“Business Rx: Sustainable Systems International” (April 7)
John Spears has been in the solar energy industry since the early 1970s. In the mid-1990s, he spent time in South Africa, helping rebuild the housing infrastructure as the country emerged from apartheid. More recently, he saw an opportunity for yet another venture focused on helping developing countries replace inefficient diesel generators with sustainable solar-powered options. Melissa Carrier offers advice. Read more.

Social Venture Start-Up Earth Starter Wins Cupid’s Cup 2013! (April 5)
Maryland’s own social venture start-up Earth Starter took home the 2013 Cupid’s Cup, along with the top $50,000 cash prize. Learn more.

Smith School’s “Argentine Terps” Take First Prize for at this Year’s Do Good Challenge (April 10)
Celebrity judges Fran Drescher, Carl Lewis, and Melanie Schnoll Begun awarded the $5,000 First Prize in this year’s Do Good Challenge to the Argentine Terps, which raises funds to pay for lawyers to work in the slums of Argentina. Learn more.

Kid Fitness Program and Mobile Money Transfer Service Both Take Top Prize in UMD Social Impact Pitch Competition (March 14, 2013)
Competition was so close among University of Maryland student social entrepreneurs that judges awarded two top winners in a recent “No Limits Social Impact Pitch Competition.” Read more.

Maryland International Magazine (Spring 2013)
In this spring issues, CSVC talks about Going Global with UMD's Social Entrepreneurs (page 5), and highlights are shared from a recent international engagement in Thailand where CSVC, CIBER and a group of students engaged international and Thai organizations helping to alleviate poverty and disease in Thailand. Read more.

Washington Post, Business Rx: “Recoup” (March 10, 2013)
Melissa Carrier offers advice to a tech entrepreneur who wants to marry his expertise with his personal mission to help nonprofits and schools. Read more.

Smith Business Close Up: Benefit Corporations (March 7, 2013)
Melissa Carrier talks about the state of Maryland's benefit corporation legislation and a recent study by a group of MBAs of how companies in the state are faring. Watch.

Washington Post, Business Rx: "STEMitUP" (March 3, 2013)
CSVC Social Entrepreneur in Residence Drew Bewick offers advice to a collaborative Web-based platform that empowers students to create mobile apps for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, while applying 21st century project management skills. Read more.

Social Enterprise Symposium (March 1, 2013)
The passion for sustainable business practices and fostering a work-place culture centered on creating social value was palpable at the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ 5th Annual Social Enterprise Symposium on March 1, 2013. Read more.

First-Ever Study of Maryland Benefit Corps Released (Jan. 25, 2013)
The work of Smith MBA’s in the Social Venture Consulting Practicum, offered by the Center for Social Value Creation, was recognized in Forbes for contributing to the understanding of the Benefit Corporation movement. Learn more.

Washington Post Express Article: “In the Business of Doing Good” (Jan. 14, 2013)
CSVC’s Melissa Carrier was recently quoted in a Washington Post Express article highlighting MBAs pursuing the traditional degree for non-traditional use in the non-profit sector. Smith MBA candidate Alex Maciulaitis was also featured in the article, which discussed the growing trend of non-profits toward utilizing traditional business processes to improve their practices, and the growing numbers of MBAs with a goal for social good. Read the full article here.

Washington Post, Career Coach: "Do-good organizations" (Feb.10, 2013)
Drew Bewick, social entrepreneur-in-residence at the Center for Social Value Creation, offers his thoughts on improving workforce engagement and motivation. Read more.

“Non-Profit or For-Profit: The Social Entrepreneurs Dilemma”
Darius Graham attorney, co-founder of DC Social Innovation Project and Social Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the Center for Social Value Creation, offers insight on the social entrepreneur’s dilemma. Read more.

Guillermo Olivos’ “Social Entrepreneurship” Article Featured in Diamondback (Dec. 2)
CSVC’s Guillermo Olivos published an article in the Diamondback in early December, highlighted the unique opportunity the University of Maryland has to promote social entrepreneurship under President Loh’s vision “to make innovation and entrepreneurship an integral part of our academic culture. With CSVC already taking the lead in housing UMD’s social entrepreneurship initiatives, the article reminded us that social entrepreneurship is not a purely business concept, and that CSVC must strive to partner with students and stakeholders across sectors to see president Loh’s vision become reality. Read more.

