CASE Scholarship Winners

Read about our talented past and present CASE Scholars below.

Class of 2011: Mellisa Rudd, John Hanlon

Class of 2010: Alexandru Baiatu, Elizabeth Runkle,

Class of 2009: Angelique Xanthopoulos, Juan Canal, Michael MacHarg,

Class of 2008: Suzanne Steffens,

Class of 2007: Thomas R. Mitchell, Timothy Scheu

Downloadable Scholars Overview

 

Class of 2011

Melissa Rudd comes to Fuqua with a background in education management, school development, and social policy research.  She has held a variety of positions across the social sector, most recently serving as Director of School Development in Washington, DC for Imagine Schools, a national charter school operating company.  In this capacity, Ms. Rudd was responsible for the start-up and expansion of three public charter schools in the District that now collectively serve over 900 students in Pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.  Prior to this position, she managed the marketing and community outreach activities for Imagine and worked in a variety of research roles centered on child and family welfare.  Through her experience in the charter school movement, Ms. Rudd developed a passion for social entrepreneurship and organizational development, as she saw firsthand the promise and the challenge of bringing innovation to the education sector.  Her experience has instilled her with a desire to support promising social entrepreneurs and organizations seeking to address educational and economic disparity by helping them gain the business and organizational tools needed to increase their impact and effectiveness.  Ms. Rudd has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Virginia and a M.S. in Family Studies from the University of Maryland.

Why Fuqua? 
“On numerous occasions, I have seen great ideas in the social sector fail or fall short of their potential because of a lack of grounding in the business realities that shape their success.  I believe it is crucial that social sector organizations balance passion and innovation with sound organizational thinking and systems in order to deliver on their missions.  I saw Fuqua as a place that understood the need for this balance and took the social sector seriously, while not compromising on the quality of the business education provided.  Fuqua is a great fit for me for this reason, as well as the many resources and opportunities available through CASE and other initiatives aimed at broadening the application of business to the social sector.”

John Hanlon helped start Project D.E.E.P. (the Dorchester Educational Enrichment Program), which is based in Boston’s largest and most diverse neighborhood, just five months after graduating from Boston University.  At the time, the program’s key components included one-on-one tutoring, examination preparation, and summer camp scholarship services—all geared to the middle school children in Dorchester.  Within two years, Mr. Hanlon took over the day-to-day management of the nonprofit as its Executive Director.  Currently, there are seven main initiatives within the Project D.E.E.P. framework (the first three, plus private school placement, community outreach, Latin instruction, and supplemental math tutoring).  Last year, they operated out of three locations and served over 250 children, or roughly five times the membership of the nonprofit’s first year 13 years ago.  During that span of time, Mr. Hanlon and his team counseled thousands of children and families; they placed hundreds of inner-city students into the most prestigious schools in the Boston area; and, perhaps most important, they taught a whole generation of children that it is cool to be smart.  Mr. Hanlon has devoted most of his adult life to community service and hopes continue the trend by entering the world of nonprofit consulting after graduating from Fuqua. 

Why CASE?
“No other school can boast of a program like CASE or people like Greg Dees and Matt Nash.  Other top MBA programs like to tout their centers for social enterprise, saying they are committed to bringing in leaders from the nonprofit sector, but these programs fall far short of what we have here.  And I say that not just because of CASE itself, but perhaps just as much for the periphery around it.  No other school can match the team-first mentality that pervades the Duke campus.  No other school commits itself so much to prepare leaders who will become a force for good in the world.  I want to be one of those leaders. 

Best yet, I knew that by coming here I would be surrounded by others just like me.  Yes, we come from many different backgrounds and we might be looking to learn different skill sets, but we all want to make the world a better place.  After graduating from Fuqua, I know that we will.”

 

Class of 2010

Alexandru Baiatu has gained international attention for his pioneering social entrepreneurship in Romania. By founding, nurturing, and scaling DONUM BASE Association, an online social marketplace linking in-kind material donors with deserving nonprofits, Alex has demonstrated the initiative, creativity, tenacity, and leadership necessary to drive a social enterprise from dream to results in the face of scare resources.

Alex’s first foray into philanthropy came while he was still in high school, when he built a small library for a local orphanage with the profits from his first venture, a student enterprise launched while participating in Junior Achievement. Later, Alex coordinated the Youth Career Initiative of The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum and consulted with Field Services & Inter-Cultural Learning in Bangalore, India, conducting strategic analysis, leading training sessions, and creating tools to improve organizational effectiveness. As a consultant to the International Development division of World Learning, Alex introduced entrepreneurial approaches into his formative contributions to launch of the United Way of Romania, where he authored the organization’s first manuals for volunteers, improved monitoring and evaluation systems, and led the development and implementation of a donor services strategy. Alex is studying at Duke as a Fulbright Fellow and is an alumnus of StartingBloc. Hear Alex talk about his background and plans asd a Flubright Fellow.

Elizabeth Runkle comes to Duke with extensive professional and volunteer experience working with and on behalf of low income and marginalized populations. Elizabeth has proven herself as a skillful facilitator, effective organizer, thoughtful researcher, and passionate advocate, whether working in a hospital, shelter, national membership organization, public policy task force, or social services agency. As Care Coordinator at Pathways Community Network, Elizabeth engaged Atlanta area human services providers to work together to reduce costs and increase the impact of their services.

