April 14, 2022 ImpactNights™ – Food Systems in Urgent Need of Transformation

Even before 2020, before anyone heard of something called “COVID-19,” the world was already facing serious food challenges. But today, with long-term economic uncertainty due to the pandemic, rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, and climate change, the global food system may be nearing a breaking point. 

To discuss the crisis facing our globe, Hunt Institute convened three panels of experts on April 14 for its latest ImpactNights™ event, “Food Systems in Urgent Need of Transformation.” The event featured Hunt Institute representatives and Fellows, business executives, medical experts, non-profit leaders, and a City of Dallas coordinator. 

The common theme that linked the three panels was the critical importance of building trust with and among all stakeholders – whether it be the farmers that grow crops, the financial institutions that serve the farmers, or those who distribute the products to the market. Panelists also discussed the vital role of health care providers who develop bonds with communities and patients, especially in underserved areas. 

“With 3.3 to 3.6 billion people in the world highly vulnerable to climate change, most of them smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups, the urgency cannot be overstated,” said Dr. Eva Csaky, Executive Director of Hunt Institute. “This is a crisis of food production, food security, and livelihoods, and the sharing of global experiences and best practices must inform urgent evidence-based climate action in vulnerable communities around the world.” 

Participating in the first panel were Clara Ford, a Hunt Institute Fellow who is working on a community-driven, climate-smart rural development model; Miguel J. Martins, a Hunt Institute Fellow who is working with climate-smart value chains with a focus on mycelium; and Mohan Seneviratne, a Hunt Institute Fellow who is helping build resilience and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. 

“If we’re talking about global value chains, we need to talk with the farmers,” said Seneviratne. “If there are no farmers, there are no cover crops. Sri Lanka, like all emerging countries, is primarily agricultural. If you want to alleviate poverty, we need to address 80% of the people, and that’s agriculture.” 

Clara Ford, the founder of Kijiji Innovative Solutions in Tanzania, teaches local farmers how to grow more crops to sell, and thus sustain themselves and provide a better quality of life. “In a small village of about 1000 to 5000 people, the economy is agricultural productivity, but somebody coming from America to Tanzania and telling them this is what you need to do – that is something I figured wouldn’t work.” 

To address the issue, Ford created a local center for the village to bring people together, to invest in locals first, and to allow them to start the conversation as peers and stakeholders. She hopes her idea – a center to gather, learn, and take action – can be scaled to other villages as a community development approach.  

The second session, led by Corrie Harris, Assistant Director of Hunt Institute, featured Felisa Conner and Dorothy Hopkins, VP of Operations and President & CEO, respectively, of Frazier Revitalization, Inc.; Rabekha Siebert, Urban Agriculture Coordinator of the City of Dallas; Matt Smith, Sr. Director of PepsiCo’s Food for Good; and Meghna Tare, a Hunt Institute Fellow, Chief Sustainability Officer of UT Arlington, and Founder of the North Texas Food Alliance.  

“When you’re working in underserved communities, you should never do what they should do,” said Felisa Conner, speaking on the session’s topic of bringing affordable healthy food to South Dallas. “When you’re having events, the idea is that you draw people so you can develop relationships. That’s what your program is built from. That’s what helps people stick together, to see them work through a problem and to help with solutions.”  

The final session on food system needs was led by Alex Radunsky, a Hunt Institute Fellow and Postdoc Research Fellow at UT Southwestern. Participants included Sandi Pruitt, Associate Professor in the Department of Population and Data Sciences at UT Southwestern, and Milette Siler, Community Dietitian and Culinary Lead Instructor at the Moncrief Cancer Institute at UT Southwestern. 

Attendees Nadia Zrelli Ben Hamida and Haddijatou Njie also shared valuable information about the food security crisis in Tunisia and the challenges of scaling climate-smart solutions in The Gambia. 

Panelists agreed that technology has a central role to play in fixing and improving the world’s food systems, but that governance, infrastructure, education, training, and access to financing and markets must be prioritized for the good of all stakeholders and the people most at risk of food insecurity.  

Follow us on Eventbrite to stay informed when the next ImpactNights™ session is scheduled. 

Written By: Chris Kelley

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the Institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu

Kathy Hubbard, Hunt Institute Fellow

Kathy Hubbard, Hunt Institute Fellow

Kathy Hubbard is the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Lyle School of Engineering. Kathy leads the school’s effort to develop the 21st Century Engineer, this engineer is representative of global diversity. She leads the school’s effort to increase the number of students representing traditionally minoritized groups pursuing engineering and computer science degrees. These efforts include recruiting and retention strategies of under-represented students and improving diversity within the school’s faculty ranks. She is also responsible for internal equitable and inclusive policies and practices.

Kathy sits on several university-wide committees, and she is the Advisor for the Lyle school’s National Society of Black of Engineers, Society of Hispanic Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers student organizations. She is a certified executive coach and has worked with executives and managers from DART, Texas Instruments, and other organizations. Kathy has also worked with the Center for Creative Leadership to develop youth and early career leadership development programs.

When asked about her motivation for doing impact work she answered, “I believe we are all here to leave the spaces and places that we are privileged to occupy better than we found them.  If I do that, then I have made an impact.”

Kathy is passionate about closing the education achievement gap. In addition to her duties at SMU, she is an Alumni Fellow with LeadershipISD, an education equity advocacy group. She also serves on the Building Solutions Advisory Board supporting initiatives in DFW school districts and the Maclin Family Foundation Boards that provided access for Black and Hispanic students to institutions like the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Kathy is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for St. Philip’s School & Community Center in South Dallas. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives and helps build the organization’s endowment and annual fund.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Masters in Education Leadership & Policy from the Simmons School of Education at SMU. Kathy is married to Michael Hubbard and is mother of two wonderful sons, Michael and Elijah.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the Institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu

Dr. Michael Adler, Hunt Institute Fellow

Mike Adler, Hunt Institute Fellow

Mike Adler, PhD,  joins the Hunt Institute as a Fellow, bringing with him his expertise in community engagement with the Puebloan Nations in New Mexico.

Dr. Adler is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University and holds the William Clements Jr. Endowed Executive Director position in the SMU-in-Taos program. His academic training is in archaeology, and his primary research focus is the complex ancestries of Native Americans, particularly Puebloan, communities in the American Southwest. He has also worked overseas in Jordan on early village archaeological contexts. He has a strong interest in the current roles (and sometimes, failures) of archaeology in the creation of knowledge about the past.

He collaborates with Native American communities to investigate concepts of ancestry, cultural identity, and how communities create and recreate that complicated concept called “the past.” He also works with traditional acequia irrigation cooperatives in Northern New Mexico to document their ancestral land and water use systems. He works with his students and colleagues to bring archaeology and knowledge of the past to the public and considers experiential education as one of the most important legacies we can provide to future generations.

When asked what his motivation is for doing impact work he replied, “I would say that I’m privileged to be able to help communities better understand their unique and collective pasts.  Every community deserves a past that best reflects their accomplishments and challenges, and to do that one has to listen first to the community needs and interests, and continue listening as the past becomes better understood.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the Institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

DeeDee Conway, Ed.D., Hunt Institute Fellow

DeeDee Conway, Ed.D., Hunt Institute Fellow

DeeDee Conway Ed.D. serves as an Associate Dean at the Lyle School of Engineering and Research Assistant Professor in the Caruth Institute for Engineering Education at Southern Methodist University. DeeDee joins The Hunt Institute team as a Fellow, accompanied by her valuable expertise in education.

Her research focuses on engineering education professional development and technical training as a means of understanding what institutions do to prepare students for not only positions in the industry but also positions in higher education, such as organizational and leadership development practices. This includes the analysis of cultural norms within an institution and opportunities for the reform of education to better suit the requirements of today’s industry and higher education institutions. Other research interests include creating a better understanding of culture in education, finding ways to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as understanding the needs of non-traditional learners.

DeeDee’s recent publications are grounded in identifying pathways to prosperity for underserved populations, adult learners, and organizational leadership/culture. DeeDee holds a BBA from American Public University and her M.Ed. in Education and Ed.D. in Higher Education from Southern Methodist University.

