The Center for Business and Government forges new ties between students and fellows with mentoring initiative

The Center for Business and Government (CBG) at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government is taking its commitment to convening public and private sectors to the next level with its student/fellow mentoring initiative. This program combines the groundbreaking work of CBG’s fellows with the enthusiasm of students eager to get hands-on experience and learn more about public and private research initiatives.

Over the course of the past several months, students and fellows have been actively engaging in research, discussion groups, and national gatherings, including a workshop on the Integrated (Coal) Gasification Combined Cycle and the launch of the Kennedy School’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative.

William Rosenberg, senior fellow, has been working on the Integrated (Coal) Gasification Combined Cycle, a project which he describes as “the next generation of coal-based power plants that offer the potential to lower air emissions and to sequester CO2 in geologic formations rather than emissions to the atmosphere.” His goal is to work with his mentees on an “actual policy initiative by providing relevant research and to help plan the consultations to develop consensus among interested parties in real time.”

CJ Loria, M.P.A. ’04, and a NASA astronaut, is working with Rosenberg to “produce extremely clean energy, from a domestic energy source, at a price that is cheaper than current energy.” He views this experience as “a chance to broaden and deepen [my] experiential learning here at Harvard. Additionally, it is an [opportunity] to help national energy security and alleviate pollution.”

Jane Nelson, senior fellow and director of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative, is taking a different approach to the mentoring initiative. Due to the overwhelming interest in the subject, she has set up a CSR Student Advisory Network. She refers to this program as “two-way mentoring.” The network allows students to receive advice, input, and personal guidance, while simultaneously affording them the opportunity to act as stakeholders, reviewing CSR issues and company reports.

The students involved are excited to be delving deeper into CSR. Craig Ryan, M.P.A. ’04, describes the initiative as a “great opportunity to join a group of people dedicated to furthering our knowledge and operational know-how of CSR.”