to be more flexible and find solutions to problems quicker than in an organization without as much focus on diversity in its approach”.

Chief Human Services Officer Caleb Adams (MBA ’16) and Director of Mission Initiatives Sarah George (M.A. Rehabilitation Counseling ’09), led the morning visit alongside Meyer. Their combined expertise gave a holistic view of how mission-driven human services strengthen supply chain management.

“I hope students take away that there are so many different resources available in human capital, traditional capital and in materials to forge your solutions,” Meyer said. “You can have a people-centric, sustainable, ethically framed model and be just as successful as a model less focused on people”

The lessons students learn at Peckham are transferable to any organization. The experiential visit helps students understand Peckham’s framework in a way that allows them to apply it in their future careers. George emphasized the broader effects of this exposure.

“It’s important to help expose students to possibilities within the nonprofit sector so students can gain real-life knowledge and experience they can bring into the future,” George said. “They may not end up working at a nonprofit, but there are lessons learned from nonprofit models that can be taken into the for-profit industry that can improve lives for everyone.”

Catherine Munro, a second-year MBA student and current operations coordinator for the Graduate Supply Chain Management Association, agrees.

“Future business leaders need diverse models of success,” Munro said. “Peckham demonstrates that organizational excellence and social impact can coexist harmoniously, challenging conventional assumptions about profitability and purpose.”

Caleb Adams (right) explains the meaning behind Peckham’s art wall, a collaborative project reflecting the vision of the facility’s workers.

Munro has studied these concepts in the classroom and wanted to help students see them in action, so she collaborated with the center to coordinate the field trip. She advocates for experiential learning as an effective method to enhance classroom understanding and create a lasting impact.

“Learning happens best when theory meets practice,” Munro said. “The most transformative educational moments often happen outside classroom walls. This firsthand exposure provides context that no textbook can convey — the subtle workplace adaptations, the genuine community formed, and the dignity that meaningful work provides.”

The site visit gave students a clear vision of Peckham’s path to success, and how it was paved by inclusive employment. Peckham is a national award-winning organization, recognized for creating inclusive cultures and building a quality workplace for employees. With $372 million in revenue in 2023, their success is built on a commitment to inclusion and socially responsible leadership — values that closely reflect the center’s mission to prepare ethically competent business leaders who are motivated to positively impact society.

The Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership, established in 2022, meets student demand for more educational content on ethics and social responsibility, a focus of Broad’s 2030 strategic plan. With nearly 30% of Broad College engaging in its programs, the center’s impact has grown each year since its inception. A pillar of its mission is to help students and faculty keep pace with evolving business expectations. This is done, in part, by providing experiential learning opportunities, such as the Peckham visit.

Managing Director Beth Hammond plays a key role in organizing experiences such as the trip to Peckham.

“Taking our students to Peckham allowed them to see leaders in action with their staff,” Hammond said. “Students see how the decisions made by the executive team play out on the production floor, and our students learn more about the supply chain in an established and entrepreneurial-focused organization.”

The visit to Peckham showed students how ethical leadership drives both employee well-being and business success — two elements Peckham views as inseparable. By experiencing this in action, students gained a deeper understanding of how prioritizing people can fuel their future success in supply chain management.