When asked what motivates her impact work, DeeDee said, “I want to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to advance and grow in whatever way they choose. I work to advocate and help those that have difficulty navigating through various systems, policies, and processes.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedInFacebookand Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

Paul Westbrook, Hunt Institute Fellow

Paul Westbrook, Hunt Institute Fellow

Paul Westbrook is a recognized leader and speaker in efficiency, solar energy, and whole-system integrative design across the spectrum from residential projects to large industrial facilities. He brings this wealth of expertise to the Hunt Institute as a Fellow.

Paul currently serves on the board of Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (KISS). Founded by Hunt Institute Social Entrepreneur Clara Ford, the organization’s mission is to reduce rural poverty by promoting sustainable development in Tanzania’s rural communities through education, community activism, sustainable initiatives, and youth and women empowerment. Together with Hunt Institute Fellow Dr. Jessie Zarazaga, Clara continues to work with the Hunt Institute’s Global Development Lab on the Kijiji Project, including the completion of Phase I and the Spring 2021 Innovative Sustainable Solutions Design Competition where Paul served as a judge helping to narrow down the final winners.

In 1996, Paul designed his own North Texas solar home, which won the NAHB Energy Value Housing Award for Innovative Design. The house utilizes passive and active solar design and still ranks as one of the most efficient homes in Texas; it has been on the annual national tour of solar homes since 1996. Extensive water efficiency and rainwater collection led to Paul being named a Water Genius by the North Texas Municipal Water District in 2009.

Paul has over 33 years of design and operational experience with large, complex manufacturing facilities. He led the effort at Texas Instruments (TI) to design and build the first sustainable, LEED Gold Certified semiconductor manufacturing facility (“fab”) in the world. The 1.1 million square foot facility in Richardson, Texas, is over 40% more energy efficient and cost 30% less to build than the previous fab. Paul was also the LEED Accredited Professional (AP) for two TI manufacturing facilities in the Philippines, including the first LEED Gold building of any type in that country.

As Sustainable Development Manager at TI, he led the effort to improve the energy and water efficiency of TI’s 20 million square feet of existing global facilities – doubling the company’s energy and water efficiency in less than 10 years. Paul has also worked with the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative teams on industry-wide efficiency improvements and on green design standards.

In 2012, Paul was named a Senior Fellow for the US State Department’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) program. He visited Honduras, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru, where he worked with governments, universities, and industry on efficiency and renewable energy. After retiring from TI, Paul started his consulting business, RE:source. The RE stands for Radical Efficiency. But it also stands for Resource Efficiency, Renewable Energy, REsilience, and REimagine. His book The Joy of Efficiency covers resource efficiency and integrative design. His research can be reviewed on his website titled Westbrook House where he provides links to learn about passive and active solar.

Paul received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1982. Paul is president and a saxophone player for the nonprofit Texins Jazz Band – a full big band established in 1986. He is also an accomplished track & field sprinter. He led the TI Team to 12 consecutive national corporate track titles as captain and was inducted into the United States Corporate Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

When asked what motivates him to do impact work, Paul’s response is, “I’ve worked on many interesting projects that achieved radical efficiency and sustainability improvements. That experience and knowledge has value in many areas, and I’m happy to share.”

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedInFacebookand Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

Better Building: Compressed Earth Blocks Report

Better Building: Compressed Earth Blocks Report, Dr. Brett Story, Global Development Lab, Lyle School of Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, Southern Methodist University, Madison Rodriguez, Jase Sutton, Robert Hillyard, Adriana Mena, Ziyu Sun, Hunter & Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity

“Our society as a whole needs to leverage the forces of globalization, technological advancement, and climate change – what the UN calls ‘the three mega forces’ – for disruptive solutions to further inclusive sustainable economic development,” said Director of the Hunt Institute Dr. Eva Csaky. “We can reach this goal by harnessing the power of disruptive collaboration.” The CEB research partnership and collaboration between Dr. Brett Story and the Hunt Institute began in 2015 for just this purpose.

