Dear Friends of Miller Center,
I am delighted to announce our new cohort of Miller Center Lewis Family Fellows (formerly Global Social Benefit Fellows).
These 14 talented and visionary Santa Clara students come from such diverse academic departments as Public Health Sciences, Political Science, Marketing, Sociology, Child Studies, Environmental Studies, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Biology, Spanish Studies, Art History, and Economics. They were drawn to the fellowship because they want to learn about the potential of entrepreneurship to create broad scale impact and to discern whether they might be called to this kind of work.
The global pandemic continues to block international travel, and thus international action research this summer will primarily be conducted remotely, using digital technologies. However, we will send students to Baltimore, Maryland to work with Innovation Works, an organization working to reduce the city’s racial wealth divide through social entrepreneurship. This year’s international projects have strong themes of women’s economic empowerment, clean energy technology, and providing services that improve the health and overall quality of life.
Two teams of fellows are working with social enterprises Gham Power and Solageo that are bringing solar energy products and services to South Asia, and Africa. Two more teams are working with Business for Health Solutions and Nurture Africa, organizations that address public health issues in Africa by promoting healthcare services and services that improve quality of life respectively. Another team of two is working with Banka BioLoo, a social enterprise building water and sanitation solutions in India. The final team of two is working with Someone Somewhere, a social enterprise in Mexico that empowers artisans by creating jobs that value their skills.
Please join us in welcoming these new fellows to the extended Miller Center family as they pursue their passion for social entrepreneurship. Look for an invitation later this year for an event showcasing their research accomplishments.
A documentary about our award-winning fellowship program aired on the show Bay Area Bountiful in 2019. If you missed it, check out the 12 minute director’s cut below— it follows the transformational journey that fellows undertake.
