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Social Responsibility at Smith
Biodiesel University
Most people waiting to board a public bus aren’t expecting to learn about
sustainability and environmental science. But that’s because they haven’t been
on a Biodiesel University bus yet.
Biodiesel University, a non-profit organization affiliated with the
University of Maryland, is focused on educating students, teachers and consumers
about renewable energy and environmental stewardship. The organization recently
received a donation of four retired transit buses from the Washington Metro Area
Transit Authority. These buses will be converted into mobile labs that founder
and executive director Dan Goodman describes as “part classroom, part hands-on
science center, and part theme park ride, packaged in a field trip that comes to
you.”
Smith students have had unique opportunities to be a part of this vision,
developing strategic plans and serving on the board of directors. Three Smith
MBAs have worked with Biodiesel University since its inception. One of these
students is Brian Gottlieb, a first-year full-time MBA student.
Gottlieb is a board fellow on Biodiesel University’s board of directors. As a
member of Net Impact, an organization whose goal is to use business to improve
the world, Gottlieb became involved in the club’s Board Fellows program. The
program connects MBA students to local non-profit organizations.
Gottlieb’s main project at Biodiesel University is to develop the
organization’s strategic plan. “It covers and clearly lays out what the
organization hopes to do, what’s the scope and space in which they hope to do
it, and the order of steps that remain,” he says.
His career goals include working in the alternative energy industry, and
although his project at Biodiesel University isn’t his first volunteer position,
he expects to learn valuable lessons from it.
“My work will teach me more about the industry and the issues one faces on a
non-profit board,” he says. “I intend to stay involved by serving on any
non-profit board I can help in my lifetime.”
Find out more about Biodiesel University
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