Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurialism is the process by which effective, innovative, and sustainable solutions are pioneered to meet social and environmental needs. This book presents essential modules of principle and practice for social entrepreneurs to work their magic. An entrepreneur designs and implements an intervention, product, or service that improves the well-being of target individuals and populations. This entrepreneurialism then forms a sustainable, replicable business model that meets a social or environmental need while maximizing social impact and minimizing resource use.

Dr. Teresa Chahine is a faculty member at Harvard University Extension School and a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Health and the Global Environment. She teaches social entrepreneurship as part of the interdisciplinary concentration in leadership development at Harvard School of Public Health. In 2014-2015 she launched a second social entrepreneurship course, which will be offered online through the Harvard University Extension School, targeting undergraduate and graduate students worldwide. Dr. Chahine is also a mentor for the summer residency program at i-Lab, the Harvard University Innovation Lab. She serves as a reviewer for the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance E-team team program, accelerating technology invention and innovation for scalable impact. Previously she has served as a reviewer and jury member for the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge, and the NABAD social enterprise incubator. She has written and taught case studies for the US Environmental Protection Program, Malaysian Directors Academy, American University of Beirut, Harvard University, and edX.

Dr. Chahine was born in the United States to Lebanese immigrant parents and was raised as a global citizen, having attended elementary school in the US, junior high school in Saudi Arabia, high school and college in Lebanon, graduate school in the UK and in the US. Her work and study in the field of public health has taken her to Japan, India, China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, and the United States for consultancies and study missions. Her previous roles have included implementing a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) project at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Lebanon, conducting a research program and developing a science tool for the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) office of research and development, and most recently building a network of global experts to strengthen health and education systems in the Arab countries and other transitional nations. She currently divides her time between academia and practice by supporting social entrepreneurs in Lebanon through her work with Alfanar, a venture philanthropy organization. She has published peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and opinion pieces on social entrepreneurship and sustainable development topics, and works closely with her students to pursue their passions by developing and launching social ventures, and continues her social entrepreneurship research.