Previous phases for this research included Phase I, focusing on the strength testing of CEBs under a variety of conditions including varying moisture levels, cement content, and soil type. This research was followed by Phase II, focusing on determining characteristics for different types of soil found globally as a first step in standardization.

Phase III’s objectives were somewhat altered due to the global pandemic which resulted in breaking the work into two parts. This semester the team developed a report entitled,” Better Building: Compressed Earth Block Report,” which highlights the market opportunity and sustainability of compressed earth blocks in construction. The project manager is JuliaGrace Walker, and the undergraduate researcher is Madison Rodriguez.

The next part of the project will take place during the summer and fall term of 2021. In Phase III, analyses will be performed and data will be compared from the test structures at both the Taos and Dallas campuses. Relationships between soil type and mix design, block strength, and thermal properties will also be investigated. Additionally, this investigation will include models developed by Dr. Story’s lab team which is comprised of Ph.D. students Jase Sitton and Robert Hillyard, as well as undergraduate researchers Adriana Mena and Ziyu Sun. Combined together, both parts of Phase III will inform the vision of a living laboratory at SMU@ Taos.

Dr. Story’s vision is ultimately “…to use the data obtained during this project to make recommendations for full-scale, more permanent structures that can be used by faculty and students at the SMU Taos campus. The information learned during this project will be used to start the design of a “living” laboratory, which would be a laboratory building constructed with CEB and instrumented with a variety of sensors. In this way, the structure is both the laboratory space as well as the test specimen.”

CEBs are an emerging earthen construction technology that contribute to stronger and more resilient earth infrastructure. As interest in sustainable construction technology has increased, more research has been conducted on CEBs as an alternative to traditional masonry.  Comparing CEB to traditional masonry, CEB structures can be more energy efficient throughout their life cycle. When approached accordingly, they can are energy efficient to produce and transport, while conserving resources and reducing waste production. CEBs are better insulated due to their high thermal mass and thermal resistance. Subsequently, their high thermal inertia gives CEBs the advantage of humidity regulation, and evaporation of water in the earthen walls contributes to natural cooling. CEBs represent a cost effective, energy efficient, and sustainable solution that directly contribute to the ninth and eleventh UN Sustainable Development Goals, which address industry, innovation, and infrastructure, as well as sustainable cities and communities.  CEBs indirectly contribute to many other SDGs through their impact on health, household incomes (through cost savings) and quality of life.

Sam Borton contributed to this post.

Read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems here. We invite you to listen Join us for ImpactNights® or listen to our podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the Institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our weekly update by emailing your contact information to huntinstitute@smu.edu.

2020 Social Enterprise Cohort

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Hunt Institute's Social Enterprise ProgramOur 2020 Cohort took a journey none of us could have planned or expected. We celebrated as both Dr. Lynch and Jin-Ya advanced in their work, we moved forward as Mohammed Nijie’s work branched out into a new phase, and we expanded to add a new Social Entrepreneur, Clara Rulegura Ford. This cohort focused on clean energy and community development.

Below is a brief description of each social entrepreneur’s venture along with links to their work in order to read more and/or follow their progress in the future.

 

Janta Energy

Founder: Mohammed Njie

Njie completed his business plan, launched his website, and remotely worked on a pilot project in Tintinto, The Gambia. In January of 2020, a team installed five 330-watt 24-volt solar panels, two 250 amp 12-volt solar batteries, and a 50 amp solar charge controller to power four classrooms and a staff room. The pilot is designed to test the panel’s effectiveness as a solution to bring electrical connections for lights, fans, and eventually computers. All supplies and labor were sourced locally, supporting the local economy.

Njie continues to communicate with Principal Amadou Kinteh following the progress of the project. Innovation in Tintinto tells the story of teachers leveraging cell phones to design and implement distance learning for their students during the pandemic shutdowns. His goals for 2021 include raising the necessary funding to finish the project so the entire school is powered by solar panels. Njie explains, “As a pilot project, we were limited to installing a limited amount of panels. We used those panels to provide 100% energy for half of the school. The idea was that after we did a successful pilot project, then we will install more panels to extend the power to the other side of the school.”

