Jeff Leifer is a strategist, social entrepreneur and economic reformer with over 30 years experience at the intersection of finance, strategic management and the study of consciousness.
Jeff founded and leads Circadian Labs, a values-driven strategic consultancy and experience lab that builds scalable, transformational projects across the digital and social landscape. Jeff's work with Circadian brings a systems-thinking approach to initiatives that build creativity, innovation, and regenerative practices.
Prior to launching Circadian, Jeff thrived in the world of finance, pioneering issuer reforms to safeguard taxpayers before establishing his own investment banking firm. Jeff spent the next decade working with local governments to increase transparency and fortify public finance accountability before his firm was acquired by a large commercial bank.
Having recognized the emerging alliance between finance, design and the burgeoning tech world, Jeff formed a boutique venture advisory firm (Sustainable Capital Group), providing resources and strategic mentoring to aligned high-tech start-ups.
For the past two decades Jeff has worked with indigenous communities in the Amazon basin to support the stewardship of traditional ecological knowledge and practice.
Jeff is also co-founder of the Psychedelic Research, Education and Policy (Prep) grants committee at the Threshold Foundation and currently serves on the board of the Ketamine Research Foundation with specific focus on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
Jeff is a strategic/ development advisor to numerous psychedelic healthcare startups, nonprofit organizations, including as Executive Council member of the Rana Creek Initiative, a development facility for psychedelic residential care.
Additionally, Jeff has served as an advisor to numerous impact and venture investors and is a member of the investor networks TONIIC, Social Venture Circle and the Threshold Foundation.
Jeffʼs passions have drawn him all over the world in connection with global initiatives, working alongside internationally recognized dissidents such as Andrei Sakharov, negotiating nuclear non-proliferation accords as a State Department liaison, and helping to develop new international markets. The latter, as a visiting teacher to Brazilʼs leading business school (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), grew out of his work with indigenous peoples in an ongoing effort to preserve the Amazon rainforest.
Advancing his belief that the new generation of young leaders will be pivotal to advancing more integrated economic models, Jeff developed an interdisciplinary practicum to develop next generation leadership that truly values the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities, and the planet.
He has guest lectured at Stanford Business School, Yale School of Management and University of California, etc. His leadership development retreats are recognized for promoting transformative change from young change makers to pioneering business leaders.
Jeff serves on the boards of nonprofits committed to the environment, arts and meaningful change in the culture. Previously, Jeff served on the board of Harvard Divinity Schoolʼs Business Leadership Program on Public Values working alongside storied iconoclasts from Norman Lear to Cornel West and co-founded the Southern California branch of Business for Social Responsibility.
Jeff holds an MBA from Yale University and a bachelorʼs from University of California, San Diego (summa cum laude) where he also served as President of the student body.