Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity

What does sustainability at SMU mean to you? How can we make the Hilltop greener, smarter, and healthier for everyone?

The Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity wants to hear from YOU—students, faculty, and staff—about what matters most when it comes to sustainability at SMU. Your input will help gauge the perception of sustainability on campus and inform the University of sustainability priorities – everything from energy efficiency to waste reduction and community
gardens.

This survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete, and your responses will remain confidential.

Click the link in our bio to take the survey!

📣 OCTOBER IMPACTNIGHTS SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT

Join us at the Hunt Institute on October 24th where we will discuss the benefits of deconstruction and material recovery.
Date and Time: October 24th, 4-6 PM
Location: Caruth Hall, Suite 206

We are thrilled to host the following experts in a panel discussion:

Purva Chawla - Founder and Partner, MaterialDriven

Christopher Hill - Principal, KC Hill Consulting

Kathy Fonville - Public Education Manager, North Texas Municipal Water District

Alexis Harp - President and CEO, Exceptional Waste Solutions

Ted Reiff - President and CEO, The ReUse People of America

Kathryn Guerra Bazan - Chairwoman, City of Dallas Environmental Commission

Click the link in the bio to learn more about our wonderful panel and register for the event!

The Dig Summit is off to a great start! There has been great speakers, thoughtful conversations, and chickens! We’re honored to be bringing this important summit to SMU

📅 SAVE THE DATE!
For our October ImpactNights™, where we will discuss how to unlock the social and environmental benefits of deconstruction and material recovery.
Click the link in the comments to register!

Date and Time: October 24th, 4-6 PM
Location: Caruth Hall, Suite 206

Join us as we will delve into circularity for the built environment. With a focus on North Texas’ rapid growth, this event will highlight the transformative potential of deconstruction and building material recovery. Discover how dismantling buildings and infrastructure can offer more than just salvaged materials—it’s an opportunity to reduce waste, conserve and redirect precious resources, lower carbon footprint, and create career, economic, and social opportunities for communities.

We had an incredible evening at our inaugural last night! 🎉 The event was a huge success, celebrating the outstanding work of enterprises across the state making a positive impact in their communities.

A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors , 3xP Global, , and for making the event a reality with their generous contributions.

Thank you to our phenomenal roundtable discussion co-leads for leading impactful conversations: James Olivier, Xiaochen Zhang, Miguel J. Martins, Rita Branco, Holly Kuzmich, Ann Montgomery, Taylor Schrang Ready, and Anna Clark. Additionally, thank you to our speakers who made the award ceremony so special: Suku Nair, Miguel J. Martins, and Jamila Thomas.

At the ceremony, we were honored to have Garrett Boone, retail legend and co-founder of The Container Store as our keynote speaker. His insights into building a successful impact enterprise were invaluable for our attendees, and we extend a warm thank you for his time and generosity.

A heartfelt thank you to all the nominees, attendees, Ecosystem Partners, and SMU community for making this event unforgettable. Your contributions and commitment to driving change are truly inspiring. And a hearty thank you to the team (Rebecca Pearce, Valecia Harris, Jasleen Dhillon, Helen-Anne Gable, Maria Harrison, Grace Moundas, Brittney Gross, RDN, LD, Kasey Baus and Michaela Eamma, GISP) for their commitment to making this the best event possible. Over the next month, we’ll be sharing more about our awardees and the launch of the Texas Hub.

Here’s to many more years of recognizing and supporting impactful enterprises! View some of the program below to learn more about the wonderful event, our partners, awardees, and more.

🌟Highlighting the 2024 Hunt Institute Social Enterprise Unicorn Cohort

The Social Enterprise Unicorn (SE-U) Program identifies early-stage social entrepreneurs with the potential for scaling impact. The SE-U Program was designed to foster participants’ funding readiness and access to funding through a state-of-the-art training curriculum, toolbox, professional network, global expert advisors, and mentors. Keep reading to learn more about the cohort!

Clara Rulegura Ford, MA, Founder and CEO: Kijiji Sustainable Economy (“KSE”) intentionally builds and leverages markets in Tanzania to benefit rural communities. KSE is launching climate-smart businesses and building value chains, creating employment, improving livelihoods, and building resilience.