Principal Kinteh talked about how the students were able to attend night classes due to the solar power stored in fuel cells helping students to catch up in their studies, “…we benefited from night classes, as children living near or in the village were assisted by the teachers during the night because electricity is now available and the place is quiet, so children would come and read and they would be assisted by the teachers. This has helped our students a lot. They performed extremely well in the grade 9 examinations.”

Kijiji Innovation Solutions

Founder: Clara Rulegura Ford

Clara Rulegura Ford. Ford is the Founder and CEO of Kijiji Innovative Sustainable Solutions (K.I.S.S.) and a Class of 2020 commitment maker with the Clinton Global Initiatives University (CGIU). Ford holds an MA in Sustainability and Development from the Lyle School of Engineering where she began fleshing out the design and plans for KISS as her capstone project. Phase I of the project was completed in the Summer semester of 2020. Partnering with the Hunt Institute Global Development Lab, the project produced a broader impact report titled Building Bridges to Build Connections. Ford soon became an obvious choice to include in the Social Enterprise program. She is finishing final touches on her overall strategy, has assembled an advisory board over the years, and launched a competition for the design of The Rulegura Centre, Kijiji ISS, Kasisa Tanzania.

Ford says, “Our vision is of a Tanzania that is aware of its role on environmental stewardship and takes development initiatives that are conscious of environmental impact on future generations. A Tanzania that remains as a paradise island with its wildlife protected and natural resources replenished in the course of its economic development.”

As we approach 2021, we look back on the great accomplishments of this cohort and prepare to continue accelerating their important work.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedInFacebookTwitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

Where Engineering and Chemistry Intersect for Global Impact

During these uncertain times, the Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity’s Global Development Lab has been hard at work this summer. Fellows, faculty, and industry professionals collaborate to create meaningful solutions to promote a resilient humanity. While supporting our community the Global Development addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and challenges. One collaborative interdisciplinary team is lead by two Fellows, Dr. David Son and Dr. Paul Krueger. Their project is a joint chemical and engineering approach to develop a degradable plastic to address the environmental issues of plastic waste.  It is comprised of two lab teams and a team in the Hunt Institute. Featured in the image to the left was the team in the Spring of 2020 semester. Over the Summer semester, Sami Streb joined Dr. Krueger’s lab team and Taylor Grace as the undergraduate project manager.

Currently, many biodegradable products in the market are bio-based, produced from nature (plants, animals, or microorganisms). For example, they may contain products such as polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. However, this approach faces challenges due to high cost, weaker performance, and overlooked environmental issues. Several degradable plastics have proven to break down faster under specific environmental conditions.  Although, it  may not actually reflect the normal environment, but it may not be effectively degradable under natural conditions. Many biodegradable plastics tend to need particular waste management methods which are not always widely available. These challenges pose a gap in the market due to the composition and degradation abilities.

As a result, Dr. Son and Dr. Krueger plan to investigate various prototype plastics with predictable degradation and mechanical properties, specifically useful in applications for alleviating plastic waste. These characteristics are significant advances to biodegradable products currently leading the market. With the ability to control the plastic’s properties, they can impart certain desirable properties to the material or give predictable properties to the final plastic material.

In order to make the largest impact in the current biodegradable plastic industry, a potential deliverable for their research could be to pursue a single-use PPE similar to what is typically used due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Specifically, the project is researching the production of a degradable mask frame with adequate seal to the face, as seen in N95 respirator masks. Typically, plastic can take ~ a thousand years to degrade in a landfill where degradable plastic (or PPLs) can degrade in ~ one year. Certain plastics can be designed to begin degrading when introduced to a certain property like salt water. The teams are exploring a variety of options. One area of interest is the inevitable increase of medical waste due to the rise in single-use face coverings and analyzing the shortage of single-use respirator masks in health care facilities due to the direct interactions with infected patients. This is in alignment with the UNSDG Goal 3, “To ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” It will also address Goal 14, “To conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources” due to the degradable nature of the frame. 