Green Business Certification Bus Ads (December 2012)
Montgomery County Director of Environmental Protection, Bob Hoyt, Montgomery College Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Donald Pearl, and Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce President Gigi Godwin will showcase a Ride On bus ad campaign that will promote the Green Business Certification Program and participating companies. Read more.

Sustainability Jam 2012 (November 2012)
After a 2011 launch from 40 sites worldwide, the Global Sustainability Jam debuted at the Robert H. Smith School of Business on November 2-4, 2012, thanks to sponsorship and coordination from the Center for Social Value Creation. Read more.

Business Rx: Food Recovery Networks Seeks Steady Income Stream
Melissa Carrier offers advice to Food Recovery Network on creating a sustainable revenue stream. Read more.

Maryland International: Sri Lanka Venture Featured (Fall 2012)
As part of an annual summer internship program, six graduate students from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and School of Public Policy, advised by the Center for Social Value Creation, traveled to Sri Lanka to apply principles they learned in the classroom to real-world situations in a developing country. Specifically, these students focused on improving competitiveness and economic revitalization for three clients—the Jesuit Academy of Trincomalee; Aqua ‘N Green, an aquaculture business; and VEGA’s BIZ+, a job creation grant delivery platform in Colombo. Read more.

Microfinance Simulcast Series (Fall 2012, Ongoing)
Back by popular demand is the weekly Simulcast series hosted by Stanford University, and brought to you on campus by the Smith MBA Net Impact chapter and the Emerging Markets Club. The simulcast series will occur every Monday from September 24 to December 3. Expect a slate of interesting speakers, including folks from companies like Kiva, agencies like OPIC or CGAP, institutions like Compartamos and SKS, servicers like Freedom from Hunger, and more. For complete details, please visit our online calendar.

President of Verizon Foundation Visits Smith (September 24)
Rose Stuckey Kirk, President of the Verizon Foundation, visited with Smith students, staff and faculty to discuss Verizon's philanthropic strategy with an emphasis on projects that demonstrate the use of Verizon's technology in addressing social issues. Kirk has more than 25 years' experience in telecommunications, and has held numerous leadership positions including Vice President of Sales operations for Verizon Wireless, Vice President of Corporate Employee Communications and Vice President of Partner Sales and Customer Service for Verizon's small to medium business segment. Read more.

Camilla Olson Visits Smith (September 7)
On September 7, 2012, preceding the launch of her brand in Washington, D.C., Camilla Olson visited Smith for a luncheon hosted by the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The theme for the event was “women as social entrepreneurs,” and attendees included students studying business, marketing, and design who are interested in creating a value-driven career. Read more.

Business Rx: Food Recovery Networks Seeks Steady Income Stream
Melissa Carrier offers advice to Food Recovery Network on creating a sustainable revenue stream.

Verizon
On September 24, 2012, Rose Stuckey Kirk came to the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business to speak about the role of business in creating long-term sustainable growth. The event was sponsored by the Smith School’s Center for Social Value Creation and attracted a diverse audience of students (undergraduate, MBA, PhD), faculty and administrators.

Smith Sets Store by Practical Change (Financial Times) September 16, 2012
The Robert H Smith School of Business is firmly established as a research heavyweight heavyweight – it was in the top 10 for business and management research in this year’s FT Global MBA Ranking. Now, the University of Maryland school is looking to use this strength to promote practical change.

D.C.-Area Innovators Selected as Social Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at UMD Smith School (Reuters) September 5, 2012
A trio of social entrepreneurs with industry success in technology, law and fashion are appointees to the inaugural Social-Entrepreneur-In-Residence team at the Robert H. Smith School of Business Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland.

Hurricane Isaac Recovery: UMD-Smith Experts Available to Discuss Disaster Management (Reuters) September 5, 2012
Guillermo Olivos, assistant director of Smith's Center for Social Value Creation, discusses disaster management from his perspective as a founding director of Evacuteer.org, a New Orleans-based operation incorporated by the State of Louisiana. The organization recruits, trains and manages evacuation volunteers, and has been active in the response to Isaac.