A founding member of the Younger Women’s Task Force of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, Elizabeth drew upon her skills of consensus building, strategic planning, and marketing to help establish a stronger voice in the policymaking process for women in their 20’s and 30’s. While serving as a program associate at the Older Women’s League in Washington, DC, Elizabeth coordinated and provided technical support for government and foundation funded projects focusing on economic and retirement security, Social Security, Medicare, and mental health; led public relations and marketing campaigns; and developed and implemented strategies for grassroots public education and mobilization efforts at the local and national levels. A tireless change agent, Elizabeth has volunteered extensively to reduce violence against women and to empower women economically, socially, and politically.

 

Class of 2009

  Angelique Xanthopoulos has spent the past six years in Latin America engaged in a number of different social ventures in Argentina and Peru. Most recently, she started InsightArgentina, a volunteer initiative that recruits people from around the world to volunteer at social and environmental organizations in Argentina. In less than two years, the program grew to be self-sustaining, with over 200 volunteers working in a network of over 60 organizations throughout the country. She also started a program called the Argentine Venture Philanthropy Fund, a service for philanthropists interested in making social investments in the Argentine social sector, and working hand in hand with the organization to ensure maximum impact and social return on investment.

Ms. Xanthopoulos began her career in the unlikely location of Cusco, Peru, when she was recruited from her post-graduation Latin American vacation to create a volunteer program for a Spanish-language school. From there she went on start a bar/cafe/art gallery, which she sold to launch an online export channel for microenterprises producing high quality artisan products in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina.

Why CASE?

“About a year ago, InsightArgentina was selected to participate in a joint Ashoka-McKinsey business plan development initiative for social enterprises. As I sat in day 1 of the seminar, I realized just how much many of the participants, myself included, were lacking in a knowledge of even some of the more basic management principles that the McKinsey consultants were talking about. To many of those present, it almost seemed as though the consultants were speaking a different language. It became clear to me that in order for the social sector to reach its full potential, those who worked in it would need a more rigorous grounding in management, business strategy, finance, and accounting, as well as a strong network of allies within the private sector.

I became interested in Greg Dees’ work well before I even began to consider the possibility of an MBA, and have used many of the principles outlined in Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs to help guide me in my own work. When I did begin to think about an MBA, I was attracted to Fuqua because of its unique approach to experiential learning, its flexible, elective-based curriculum, its 6-week intensive course structure, and its global focus. When I learned about the innovative work that Greg Dees and CASE were engaged in, it became apparent to me that this was a perfect fit.”

 

  Juan Canal has been awarded the CASE scholarship for his contributions to the growth of CAFAM, a leader nonprofit Colombian company that redistributes its income among more than 360,000 low-income workers in monetary subsidies and social services like healthcare, recreation and education.  In a position that requires social and financial results, Mr. Canal has developed marketing, financial and strategic analyses of the current and prospected services of his company.  With his coworkers, Mr. Canal developed the most successful fidelity program in his country, which gives high discounts to the low income workers at more than 150 different stores.  He has also led feasibility studies for the opening of new healthcare centers and education facilities.  Currently he is leading the most ambitious project of his company, aimed to establish a University oriented to the lower classes in Colombia.  Mr. Canal is an Industrial Engineer from Universidad Javeriana in Bogota and has lived most of his life in Colombia.

 Why did you choose to pursue a Duke MBA?

“I chose a Duke MBA because it gives me a very wide range of possibilities to fulfill my dream of working for the development of my country.  I believe that following the Social Entrepreneurship concentration, I will be able to work either for the public or the private sector or even better, I will be able to start my own social oriented business. I have concrete plans on returning to my current employer, to apply my new skills and knowledge and increase its social impact in a great way, but the Duke MBA will certainly open many more doors for me.  I also selected Fuqua because CASE is a world leading center in social entrepreneurship and counts with a group of outstanding faculty and staff.  Finally, Team Fuqua and the real involvement of the students with the community represent a huge spirit of collaboration that no other top MBA program has.”


Michael MacHarg was a founding staff member of the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company, the Institute for OneWorld Health, whose goal is clinical development and distribution of affordable new medicines for diseases of poverty in the developing world.  As Associate Director for Development, Mr. MacHarg worked to secure the human and capital resources necessary to bring this innovative social enterprise to scale, forging unique corporate and philanthropic partnerships for five drug development projects across four neglected diseases (Chagas, leishmaniasis, malaria and diarrhea) worldwide.  Prior to OneWorld Health, Mr. MacHarg served as a member of the core World Bank team promoting the participation of non-government organizations (NGOs) in Bank funded projects, utilizing the voice and capacity of civil society to strengthen sustainable economic and social development. Mr. MacHarg is active in international health and education initiatives, advising a foundation providing scholarships for students in Namibia, and researching new efforts to improve drug distribution in under resourced settings.  Mr. MacHarg graduated from Vanderbilt University and has studied at the Universidad de la Habana in Cuba.

