Faculty in the Social Enterprise Summer Training School
Dr. Weaver served as a Faculty Member in the 8th EMES International Research Network’s PhD Social Enterprise Summer Training School. The summer training school aims to strengthen the dissertations and early-career research for PhD students studying social enterprise. This year, Dr. Weaver enabled students and faculty from over 20 countries to do a pre-reading of her forthcoming textbook “Social Entrepreneurship: A Practical Introduction” and presented her research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social enterprise sector. The training school was hosted at the University of Seville in Spain.
Behind the Scenes
Dr. Salvatore Alaimo invites Dr. Weaver to speak about the post-pandemic future of social entrepreneurship in his forthcoming documentary entitled “What is Social Entrepreneurship?” The documentary is set to be released in 2023.
Social Enterprise Bootcamp!
This pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs and some to rethink or reimagine their life and careers.
As such, Dr. Weaver has created a live, online 5-Day bootcamp that trains aspiring entrepreneurs to develop social enterprises called “Ready, Set, Launch: Social Enterprise Bootcamp.”
pandemic-driven Community-based teaching and research
Students in Dr. Weaver’s “Social Entrepreneurship, Civic Engagement, and Community Development” class at Iona College partnered with a social enterprise named Nurish and a nonprofit named Impact100 Westchester to tackle customer discovery challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “Social Entrepreneurship, Civic Engagement, and Community Development” course aims to provide students practical experience tackling organizational challenges, while also advancing community development by partnering with local social organizations.
Read an article on the course here.
2021 People’s Choice Award Winner
Dr. Weaver wins the 2021 People’s Choice Award in the Research Idea Pitch Seedocracy Frenzy hosted by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship for her research project entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Social Enterprise Sector.”
GROWING DEMOCRACY PODCAST APPEARANCE
The Growing Democracy podcast hosted by Dr. Ashley Nickels and Dr. Casey Boyd-Sawn at Kent State University shares insights on civic engagement, democracy, and community development.
Series 3, Episode 6 features Dr. Weaver’s story on how her upbringing in the Bronx, New York inspired her to build a career in the social enterprise sector, her upcoming book, and why social enterprises are interventions for the alleviation of social problems.
Listen to the episode here.
Webinar: Using Experiential Education to Teach Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
This 50-minute webinar provides educators that teach social enterprise and entrepreneurship with resources, tools, and activities related to using experiential education in their courses. Funding to produce this webinar and a teaching guide was awarded to Dr. Rasheda L. Weaver by the Teaching Section of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). The guide may be accessed by ARNOVA members on their website.
Special Issue on Social Entrepreneurship Education
Dr. Weaver is a Co-Editor of the Special Issue on Social Entrepreneurship for the Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy Journal. The special issues features intellectual “contributions that introduce emerging theoretical frameworks as well as impactful learning innovations that advance the understanding and teaching practices of this evolving discipline.”
2019 SEES Colloquium for Research on Social Entrepreneurship
Wingate University and Johnson and Wales University hosted the 5th Annual ARNOVA SEES Colloquium for Research on Social Entrepreneurship in Charlotte, North Carolina this summer.
2018 Colloquium for Research on Social Entrepreneurship
The University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice generously hosted the annual ARNOVA SEES Colloquium for Research on Social Entrepreneurship. This was Dr. Weaver’s first time hosting the event as the Chair for ARNOVA SEES. The event consisted of approximately 20 researchers from throughout the United States and various representatives from social enterprises such as Frontera Founders and Kitchens for Good that exchanged knowledge about how to advance the work of social enterprises.
Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory Launch
On April 26, 2018, Dr. Weaver launched Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory, a publicly available, online directory of over 1,000 social enterprises throughout the United States. The directory includes contact information, social activities, legal structure, and information about the goods and services of each business. Each year, the directory aims to recruit more social enterprises in an effort to map the community of social enterprises throughout the country. With that information, the public, researchers, and policy makers will have a greater understanding of how social enterprises are influencing the fight against social problems like poverty, unemployment, environmental issues, and more in American society.
The launch took place during the University of Vermont’s Social Enterprise Day, a day Dr. Weaver created as a faculty member there to celebrate businesses that aim to foster positively social change.
Event speakers included:
Jermale Eddie, Founder and CEO of Malamiah Juice Bar
Tinia Pina, Founder and CEO of Re-Nuble
Will Raap, Founder of Gardener’s Supply Company and the Intervale Center
Dr. Jeffrey Robinson, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Mark Redman, Executive Director, Spectrum Youth and Family Services
Nicole Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Be MACnificent Academy
Explore the video and photos from the event below!
Video by Marcy Shappy, student at the University of Vermont
Event photos by Caroline Kepler, senior at the University of Vermont
In The News
Professor Weaver is interviewed by Vermont's WCAX News Anchor Eva McKend about her Social Enterprise Directory that will launch on April 26, 2018.
Keynote Speech Video
Dr. Weaver gave a keynote speech on "How Believing in Yourself Can Transform Your Community" at the 4th Annual Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday March 3, 2018. A video of the speech is provided below. The keynote timestamp is 20:00 - 42:00 and is followed by a brief question and answer session.
The article "Street Talk: West Side Meijer Taking Shape" in the Grand Rapids Business Journal called the speech "inspirational."
Keynote Speaker ANNOUNCEMENT
Dr. Weaver is the invited keynote speaker for the 2018 Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit in Grand Rapids, Michigan! Learn more about the events by reading the news articles she is featured in below:
Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit keynote speaker to discuss going 'beyond a seat at the table', The Rapidian
Grand Rapids Hosting Neighborhood Summit, Grand Rapids Business Journal
Announcement
At the 2017 Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr. Weaver was elected Chair of the Social Entrepreneurship/ Enterprise Section for the association.
media Appearance
Dr. Weaver discusses where her interest in studying social enterprises comes from and why the University of Vermont's Department of Community Development and Applied Economics is a great place for teaching and researching social enterprises.
Media Appearance
Dr. Weaver appeared on the show "Across The Fence" on September 25, 2017. Across The Fence is the longest-running locally-produced program in the United States and is based in Vermont. Watch Dr. Weaver's appearance on the show here: