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In honor of International Women’s Day the Center for Social Impact Learning will be doing a special series throughout March to celebrate women impact leaders that inspire us. Through interviews and other forms of digital media we will explore how women are shaping and catalyzing the social impact space.

Is there a woman whose leadership has inspired you? If so, contribute to this project by sharing her impact! Contact Nicole Manapol at nmanapol@miis.edu for further details on how you can participate.

Happy International Women’s Day! #MakeItHappen

CSIL is excited to announce its upcoming intensive summer internship program, Ambassador Corps, providing compassionate college and graduate students with a unique frontlines work experience with premier social entrepreneurship organizations around the world. Ambassador Corps matches student interest and skill sets with a host organization’s defined needs in areas such as microfinance, poverty alleviation, sustainable agriculture, social justice, environmental conservation, sustainable education, eco-tourism, youth entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, public health and disease eradication. In collaboration with Middlebury’s Schools Abroad and the Center for Social Entrepreneurship we are excited to build long lasting relationships.

Please email inquiries to Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives Annie Makela via: mmakela@miis.edu

A graduate course and high-profile speaker series featuring leaders and practitioners working to provide solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges. 

Impact Investment is investment made with the intention to generate measurable social, environmental and financial return. Impact investing deploys multiple sources of capital – private, philanthropic and public to address pressing global challenges. Impact investing has the potential to unlock significant sums of commercial capital, but challenges to the commercialization of impact investing remain significant. The struggle, however, may shed light on how capitalism as we know of today can and will be transformed and leveraged for maximizing welfare and wealth creation. This course engages students with thinkers and practitioners in the impact investing sector who will share their perspectives and experiences in bridging the gap between commercial and impact investments, and explore and envision a better future. Learn more: go.miis.edu/colloquium

Course Information: Register via Banner (IPMG 8593); 
2 or 3 Credit Option.

Timing and Location: March 12 – May 14, 2015 . Thursdays, 6-9pm, MG102

Featured Speakers

	Sonal Shah, Former White House Director of Social Innovations Sonal is Professor of Practice and the founding Executive Director of the Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation. Sonal, an economist and entrepreneur, has spent her career focused on actionable innovation in the public and private sectors. Most recently, she was the Deputy Assistant to the President and founding Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Follow Sonal on twitter: @SonalRShah
	Robert Rubenstein, CEO of TBLI (Triple Bottom Line International)  Robert is a social entreprenuer and the founder and driving force behind TBLI (Triple Bottom Line Investing) Group, an organization that specializes in environmental, social and governance ESG and impact investing, using Triple Bottom Line principles. Follow Robert on twitter: @tbli
	Cynthia Muller, Senior Director at Arabella Advisors Cynthia leads Arabella Advisors impact investing practice. She has an extensive background in social enterprise and mission investing includes connecting public policy, programs, and capital for emerging social innovations to increase economic opportunities for under-served and marginalized communities. Follow Cynthia on twitter: @cynmull
	Mike Lin, CEO of Fenix International Mike is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded an award-winning design firm, and B.MIMIMA, an eco-solutions company. He has consulted for  Apple on climate change and environmental toxins and worked with Al Gore on the “Inconvenient Truth” presentation. Mike is a LEED accredited professional, a recipient of the EPA’s People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Award, Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award and BusinessWeek IDEA Award. Mike earned both his BS and MS in mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. Follow Fenix International on Twitter: @fenixintl

Select events will be open to the public. 

For inquiries, please contact Erina McWilliam-Lopez via: emcwilliam@miis.edu, or 831-647-4645. 

Starting this January, four travel grants of $1500 each will be awarded to MIIS students conducting research on social change in Africa. The research can be either independent or part of established immersive learning programs such as IPSS, DPMI+ or Frontier Market Scouts. The research must be conducted in Africa for a duration of 3-4 months or more.

To receive this grant students must submit a research design that focuses on a social condition in Africa of the applicant’s choosing; e.g., poverty, environment, crime, armed violence, gender equality, conflict, disease, education, refugees, etc., with the goal of making policy/program recommendations that can change that condition.

The application must include the following elements:

1. Dates of research
2. Location of research, to include a letter of support from an organization which is hosting or assisting you with your project.
3. A two page statement that includes a complete research design, to include a preliminary literature review that shows a need for this research, the who, what, where, and how of the project, and its potential impact on the social condition.
4. A description of the deliverable and date of presentation.

Applications must be received between now and 15 January. A committee of faculty judges will evaluate all applications and determine the four recipients of the award by 20 January. Awards will be given as reimbursement for travel to Africa.  If you have any questions or wish to discuss the eligibility of your planned research for this award, please make an appointment with Professor Ed Laurance at elaurance@miis.edu.  He can also be reached at 831-402-2631.