Stay tuned to the Hunt Institute Digest to read more about this project and other projects in the Global Development Lab.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedInFacebookand Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

 

Moments that Matter

The Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center is working toward improving engagement with veteran women entrepreneurs through a series of national focus groups in 2020. The data from the focus groups will help business development and support providers across our nation improve how they engage women veteran entrepreneurs. The purpose is to gather data to advocate for additional services and adequate funding across our nation for women veteran entrepreneurs.

VR Small is the VWEC’s CEO and an Associate in the Hunt Institute. VR’s project was accepted into the 2020 Cohort for the Global Development Lab in January. Phase I of Moments that Matter was comprised of a survey to women veteran entrepreneurs in the DFW metroplex in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. A report of the survey outcomes is expected to be released summer 2020. Phase II is the design and implementation of the focus groups for a deeper dive into key survey questions.

VR’s undergraduate analyst Scott Zuo, undergraduate project manager Shelby Lauren Griffith, and GDL Portfolio Manager Corrie Harris have navigated uncharted waters due to the global pandemic managing to push this project forward amid closures, delays, and ever-changing redirects. As a result, they have created an online alternative for the focus groups. Collaboration with faculty members has helped the team to design an online formulate qualitative questions for the focus group sessions. VR is also a Navy veteran and social entrepreneur. She brings an added layer of relevance to the process with her many years of experience in the small business arena.

Ultimately, this process will result in an online platform that provides a national, regional, and local overview of women veteran entrepreneurs, outlining demographics, industries, average revenues, contracts, capital secured, and more. This platform will offer metrics that clearly identify how women veteran entrepreneurs are helping to drive our nation’s economy. In addition, this data will highlight potential areas of support, such as enhanced technical assistance, access to varied financial products, and expanded contracting opportunities. Both veteran women entrepreneurs and those that partner with them will have access to this platform.

Gaining feedback from women veteran business owners about the moments that matter most during their entrepreneurial  journey will provide key decision makers and funders with a vivid illustration of the real economic impact. It will also inform them of  the ongoing challenges faced by women veteran entrepreneurs. The data from their feedback will help drive the timely allocation of funding resources to areas  that will have the greatest impact toward advancing women veteran owned businesses in our nation. In addition, this is an opportunity to highlight those who have proudly served in the military and  to share their unique experiences. Now more than ever, we need to amplify the voices of our women entrepreneurs and ensure they have the resources needed to succeed.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.

James McGuire

James McGuire, Regional Counsel for U.S. EPA Region 6, Hunt Institute Fellow

James McGuire is a Fellow in the Hunt Institute where he brings his expertise as a government executive with expertise in water, energy, and the environment. McGuire also serves on the Leadership Council for the Hunt Institute’s Inclusive Economy.

He is Regional Counsel for U.S. EPA Region 6, covering Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Prior to his role at EPA, James served the public as the Director of Environmental Quality & Sustainability at the City of Dallas and as general counsel to Dallas Water Utilities.

In all of his roles, he has used his significant experience in regulatory compliance, enforcement, permitting, emergency response, resilience sustainability planning, and environmental law to lead and innovate.

“I chose public service because of the opportunity to work towards making a positive impact.  I take satisfaction in knowing that my efforts have supported a higher quality of life in the community, and that is a true reward for a job well done. Fortunately, there are many people in Dallas and associated with SMU and the Hunt Institute that are making significant impacts in their respective fields and helping solve inequities.”

James received a B.A., English, Duke University, a B.S., Earth & Ocean Sciences with highest honors, Duke University, an M.S., Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, and a J.D., Emory University School of Law. 2019 awards related to work at the City of Dallas include the United Nations Day Global Leadership Award, U.S. EPA Excellence in Green Power Use Award, TXU Energy Sustainability Award, and the Air North Texas Award for Outstanding Initiative.

To read more about the Hunt Institute’s work to develop future-focused solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems, please click here. For the latest news on the Hunt Institute, follow our social media accounts on LinkedInFacebookand Instagram. We invite you to listen to our Podcast called Sages & Seekers. If you are considering engaging with the institute, you can donate, or sign-up for our newsletter by emailing huntinstitute@smu.edu.