Corporations have a responsibility to give back. The Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) produces leaders who think through that and who respect their consumers, says Dr. Ryan Ross, President and CEO of the Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado
Through a partnership between The Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR) and the Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado (ULFC), diverse leaders in Denver have increased access to professional development opportunities in corporate social responsibility (CSR). CESR and ULFC awarded the first of these scholarships to six community and business leaders from the Denver metro area for the spring 2022 Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) at Leeds.
We believe we must all work to increase the number of diverse people in every room where important decisions are being made about companies’ social and environmental impacts,
says Kathryn Wendell, Executive Director, CESR
The Certificate in CSR trains people in the skills they need to drive conversations about corporate social and environmental responsibility. The research is clear that communities with higher numbers of BIPOC residents are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to systemic issues of social injustice. Companies are increasing the number of ESG jobs they have, and are increasingly hiring employees with this skill set. In creating this scholarship, CESR and ULFC are improving access to opportunities for nontraditional and under-represented corporate leaders.
All scholarship recipients have completed ULFC’s 10-month leadership development program called ULF Connect that aims “to continuously improve the professional and social trajectory of minority leaders through effective leadership training.” Scholarships were made possible thanks to support from the Office of Outreach and Engagement at CU Boulder, ULFC and CESR.
Scholarship Recipients
Meet the six scholarship recipients in this spring 2022 CCSR cohort.
This scholarship will allow our community to share our expertise and talent in new ways with corporations. It will increase opportunities for income, and for support of our communities.
says Dr. Ryan Ross
Andrea Andrews: Learning more about CCSR, is an opportunity to gain skills to empower employees to leverage corporate resources at their disposal to do good. This new knowledge, paired with my accounting and finance background will assist me in boosting employee morale and leading to greater productivity in the workforce.
Dafina Tucker: My company has a corporate responsibility department and I have always been interested in what they do. I want to let my company know this is something I know about and that I plan to bring these skills into my work.
La Toya Davis: I think we are on the cusp of something great coming from corporations and I want to be on the front lines of that.
Samie Burnett: My goal is to work at a corporate level to improve opportunities for people of color in ways that are aligned with the community work I already do.
Terwanda McMore: I believe helping employees is the most important thing. You take care of them, they take care of you. I want to bring change before I leave.
Get Involved
If you, or your company, are interested in supporting this scholarship please reach out to Justine Roberts, Program Manager with CESR.