These awards are made possible by a continuing donation from the family of Sarah Meek, a MIIS alum of 1996 whose life was cut short while working to improve social conditions in Africa.

When: Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 4 – 6pm

Where: McCone Irvine Auditorium

Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, an award-winning social innovator who is Founder and CEO of the Afghan Institute for Learning (AIL), will speak at the Monterey Institute in Irvine Auditorium on Wednesday, October 29, at 4pm. Dr. Yacoobi’s visit to the Institute will be hosted by the Center for Social Impact Learning (CSIL) in partnership with The Women’s International Perspective (The WIP).

“Globally, women and girls are not afforded the same educational opportunities as men. One dramatic consequence is lower health outcomes,” says Kate Daniels Kurz, The WIP Director. “We are looking forward to Dr. Yacoobi’s talk on the successful innovations she has put forth to improve the education and health of Afghan women and children.”

Dr. Yacoobi founded AIL in 1995 as a way to provide training, education and healthcare to Afghans, with a particular focus on women and children. AIL was the first organization to open Learning Centers for Afghan women – a concept that has been replicated by many organizations across Afghanistan. AIL has become internationally recognized for improving the health and education of Afghan women and children. Under Dr. Yacoobi’s leadership, AIL has helped 12 million Afghans through schools, learning centers, and medical clinics. In 2005, Dr. Yacoobi was awarded the Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy. Sakena was among the 1,000 women nominated to jointly receive the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2013, Dr. Yacoobi won the prestigious Opus Prize, an award that “honors unsung heroes of any faith tradition with a $1 million award for efforts to solve today’s most persistent and pressing global issues, including poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease, and injustice.”

“I am honored to be the first speaker in CSIL’s Impact Pioneers Speakers Series,” says Dr. Yacoobi. “I really believe that students today, like those at the Monterey Institute, are going to be the ones who make the world a better place, and I look forward to speaking with the MIIS students about my work over the last 20 years, and the situation of the people of Afghanistan.”

Dr.Yacoobi was born in Herat, Afghanistan and educated in California. She holds a master’s degree in public health from Loma Linda University and a B.S. in biological sciences from the University of the Pacific. Dr. Yacoobi holds honorary doctorates from the University of the Pacific, Loma Linda University, Santa Clara University, the University of St. Joseph and Princeton. She is an emeritus member of the board of directors of the grant-making Global Fund for Women and serves on the advisory board for the Monterey Institute’s Center for Social Impact Learning, as well as New Global Citizens, which connects young people with international NGOs to help solve some of the world’s most pressing issues at a grassroots level. Previously, she was a professor at D’Etre University and a health consultant.

During her guest lecture, Dr. Yacoobi’s speaking topics will cover the challenges she faced in starting AIL and the current status of women and girls in Afghanistan. The event will mark the launch of CSIL’s Impact Pioneers Speaker Series.  Throughout the year, CSIL will host a series of practical and compassionate entrepreneurs and change makers as a way to drive inspiration and thought leadership on social innovation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.  Visit: go.miis.edu/csil

This event is free and open to the public. For further inquiries, visit go.miis.edu/csil or contact Erina McWilliam-Lopez at 831.647.4645.

About CSIL: The Center for Social Impact Learning (CSIL) is a premier action learning and research institution focusing on the social impact of business and financial investment, specifically in the areas of social enterprise and impact investment management and mainstream business perspectives and decisions regarding the long-term impacts of today’s actions.

CSIL serves a full spectrum of budding social entrepreneurs offering them valuable and practical learning experiences as well as a launch pad for an impact driven career.

About The WIP: Based at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, The Women’s International Perspective (The WIP) is your global source for women’s perspectives. The WIP reports news, world opinion, and commentary through our Feature Articles, Byline Portal, Current Headlines, and community blog. Our mission is to provide quality articles from the unique perspectives of women, accessible worldwide, and free to readers. The WIP is a balanced media source that promotes diversity. We are not associated with any religious, political, or cultural affiliation. As a worldwide collective of writers, The WIP is an opportunity to balance the tremendous under-representation of women journalists and offer a greater diversity of background and opinion than typically found in mainstream publications. The WIP strives to bring together divergent cultures, opinions, and ideas in solution-based dialogue.

About MIIS:The Monterey Institute of International Studies, a graduate school of Middlebury College, has been preparing graduate professionals for global careers since 1955. Located in Monterey, California, the Institute offers advanced degrees in international business,international education management, international environmental policy, international policy studies, language teaching, localization management, nonproliferation and terrorism studies, public administration, and translation and interpretation, as well as a variety of specialized certificates and programs. The Institute, whose approximately 800 students come from more than 50 countries, is also home to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program (MonTREP), the Center for the Blue Economy, and the Center for Conflict Studies. Visit www.miis.edu forcampus news or tofind an expert.