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“(I was) working with a group of (incarcerated) women. It was a heavy workshop, and they were opening up about their feelings; isolation and loneliness were the main topics. We were just chatting, and as we said goodbye, they walked me to the gates of the (facility) and watched me leave. This moment still haunts me; it’s one of the reasons that this memory came up. When I took that step outside, it’s like I left their reality. I remember turning around, and seeing them look at as I walked out. That moment always sticks out to me because it just reminds me that whenever we work with beneficiaries or marginalized communities, I always have the ability to leave their reality. I just thought - how would that make you feel?” - Global Social Benefit Fellow ‘17 Nithya Vemireddy on the most memorable moment of her fellowship with Prajwala Shangham in Hyderabad, India through the American Indian Foundation 🇮🇳 ➡️ Read more in her interview: https://bit.ly/2UCIQsY ➡️ Sign up for our newsletter for more updates like these: https://bit.ly/2DTG3pZ
This is Miller Center Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) '17 alum @TrueMoringa's first female agent, Mavis. She is crucial to operations, and has increased the number of moringa farmers in her community. . Fun Fact: "Women are more effective at connecting with people & more successful in establishing trust within a community." This makes them ideal sales agents that can lift their community out of poverty . Global Social Benefit Fellows (GSBFs) @erinrronald, @jbtooley, and @kimmiemeunier spent the summer in Ghana, conducting on-site research 📝 and interviews 🎤 with locals to find the best agent recruiting strategy. To learn more about their findings, see the link in our bio, or go to bit.ly/2TqKsWo . . #SDG1 #SDG5 #thepowerofshe #womenseconomicempowerment #SCU #sustainability #agriculture #socents #impinv #socialgood #fieldresearch #lastmiledistribution #entrepreneurship #moringa #fairtrade #nontoxicbeauty #thefutureisfemale #GSBI #GSBF
Mentors are the #secretsauce to the success of our Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) programs. . To thank them for their efforts, we hosted Mentor Appreciation Night @santaclarauniversity to recognize mentors at their 5- or 10-year mark of service. . Read Mentor Network Director Lynne Anderson’s blog post (or see link in our bio) to relive this heartwarming evening: ➡️ https://bit.ly/2SaxnDv . #impinv #scu #socents #impactinvesting #mentorship #mentors #gratitude #GSBI #entrepreneurship #socialgood #globalimpact #volunteer #service
❗ Today is the day❗- our 2019 #GSBI Online accelerator is in action! Taking a new affinity group approach that personalizes our curriculum to needs of each social entrepreneur (SEs) as they go, we are thrilled to announce our Microgrids cohort and largest Online cohort yet - seven focused on delivering off-grid energy solutions through #microgrids, while the other 42 SEs fall into one of four affinity groups: 🙋 Women-Led enterprises, 👣 Last Mile Distribution, 🌁 Bay Area-based Impact, and 💡#Energy. To see the complete list of 2019 GSBI cohort participants, read Chief Operations Officer Cassandra Staff’s blog post here or visit the link in our bio: https://bit.ly/2sP7kDs #socents #impvinv #impactinvesting #SDG7 #SDG5 #womenseconomicempowerment #accelerator #startup #womenled #womenforwomen #entrepreneurship #socialgood #globalimpact #sustainability

CASSANDRA STAFF

Chief Operations Officer

Cassandra Staff (formerly Cassandra Thomassin) was raised in a home in East San Jose and on a boat in Baja California and the Pacific Northwest. An appreciation for diversity and global communities was planted at an early age between her travels to visit family in Malaysia, living in Mexico, and attending some of the most culturally diverse schools in the country. Cassandra has been with the Miller Center since 2010, when she first learned about social entrepreneurship through Santa Clara University's MBA program. There, she was able to combine her business training with her passion for doing good and supporting the under privileged and under resourced around the world. Through her work with Miller Center, she has had the honor of working with over 100 social entrepreneurs directly through GSBI programs. She hopes it will be at least 1,000 before her 10-year anniversary. Between work hours, Cassandra plays volleyball, cooks vegetarian food for friends and family, goes to live shows, and spends time with her dogs, chickens, and wonderful family.