The Fowler Center’s Business for World Benefit Clinic trains and supports teams of students to serve as researchers, project managers, and consultants for companies that aim to assess and improve their social and environmental impact.
The program aims to meaningfully and materially advance sustainability within the business community. The Clinic engages with clients from small entrepreneurial companies to large corporations due to the rising demand and need of business leaders to assess their organization’s environmental sustainability and social impact.
In this semester long project, student teams can work with organizations to benchmark and improve their social and environmental impact including helping with specific requirements such as calculating carbon emissions, materiality assessments, drafting documentation including a Code of Ethics Policy, an Employee Handbook, Workers Training Modules, or Waste Management Policies, as well as support companies on their journey toward B Corp Certification by helping them to increase their B Impact Assessment (BIA) score.
Schedule for the Fall 2024 Business for World Benefit Clinic:
- Info session: Thursday, Sep 5
- Student applications due: Monday, Sep 9, 5 p.m.
- Teams announced: Thursday, Sep 12
- Student orientation (virtual): Friday, Sep 13, noon-1 p.m.
- Projects start: Monday, Sep 13
- Speaker Session I (virtual): Friday, Sep 27, noon-1 p.m.
- Interim project presentations (virtual): Friday, Oct 4, noon-1 p.m.
- Speaker Session II (virtual): Friday, Oct 25, noon-1 p.m.
- Student closing presentations (in-person): Friday, Dec 6, 3-5 p.m.
Fall 2024 Coaches
Our Business for World Benefit coaches are leaders of Certified B Corporations that have generously donated their time to help our students teams and participating companies succeed.
Lorraine Schuchart, APR is the founder and CEO of the impact relations agency Prosper for Purpose. The company helps change makers impact the world and the bottom line by accelerating growth through brand strategy, public relations and marketing. Prosper for Purpose was founded in 2013 and became a Certified B Corporation in 2016. B Corps are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Lorraine is also a founding member of WetheChange, women CEOs of Certified B Corps, and the Ohio Ambassador for the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization.
Cole Mellino is a sustainability professional with 10 years of demonstrated experience in the field. He is a problem-solver, who takes initiative. Skilled in research and writing, customer service, organization, communication, marketing and social media. Cole completed a joint MBA in Global Impact Management and MA in International Environmental Policy with a focus on social enterprise, impact investing, and food sustainability at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Megan Kuhar is the Associate Director of Marketing & Communications, where she elevates the visibility and engagement of the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship through strategic marketing and communication initiatives. In her role, she has curated and produced a diverse range of multimedia content, including promotional videos, reports and blog posts, as well as conceptualized and executed strategic initiatives that
have helped streamline the Veale Institute’s offerings.
Megan’s background in education, entrepreneurship, videography and audio engineering has contributed to her expertise in marketing. Megan has a B.A. in Music and Arts Management from Baldwin Wallace University, an Associates of Applied Science in Recording Arts & Technology from Cuyahoga Community College, and a Masters in Music Technology from the University of Akron. She is almost always knitting or crocheting and hopes to have a successful pattern design business one day.
Karen Shulman is a sustainability professional who has worked with a variety of sectors across the U.S., Middle East, and Africa. She is currently the senior manager of sustainability for Albemarle, a global leader in transforming essential resources such as lithium and bromine into critical ingredients for mobility, energy, connectivity, and health. In this role, she helps lead sustainability strategy and implementation throughout the company while collaborating with internal and external stakeholders. Previously, Karen worked in sustainability consulting focusing on ESG strategy development, stakeholder engagement, and disclosure work, as well as in corporate philanthropy.
Karen earned an MBA in Sustainable Business from Zicklin School of Business, an MA in Government from the Interdisciplinary School of Herzliya, and a BA in Tolerance Studies from the City University of New York.
Beau Daane (he/him) is a Duke educated corporate sustainability/responsibility and real estate professional with over 20 years experience in leadership roles across multiple sectors including publicly traded companies in the quick service restaurant, travel, real estate, and mining industries. Beau also has experience in the consulting, education, foundation, and government fields. At Krispy Kreme (Nasdaq: DNUT), Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH), Covia, and Harvard Maintenance, he worked/works with executive management and at the board level to identify, manage and report on the highest impact responsibility topics. Beau is currently the global senior director of sustainability at Krispy Kreme, a multinational doughnut and coffeehouse chain with ~23,500 employees in 40+ countries. From 2006-2019, Beau also ran a private real estate development company focused on rehab projects in Cleveland's renaissance neighborhoods. Beau completed his MBA at Case Western Reserve University in 2012 and his certification in Appreciative Inquiry in 2013. Beau served on the board of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in Ohio, currently serves on the Vestry of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami, FL, and on the Fowler Center Advisory Board, and he enjoys working out and gardening.
Fall 2024 Companies
Companies for the Fall 2024 Business for World Benefit Clinic projects are: