Dennis Shaughnessy

In May, some 30 Northeastern students began the Social Enterprise Institute’s monthlong field study program to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In June, they returned with a deeper understanding of life in Latin America.

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On a Dialogue of Civilizations program in South Africa this summer, students worked closely with local entrepreneurs to deliver sustainable and socially responsible solutions for a variety of challenges facing their businesses.

Northeastern’s Social Enterprise Institute has been changing the lives of impoverished people in South Africa and the Dominican Republic for the last several years.

Dennis Shaughnessy, founder and director of Northeastern's Social Enterprise Institute, says students encounter a transformative experience by participating in a range of programs aimed at addressing global poverty.

Students will spend spring break in the Dominican Republic, designing a microfinance business plan to alleviate poverty in the developing country

Dennis Shaughnessy has worked as a senior executive, a chief legal officer and as an attorney for entrepreneurs. But the experiences that really stayed with him were the stories of people he met on business trips, for whom a couple hundred bucks can make all the difference in their lives. Using his business and entrepreneurial background, Shaughnessy, who is now an academic specialist in entrepreneurship and innovation, has forged a second career to help them.

Students helped South African “micro-entrepreneurs” write business plans and build financial models in an effort to boost job creation.