Jared Helmberger, Founder and CEO: Bear Land Company is crafting opportunities for sustainable housing through innovative land solutions, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to secure, affordable living with transparent, impact-driven goals.

Madison McMahan, Founder and CEO: The Social Panacea is an evidence-based application that empowers meaningful friendships around shared interests among those with social anxiety.

DeVincent Martin (Founder and CEO) and Brandon Martin (Founder and COO): PiSquareKu is an environmental consulting firm leveraging the latest environmentally friendly methods to remanufacture recycled materials for innovative solutions.

Mohammed Njie, Founder and CEO: Janta Power Inc., a pioneering startup in the clean energy sector, is addressing one of the most critical challenges of our era—the transition to clean energy. They have developed an innovative power generation method poised to transform the way humanity interacts with energy, heralding a new era of sustainability.

Wilkie Stevenson (Founder and CTO) and Samuel Wilcox (Co-Founder and CFO): Minerva is a low-cost technology-based solution to provide access to knowledge and educational resources in remote areas with no wifi or even electricity.

📅 SAVE THE DATE!

For our March ImpactNights™, we will have a live demo and moderated discussion on Food Resiliency in North Central Texas. Click the link in the comments to register!

Date and Time: March 7, 4-6 PM
Location: Caruth Hall, Suite 206

Members of the Urban Agriculture Division from the City of Dallas will provide an update on the latest developments of the City’s Comprehensive Urban Agriculture Plan, as well as demo their newest interactive map that addresses health disparities and equity through food access. After the demonstration, we will have expert lead discussions with members of varying sectors across North Central Texas providing insights and engaging in meaningful conversations about food sustainability in our region.

📣 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT FEBRUARY IMPACTNIGHTS™

Join us at the Hunt Institute on February 8 where we will discuss Sustainable Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining.

Date and Time: February 8th, 4 PM
Location: Caruth Hall, Suite 206 (and online)

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is widespread in mineral-rich developing countries and is credited with producing about 30% of all the extracted gold in the world. However, ASGM poses significant health and environmental hazards at local and global levels, resulting in large-scale deforestation, air and water contamination, and human health risks. During this ImpactNights™, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities within ASGM and how to move forward within the complex social, environmental, and technical dimensions of such systems.

View the link in bio to register!

❓IMPACT VS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

We are often asked about the difference between an impact enterprise and a social enterprise. Here’s a breakdown:

The term “Impact Enterprise” captures a multitude of organizations, from social enterprises to small businesses, corporations, nonprofits, and even government entities, that utilize business strategies and leverage market forces to create positive environmental and/or societal impact.

A “Social Enterprise” is a business that can be either for-profit or nonprofit that act as a change agent through a mission that creates and sustains social value, for which it engages in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning, acts boldly without being limited by resources at hand and exhibits heightened accountability to those they serve and the outcomes they create (adapted from G. Dees’ seminal 1998 paper, “The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship”).

In other words, all social enterprises are impact enterprises but not all impact enterprises are social enterprises.

With the definition of social enterprises varying considerably around the world, and perceptions along with it, “impact enterprise” tends to be a framework that is more easily comparable across geographies. Stay tuned to learn more about the ecosystem these enterprises exist in!

📣 ANNOUNCING THE INAUGURAL TEXAS IMPACT ENTERPRISE AWARDS

We’re honoring visionaries of transformational impact. Will you join us?

The Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity, Inclusive Economy Consortium, and our Global Advisory Council are pleased to announce the Texas Impact Enterprise Awards. This award program was created to honor trailblazing organizations that are committed to creating meaningful change across the Lone Star State. Stay tuned to learn about the award, our Ecosystem Partners, and even more!

Click the link in bio to learn more!

🌟Session Announcement for ImpactNights™🌟

The Hunt Institute is excited to announce one of the breakout sessions for the November 30 ImpactNights™: The Future of Energy Generation and Distribution and Implications for Jobs

Dive into the dynamic landscape of energy generation and distribution as experts Anna Clark, Dr. Mohammad E Khodayar, Stephanie Kroger, and Tracy Wallace explore its future trajectory and the consequential impact on employment. Click the link in our bio to register!

Join us at 4pm on October 19th for a moderated discussion on Leveraging AI and Blockchain for Community Impact.

We invite you to register at the link in our bio to join us in person or remote.

We hope to see you there!