Camilla Olson Visits Smith (September 7)
On September 7, 2012, preceding the launch of her brand in Washington, D.C., Camilla Olson visited Smith for a luncheon hosted by the Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The theme for the event was “women as social entrepreneurs,” and attendees included students studying business, marketing, and design who are interested in creating a value-driven career.

Smith School Launches Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program (Thurs. Sept. 6)
A trio of social entrepreneurs with industry success in technology, law and fashion are appointees to the inaugural Social-Entrepreneur-In-Residence team at the Robert H. Smith School of Business Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland.

University of Maryland ChangeTheWorld.org Fall 2012 Applications Open!
Entering its seventh year, the ChangeTheWorld.org Social Venture Consulting program has put together a robust group of projects for both Masters level and Undergraduate level participants for the Fall 2012 cohort. The undergraduate application is available for download here, and the graduate application (for PTMBA, EMBA, MS, and other Masters level candidates)is available for download here.

Sri Lanka Maryland-USAID Program Sees 2nd Year of Success (Thurs. August 2)
MBA and MPP (Masters of Public Policy) students traveled to Sri Lanka as part of an annual summer internship program (June-July 2012).

CSVC Releases New Annual Report (Wed. July 25)
The Center has released its second Annual Report highlighting its work in the 2011-2012 academic year, and plans moving forward.

MBA
MBA graduates have had a bad name for being greedy and arrogant, but business schools claim this has changed. Students are now as keen on careers in social enterprise as they are on working in the financial sector. Anand Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H Smith school of business at the University of Maryland, explains how students are now getting experience of non-profit organizations and looking for meaningful careers, rather than ones that will quickly clear the cost of the MBA.

Sri Lanka Maryland-USAID Program Sees 2nd Straight Year of Success
MBA and MPP (Masters of Public Policy) students from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and School of Public Policy traveled to Sri Lanka as part of an annual summer internship program (June-July 2012). The program is delivered by the Center for Social Value Creation, Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), the School of Public Policy, the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the International Executive Service Corps (IESC). The internship is a consulting based opportunity and focuses on improving competitiveness and economic revitalization in Sri Lanka.

Businesses Can Do Well by Doing Good
This article published in theWashington Postin January 2012 explores various ways in which a business with a social objective can be organized. Also, based on the increasing relevance of social media in marketing, the article highlights new and creative ways of funding a business and also reminds the reader of the tax-benefits and incentives offered by the Federal and State governments.

Business Rx: Social enterprise needs advice on how to land first clients
First time entrepreneurs and Smith School students - Dipti Badrinath, Stephanie Cantor, Abby Murray, Nikita Shenoy and Scott Shuffiel talk about their entrepreneurial venture - Triple Impact, a benefit corporation that aims to engage Fortune 500 companies to help their employees participate in global service trips to help underserved communities. The young entrepreneurs also seek advice from Melissa Carrier, Executive director, Center for Social Value Creation on the next steps for their young company.

Benefit Corporations Embrace People, Planet, Profits
Melissa Carrier from the Center for Social Value and Senator Raskin, who sponsored the Benefit corporation legislation talk about the underlying objective of a Benefit Corporation and the leadership that the state of Maryland has taken in this regard. Raskin envisions B-corporations playing a leading role in the 'Next Big Transformation American Business Capitalism.'

Student-run business works for social change
Five students from the Smith School launched a new company aimed toward connecting corporations with disadvantaged communities. The young entrepreneurs also met with Stanley Litow, VP of corporate citizenship at IBM and have some interesting advice to share from their experiences.

2nd Year Smith MBA’s Shine at Hitachi Foundation’s Pioneer Employers Case Competition
Second Year Smith MBA’s Fernanda Lopez, Lacey Nguyen, and Stephen Huie won 1st Prize in the Hitachi Pioneer Employer Curriculum Change Competition and Second Prize in the Hitachi Pioneer Employer Case Competition. The Smith team reached the final round, held at the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland, OR in late October, after passing the first round in the Spring of 2011.