Why Fuqua?

”Returning to school was a difficult choice for me. I've thrived in entrepreneurial environments where uncertainty, confidence, and imagination filled the room. I have known the joy of breaking new ground.

But I have also known the frustration of management systems that lag behind visionary humanitarian goals. I have made poor decisions easily prevented by basic business acumen. I have witnessed good intentions trump deliberate strategy. I have endured setbacks grounded in poor financial planning.

Fuqua beckoned.  A renowned laboratory of management theory and its most effective application. An unmatched center (CASE) for the study and practice of social innovation. An institution with porous walls between disciplines, where teamwork and collaboration are paramount. A global community of peers seeking answers to the critical challenges we face. Fuqua is the environs I need to become the caliber of leader this shrinking, interdependent, always possible, world requires.”

Class of 2008

CASE awarded the scholarship to Suzanne Steffens in recognition of her impressive accomplishments in over a decade of service in the social sector. In particular, the award committee cited Ms. Steffens’ outstanding work at the American Heart Association, where she directed the association’s strategy on combating the obesity epidemic and helped to develop the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a collaborative initiative with the William J. Clinton Foundation to stop the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States by 2010. She managed several other key strategic relationships for the association, including a new partnership with the National Football League on a new social marketing campaign designed to encourage increased physical activity among children. Ms. Steffens also led efforts to build a successful, self-sustaining national state advocacy program. Her other social sector experience also includes program development and administration for Phoenix House, the nation’s largest substance abuse provider. Ms. Steffens is a graduate of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science and the University of Texas.

Mrs. Steffens described her desire to pursue a Duke MBA:

“Today, nonprofits cannot just get by with ‘doing good’ anymore. A new paradigm has been created with a demand for accountability on both dollars spent and impact achieved. I want to become part of a new generation of social pioneers that will serve to bridge the gap between the nonprofit and for-profit worlds by working with nonprofits to view themselves more as social enterprises.

“There are many reasons why I choose Fuqua, but my main reason was the CASE program and the chance to work alongside J. Gregory Dees and the CASE staff. In order to become part of a new generation of social pioneers, I needed to arm myself with the tools, knowledge, and experience necessary to begin charting this new direction. I am confident that Fuqua and the CASE program will prepare me for this next phase in my career.”

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Class of 2007

Thomas R. Mitchell has made outstanding contributions to the growth of KaBOOM!, a nonprofit organization that aims to create a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. As the director of program development, Mr. Mitchell developed and managed national programs with corporations and foundations to spark civic leadership and revitalize community through the process of building playgrounds and skateparks, primarily in low-income, urban neighborhoods. A former AmeriCorps member and United Way staffer, Mr. Mitchell has also lived in Brazil where he developed cultural education and language programs for businesses, as well as consulted to the World Bank. Mr. Mitchell graduated from Stanford University and is pursuing a master’s degree in regional planning, with a concentration in economic development, at the University of North Carolina.

In a recent interview, Mr. Mitchell described his desire to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Fuqua:

"A concept that resonates throughout my career in community service is that of access. Healthy communities have access to policy makers, social networks, and financial resources. I want to pursue my MBA to help marginalized communities gain better access to credit and capital so that wealth can be created within these communities, rather than displace them. The MBA will greatly strengthen my understanding of financial systems and how to manage risks in non-traditional investments, as well as expose me to a diverse and driven group of colleagues with valuable experiences and knowledge of their own.

“I selected Fuqua because of the overall excellent quality of the program, the rich culture of Team Fuqua, and the opportunity to be involved with CASE and the teachings of Greg Dees, a true thought leader in social entrepreneurship. The growth of CASE appeals to my experience working with emerging organizations, and the excitement that comes with cultivating and disseminating new ideas to a larger audience."

 

Timothy Scheu has a track record of supporting budding social entrepreneurs through his work at GlobalGiving, an Internet-based service that connects individual and institutional donors directly to social, economic development, and environmental projects around the world. As communications manager, Mr. Scheu built relationships with corporate partners and developed and led a national advertising campaign that dramatically boosted donations and visibility to the public. As an intern at the Citizen’s Network for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Scheu helped to develop USAID and USDA Food for Progress grant proposals for CFNA’s work in Moldova and Kazakhstan. This summer, he met with social entrepreneurs in South Africa and Mozambique. Mr. Scheu graduated from Bucknell University and has studied in Strasbourg, France.

Mr. Scheu described his desire to pursue a Duke MBA:

“When I started thinking about business schools, I knew I wanted to attend one with an international reputation. Flexibility is important to me, and Fuqua will enable me to pursue top-level employment whether I am in Durham, Denver or even Denmark. Among those schools with that reputation, I was looking for one with a collaborative and supportive atmosphere where students grow along-side their peers, not at their peers' expense. Fuqua's team-based approach provides exactly that type of experience, and I am convinced I will learn as much (if not more) from my teammates as I will in class.

“Finally, CASE at Fuqua is a tremendous asset for those interested in social change. In giving students interaction with leading social entrepreneurs such as Mohammad Yunus, Wendy Kopp, and others, Fuqua is providing fertile ground for the next generation of social sector innovators.”