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By Alexa Levine, CESR Fellows Correspondent and Content Producer, Leeds 2019

CESR Fellows kicked off the fall 2016 semester with eight new student-elected executive board members and a jam-packed schedule including speakers, workshops and networking events. To give students the opportunity to become more involved in the student group, created new committees including VAP’D, UN PRME and the Volunteer Committee.

The VAP’D committee invites guest speakers and organizes the interactive speaker and discussion series. The UN PRME committee worked closely with CESR to create marketing and promotional materials for the UN PRME summit, a United Nations refuge call to action in October. All in all, the committees have organized numerous volunteer and networking opportunities for students devoted to business and social responsibility.

The first monthly meeting of the year offered an interactive workshop for students to explore the effects of privilege in the workplace. The workshop was conducted by performance artist Alia Goldfarb. Alia led an inspiring discussion that set the stage for the way the students would approach social issues throughout the upcoming semester.  

In another meeting, students had the opportunity to hear from a panel of leaders working in the social sector. Dr. Aditi Mitra spoke about how her global experiences have driven her to focus on ethics and social responsibility on a global scale. Tamsen Reed spoke about working in her current nonprofit, the Colorado Haiti Project. Z Yang discussed what led him to make values-driven video games that assist in preventing suicide and helping children with certain ailments. And finally, Don Oest, a CESR professor, spoke about his background at IBM and the path that led him to Leeds and CESR.

A recent Fellows meeting was a case workshop for students interested in getting better at critical thought and making business arguments for ethical choices. CESR’s own Lorna Christoff led a lively discussion of conflicting viewpoints among the students.  

The Fellows will continue hosting speakers, activities, networking and social events that inspire students who care about values-driven business and making a positive social and environmental impact.

Learn more about (or join!) CESR Fellows