Fall 2011 Newsletter

CSVC Announces Inaugural Advisory Board
CSVC named six prominent business leaders to form its advisory board. Board members will meet bi-annually and help guide the center’s strategic functions and its outreach with businesses, nonprofits and the public sector.

Summer 2011 Newsletter

Spring 2011 Newsletter

The Diamondback Covers Sustainnovate 2011!
Ignite UMD Event Matches CSVC, AshokaU TerpChangemakers, and Office Of Sustainability

To MBA, Or Not To MBA?
Amtrak's Arrive Magazine Highlights Role of CSVC in Smith's Commitment to Sustainability In Business Education

Smith Alum Using Business Principles To Save Lives In India
Dial 1298 For Ambulance Spreads Novel Emergency Medical Service Model

WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi Show
Center for Social Value Creation's Melissa Carrier talks about a new law in Md. helps companies do well by doing good.

Grassroots.org Social Venture Consulting program is expanding
The Center for Social Value Creation at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is expanding its Grassroots.org Social Venture Consulting Program in partnership with Grassroots.org, an organization that provides free technologies and resources to nonprofits. The innovative experiential learning program matches MBA students with nonprofit organizations around the country for semester-long consulting projects.

NPR highlights the Center and our Social Innovation Fellows program in a national Morning Edition story.
Melissa Carrier's course Transformative Action: Effective Methods for Social Change receives national attention as part of a larger movement of social entrepreneurship in the classroom.

Balancing Profits and People: Students get a lesson in responsible entrepreneurship (The Diamondback)
The center co-hosts a series of workshops in November on social entrepreneurship with Ashoka Youth Venture

Smith School Welcomes Constellation Energy Group CEO & President Mayo Shattuck
CEO@Smith kicked off its 2010-11 lineup with Mayo Shattuck, president and chief executive officer of Constellation Energy Group. Shattuck took the podium in front of a crowd 300-strong to lecture on the future of energy and the life of a CEO, and to take questions from the audience.

Smith School Hosts Social Entrepreneur and "Condom King" of Thailand
Students, faculty and staff at the Robert H. School of Business and the University of Maryland, College Park, gathered in Frank Auditorium of Van Munching Hall to listen to Mechai Viravaidya, Thailand’s “Condom King,” talk about the eradication of poverty in his country.

Smith Business Close-Up: Nonprofits and Resource Allocation
S. “Raghu” Raghavan, Professor of Management Science, discusses how nonprofits can be systematic when allocating budgets.

Green Honor Roll
The University of Maryland has been named to The Princeton Review's Green Honor Roll, achieving the highest score in the publication's annual rating of campus sustainability.

Business Rx: Health consultancy seeks answers to questions about pursuing outside investors (The Washington Post)
Executive Director Melissa Carrier offers advice to a startup organization focused on building healthcare capacity in emerging markets.

Business Rx: A good heart is not enough for 'social' entrepreneurs (The Washington Post)
Executive Director Melissa Carrier and Assistant Director Julie Lloyd share tips for entrepreneurs looking to address social issues.

Business Rx: The books of summer (The Washington Post)
Executive Director Melissa Carrier, along with other members of the Smith community, offer summer reading suggestions for busy entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Business Rx: Preschool program seeks knowledge to grow by (The Washington Post)
Smith MBA student and Social Venture Consultant Llacey Simmons seeks advice for growing her business--a preschool that teaches social entrepreneurship and donates a portion of its earnings to other early childhood educational programs.

Squares for Social Change (The Munch)
Inaugural event hosted by Terp Changemakers gets people's minds moving toward social change.

News Release: U-Md. Robert H. Smith School of Business and USAID Announce Winners of the First “Global Challenge” Competition
College Park, Md. – April 27, 2010 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have named the winners of the first Global Challenge, a first-of-its-kind competition that challenged teams of MBA and other graduate students to develop a public-private venture to support development and the tourism industry in Asia.

How Colleges Could Better Prepare Students to Tackle Society's Problems (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
The center is highlighted for its participation in Ashoka U's Changemaker Campus program.

A Global Pour (The Diamondback)
The center's 'Beyond the Latte' event addresses coffee's global environmental and economic impacts.

