Tag: DEI
NEXT GEN VOICES: Introducing CASE Scholar Ashlynn Polanco
My mother immigrated to the United States when her home country of Nicaragua was embroiled in a civil war. She traversed hundreds of miles with my brother – who was only a baby at the time- before entering the U.S. southern border. Growing up I experienced the dynamics of my identities and how they interplayed […]
The Work Continues: CASE’s Ongoing Racial Justice Journey
One year ago, we shared with you A Message from CASE on Racial Justice in America as part of our journey toward becoming anti-racist, particularly using three levers: our thought leadership platform, training the next generation of business leaders, and our own operations. We write to share where we are now. As a team of […]
Fuqua Class of 2012 Commits to Action & Raises over $10,000 for Racial Justice
As Dan Baum, a Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Fellow from the Duke MBA class of 2012, emailed with some of his fellow classmates to plan a virtual reunion, George Floyd was brutally killed, and their entire conversation shifted. Just as so many have reignited discussions about racial injustice and police brutality […]
NEXT GEN VOICES: Unlearning as a Part of MBA Education – Challenging Internalized White Supremacy Culture in Business and Social Impact
In the last few months, increasing media attention on police brutality and systemic racism has prompted a long overdue wake-up call for many leaders. We are collectively acknowledging racism baked into institutions, policies, and company cultures, creating an unprecedented opportunity for systemic transformation. I am grateful that my education at Fuqua, particularly through opportunities at […]
A Message from CASE on Racial Justice in America
Dear CASE Community, Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. Whiteness weaponized against Christian Cooper. Disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on people of color. A global health pandemic layered on top of the pandemic of racism that has scourged our country for far too long. And to think that past weekend – May 31 – was the […]
Bridging Structural Inequities to Build Business & Community Resilience
There are many things that routinely worry Courtney Smith and Erika Smith-Punches about owning Piri, an Afro-southern fusion family-run catering business in Durham, North Carolina. They worry about having enough customers. They worry about pricing their food affordably, while also being able to pay all of their staff a living wage. They worry about buying […]
Cooking Up Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the Culinary Femme Collective
Good. Black. Food. Those are the three words Piri, a family owned and operated food business in East Durham, uses to describe the southern and Afro diasporic fusion of its menu that includes foods such as spicy lentils, crispy fried chicken and savory mashed potatoes. Taking joy in the fact that each dish is crafted […]
A Year of Learning and New Projects
It never ceases to amaze us how fast a year goes by. In early May, we watched as another cohort of CASE and CASE i3 fellows graduated along with hundreds of new MBAs. This annual event always triggers CASE’s “end of year” (the academic year, that is) reflection. For us, this has been a year […]
Feeling Uncomfortable: First Reflections on our DEI Journey
At CASE, we believe in the power of individuals and organizations to create positive social change. And there has been much progress (I often revisit the 2017 Gates Foundation annual letter when I need some reminding about all the progress being made). But we also know that many of the social and environmental challenges that […]
Announcing CASE’s Senior Fellow for DEI
When we announced in March that we were hiring a Senior Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness (DEI) at CASE, we were not sure what to expect. In the weeks that followed we were humbled by the number of applications that we received and amazed at the quality, thoughtfulness, and incredible experience of those applicants. […]