SIFE is an international organization that is
- Active in 40 countries
- Representing more than 1.500 universities
- Involving more than 38.000 students
SIFE students form teams that serve their communities by developing projects that take what they are learning in their classrooms and use it to solve real world problems for real people. Business executives support the program through corporate donations, personal contributions and the gift of their time.
SIFE teams present the results of their community projects annually at regional, national and international competitions. Business executives judge the competitions and select the winners based on which teams they believe were most effective at helping others through their projects.
Through SIFE, university students improve their communities and experience profound personal growth. As these young people assume leadership roles of significance and influence, they will be the key to leading more sustainable enterprises, building stronger communities and creating a world with greater opportunity for all of us.
Mission: SIFE GWU will help create a better future for people who have limited access to capital, information and opportunities by stimulating and actively supporting socially responsible entrepreneurship through local initiatives.
Vision: SIFE GWU combines education and entrepreneurship to increase opportunities for people through sustainable development. Cooperation with the academic and the business community enables starting entrepreneurs to set up their own sustainable business.
Faculty Advisor
SIFE GWU is supported by faculty advisor Prof. Steven Suranovic. He provides the team with guidance and advice on organizational development, continuity and project design and implementation.
“SIFE offers GW students an opportunity to directly engage in what might be called ‘social enterpreneurship;’ leveraging market mechanism to promote outcomes that will benefit society. Since the group’s founding last Fall, the team has laid the groundwork to intiate a series of nnovative projects this coming year. As the faculty advisor, I have been very impressed with the team’s dynamism and enthousiasm. It will be exciting to see the progress this Fall semester as new members join and the projects get underway. Come be part of SIFE!!”
Steve Suranovic received his B.S. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University. He has been a faculty member at the George Washington University since 1988. He also teaches regularly as an adjunct for Cornell University’s Washington DC program. In Fall 2002, he taught at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, as a visiting Fulbright lecturer.
Business Advisory Board
Our Business Advisory Board provides expertise to ensure that we only engage in viable projects and produce the best results possible. With their diverse fields of specialization they are the knowledgable tutors to guide our young enthusiasm in the right way. The Business Advisory Board consists of:
Mr. Andrew Lewis is a graduate of The George Washington University. He received his Bachelor of Accountancy in 1998, with a minor in Russian Language and Literature. He has been at KPMG for the past eleven years, and is now a senior manager in KPMG’s government audit practice in Washington, DC. In his eleven years at KPMG, Andrew has managed, supervised or participated in a number of large and complex government financial statement audits. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM). Andrew also served for over two years as the primary recruiter for the audit and tax practices of KPMG’s Washington, DC and Northern Virginia offices. In this role, he was responsible for the hiring of all entry-level associates and summer interns to KPMG’s audit and tax practices in the Washington, DC area. Since 2005, he has been an adjunct professor at GW, and teaches a course on government and not-for-profit accounting and auditing in the Master of Accountancy program.
Dr. Ying Lowrey received her economics Ph.D. from Duke University, economics MA from Yale University and mathematics BA from Wuhan University of China. She now is Senior Economist at the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Her research interests within Advocacy include entrepreneurship, women and minorities in business, and the role of small businesses and entrepreneurship in the macroeconomy. Dr. Lowrey plays a proactive role in partnership with other government agencies, academic scholars and professional foundations for fostering entrepreneurship as well as promoting economic research on the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship. Dr. Lowrey has become an important source for the research of entrepreneurship and women/minority business in the US and abroad. Her research papers have been often quoted in important media such as Washington Post and USA Today.
Dr. Marta Oyhenart was born in Uruguay of European parents. Marta’s dream was to study in the United States , the country she learned to love through her parents and the American school that she attended in Montevideo. Her perseverance earned her an MBA in Marketing and Finance, as well as a PhD in International Business. She has worked and traveled in some 20 countries as a trainer and consultant in small business development and privatization of government-owned companies. She has put her experience to use in her real estate career and private real estate investments.
Annual Report
Please see the SIFE GWU Annual Report 2009 for more information about our team.