Smith Business Close-Up: Building Businesses to Help Haiti
Executive Director Melissa Carrier discusses how entrepreneurship and innovation can help solve global challenges.

News Release: Electric Utility Leader Dennis Wraase Joins U-Md. Center for Social Value Creation as Executive-In-Residence
College Park, Md. – March 10, 2010 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced former Pepco Holdings Inc. president, board chair and CEO Dennis R. Wraase has joined the Center for Social Value Creation as its first executive-in-residence. Wraase will support the center’s mission to engage students in courses and experiential learning programs, enabling them to become global leaders who understand how to use business as a vehicle for both economic prosperity and transformative social change.

Could a Start-Up Competition Help Haiti? (The New York Times)
Executive Director Melissa Carrier offers her opinion on whether Haiti, still recovering from the devastating earthquake, would benefit from a startup competition that offers entrepreneurial education and cash grants for small businesses.

Smith Team Advances in Walmart Competition
A team of MBA students from the Smith School has advanced to the semi-final round of the 2010 Walmart Better Living Business Plan Competition. The team, comprised of Maxwell Epstein, Dylan Rebois, John Silberholz, Nancy Zheng and Erik Li, finished first at the Atlantic regional at the University of Virginia on February 19, and will travel to Walmart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. in April for the next round of competition.

Paint Branch's partnership with the University of Maryland helps both schools (The Washington Post)
Smith MBA students, working with the center, teach local elementary school children the basics of entrepreneurship, business and finance through the BizWorld program.

News Release: U-Md. Robert H. Smith School of Business Partners with USAID for “Global Challenge” Competition
College Park, Md. – January 28, 2010 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are teaming up for the Global Challenge, a first-of-its-kind competition that challenges teams of MBA and other graduate students to develop business solutions that support international development.

The Business of Helping: Nonprofits Hope to Profit from MBA Candidates (Washington Jewish Week)
Second-year MBA students work with area nonprofits to provide business expertise during the fall semester. The teams' recommendations will be a "stimulus for change," said one client.

Students Blogging on the Impacts of Business
Smith students have joined forces with Triple Pundit, a leading triple bottom line blog, to explore the impacts of business. Follow along with their posts throughout the year.

Smith School's Dean Anand on WAMU 88.5's Kojo Nnamdi Show (Listen to the archived show)
Robert H. Smith School of Business Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam joined Seth Goldman, CEO and founder of Honest Tea, as guests on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM, Wednesday, Oct. 21. The conversation focused on business ethics and the bottom line and the questions many have raised regarding the business world’s moral compass in the wake of last year’s collapse.

Smith School Named to 'Global 100' in Aspen Institute Ranking
The Smith School's MBA program was recognized among the Top 100 in the world by the Aspen Institute in its biennial Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking, released October 21. The rankings highlight MBA programs that demonstrate leadership in integrating social, environmental and ethical issues.

Smith School Launches Center for Social Value Creation with Inaugural Forum
The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business launched its new Center for Social Value Creation on Sept. 25 with a one-day event in Washington, D.C., that explored how leaders create, lead and sustain organizations for social impact while meeting business goals. More than 250 attendees from the public, private and nonprofit sectors packed the auditorium at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, also home to the Smith School’s Washington, D.C., campus.

Rethinking Capitalism: How Very Enterprising (The Washington Post)
Columnist Steven Pearlstein shares his thoughts on the 2009 Leadership for a Better World conference.

New university center emphasizes social responsibility in business (The Diamondback)
The center is recognized as a hub on campus for students interested in pursuing social change.

Smith Business Close-Up: Creating Social Value Through Innovation
Melissa Carrier, executive director of the center, discusses how creating social value is an important business strategy.

News Release: Smith School Launches Center for Social Value Creation
College Park, Md. – September 17, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced the Center for Social Value Creation will launch Friday, September 25 with an event in Washington, D.C., to explore how leaders create, build and sustain organizations for social impact while meeting business goals.

Four Reasons to Care About Business Ethics (ExecutiveBiz.com)
Dean Anand shares his reasons why every business executive should care about business ethics.

Smith Business Close-Up: Sustainability in Practice
Rachelle Sampson, assistant professor in logistics, business and public policy, talks about how sustainability can be economical.

Smith Students on 'Reforming Business Schools'
Associated Press – Broadcast – May 15, 2009 – Smith MBA students Alon Gotesman and Matt Minchew, leaders of Smith’s Net Impact chapter, talks about how the economic meltdown has given rise to socially conscious business students.

2009 Winners: Transform Your World Film Festival
The Terp Changemakers hosted the first annual “Transform Your World” Film Festival on May 8 to highlight the dedication of the University of Maryland service community. Student groups from Blumpari, EWB, the Gathering and Nicaragua submitted videos which highlighted their amazing accomplishments around the globe.

Smith Students Participate in Social Venture Consulting Program
MBA students, faculty and nonprofit leaders gathered at the Robert H. Smith School of Business on May 5, 2009 to discuss the efforts of these parties to enhance the future for several organizations. The presentation was the culmination of semester-long consulting projects through the Social Venture Consulting Program (SVCP), an endeavor of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and newly launched Initiative for Social Value Creation in partnership with Grassroots.org.

Nobel Prize-Winner Draws Crowd for Psychology’s Role in Economics Talk
The center co-hosts Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof for a discussion of his new book, Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism.

Changing the World, One Small Loan at a Time
The center hosts Alex Counts, CEO of Grameen Foundation and former associate of Muhammad Yunus at Grameen Bank, for a discussion on microfinance.

Smith Ethics Lecture Series Explores Sustainability at E&Y
Leisha John, Americas Director of Environmental Sustainability at E&Y, shares her insight on the firm’s approach to corporate responsibility.

MotorWeek Features BioDiesel University
Originally broadcast on PBS, March 19 at 8 p.m. in Maryland. Biodiesel University and the Green Guild Biodiesel Co-op are featured with clips filmed inside the Smith School's Van Munching Hall. The Green Guild is a University of Maryland student-created nonprofit which was incubated at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship.

News Release: U-Md. Business School Launches Initiative for Social Value Creation
College Park, Md. – March 11, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced the launch of the Initiative for Social Value Creation, a push to engage every student in courses and experiential learning programs that build leadership and an understanding of how businesses can create both economic prosperity and transformative social change.

Student Project Grows Organization to Help Orphans
A group of undergraduate student in the QUEST program set out to make a difference in the lives of orphans in Ukraine by starting their own nonprofit.

News Release: University of Maryland Selected to Pilot Program for Social Change
College Park, Md. – December 11, 2008 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced it has been selected as an inaugural “Changemaker Campus” in partnership with Ashoka, a non-profit network of social entrepreneurs. Ashoka chose the University of Maryland as one of four U.S. campuses to develop a model for future university-based initiatives that will promote innovation and social change.

Smith Students Participate in Social Venture Consulting Program
The Social Venture Consulting Program wrapped up a semester’s worth of consulting projects as eight teams of Smith School students presented their consulting work to an audience of students and faculty on Dec. 3, 2008.

Part-time MBA Student Utilizes Smith's Entrepreneurship Resources to Grow Luxury Handbag Business
As an entrepreneur and part-time MBA student at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Cherry Kwunyeun is working to combine the lessons of an MBA program with her experience as a Fulbright Scholar and apply it to the operation of her own company, Blumpari. Featuring a line of luxury handbags, Blumpari has recently been expanding into new stores, appearing in popular shopping areas of New York City, Washington, D.C, and Baltimore.

A Surprising Journey
Kendall Mau, a 1976 MBA graduate, is CFO and COO of Prisma Microfinance, a privately owned credit union that operates in Nicaragua and Honduras. The company provides small loans, sometimes as tiny as $50 or $100, to help with enterprise development, or simply as consumer loans to help people purchase a refrigerator or washing machine, or add another room to their house.

Bringing Light to One African Community
Smith students join Clark School of Engineering students to bring clean, safe light to one of the world’s poorest countries.

Turning Trash Into Treasure
You’ve heard of turning trash into treasure. Well, some enterprising undergraduates in the Smith School’s QUEST program are turning food waste into…dirt. Along the way, they also turned it into a top grade. And with a little luck, they might turn it into a prosperous business as well.