Honoring 2 decades of entrepreneurial impact on a global scale
Barbara Barrett (right), the champion of Project Artemis, with Thunderbird for Good leaders Kellie Kreiser (left) and Wynona Heim (center). Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
Thunderbird for Good, the impact-driven initiative of Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, is marking two decades of educational programs and initiatives dedicated to transforming communities worldwide, training over 250,000 individuals with the knowledge, tools, and connections to upskill in business.
“Thunderbird for Good’s impact over the past two decades extends far beyond the individual entrepreneur,” said Charla Griffy-Brown, director general and dean of Thunderbird School of Global Management. “As a result, the multiplier effect to these indirect beneficiaries is incredibly profound.”
Thunderbird for Good originated with Project Artemis, a program organized by Ambassador Barbara Barrett, former president of Thunderbird and member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, that trains Afghan women entrepreneurs in business skills.
Barrett was inspired to create the program after visiting Afghanistan in 2004. When she returned to Thunderbird, she pitched the idea initially as a two-week training for a cohort of 15 women, committing to fundraising and utilizing her network to make it happen.
“Project Artemis was a fast, thoughtful and impactful program that I am grateful for every day,” Barrett said. “When those women got off that plane, they were immersed in a program where they lived on campus, went to class and had practical application of the skills they were developing. The curriculum was meaningful for exactly the kind of unusual environment that they were in.”
That first cohort inspired Thunderbird’s president at the time, Ángel Cabrera, to launch Thunderbird for Good. He envisioned creating global citizens through this initiative that involved students, faculty, staff and Phoenix locals.
“I volunteered with Project Artemis as a new Thunderbird alumna. My professor, Steve Strasler, who was tapped to develop and run the program, reached out to me to help. After Artemis, President Cabrera approached me to become the founding director of Thunderbird for Good,” said Kellie Kreiser, executive director of global development at Thunderbird. “I am profoundly grateful I took the job; only Thunderbird could pull off an initiative like this and make such a meaningful impact.”
When looking to expand the reach of Project Artemis, Thunderbird for Good connected with Tom Stauffer, president of the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) and former Thunderbird faculty member. This relationship supported the growth of AUAF while providing Project Artemis with on-the-ground resources.
This arrangement with AUAF caught the attention of Dina Powell at Goldman Sachs. They were developing the 10,000 Women Initiative, which sought to educate 10,000 underserved businesswomen from emerging markets.
Thunderbird’s partnership with an emerging market university became key to the 10,000 Women design, leading Thunderbird to become their inaugural program partner. Later, Thunderbird’s work with Goldman Sachs expanded to include a 10,000 Women Initiative in partnership with Universidad del Pacifico and four additional 10,000 Women training programs for participants from 22 countries. These sessions were held at Thunderbird’s former campus in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State in 2012.
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Joyous women entrepreneurs at their graduation from the 10,000 Women Initiative program in Peru.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Thunderbird student interns who worked for a summer supporting SALTA women entrepreneurs grow their small businesses.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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DreamBuilder graduates in Los Leones, Chile, celebrate the completion of their program in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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African businesswomen participating in the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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An Artemis Afghan woman entrepreneur overlooks the site of the new American University of Afghanistan campus toward Darulaman Palace.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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DreamCatcher graduate class in Thunderbird Global Headquarters in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Peru DreamBuilder entrepreneur and owner of Rapicostura Nelly Chavez.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Rangina Hamidi (right), professor of practice at Thunderbird, was one of the 15 Afghan women in the first cohort of Project Artemis.
Photo by Paula Lerner
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Professor Christine Pearson teaches in one of the 10,000 Women Global Cohorts.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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DreamBuilder graduate Marcella Williams utilizes her entrepreneurial skills as owner of CDL Focus, helping trucking professionals in achieving their goals as it relates to complying with state requirements.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Members of the Project DreamCatcher cohort pose with the Navajo Nation flag during their graduation ceremony at Thunderbird Global Headquarters.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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U.S. DreamBuilder entrepreneur and owner of Midge Chocolate Judith Aram.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Storm Tso, DreamCatcher graduate and owner of Hopi Grounds Coffee Shop.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Joyous women entrepreneurs at their graduation from the 10,000 Women Initiative program in Peru.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Thunderbird student interns who worked for a summer supporting SALTA women entrepreneurs grow their small businesses.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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DreamBuilder graduates in Los Leones, Chile, celebrate the completion of their program in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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African businesswomen participating in the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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An Artemis Afghan woman entrepreneur overlooks the site of the new American University of Afghanistan campus toward Darulaman Palace.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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DreamCatcher graduate class in Thunderbird Global Headquarters in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Peru DreamBuilder entrepreneur and owner of Rapicostura Nelly Chavez.
Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management
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Rangina Hamidi (right), professor of practice at Thunderbird, was one of the 15 Afghan women in the first cohort of Project Artemis.
Photo by Paula Lerner
When alumnus Luis Alberto Moreno, then president of the Inter-American Development Bank, visited Thunderbird to receive an honorary doctorate, he learned of Project Artemis and asked why Thunderbird wasn't working with women in Latin America. This led to a collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank in Peru to implement the Salta program, reaching 102,000 women micro-entrepreneurs through innovative approaches, including telenovelas that incorporated business education into popular media.
“Some of my best memories from over 20 years in international development work have been with Thunderbird,” said Svante Persson, senior operations specialist at Inter-American Development Bank. “Together, we’ve impacted entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean tremendously, setting a high standard for support to strengthen women-owned SMEsSmall and medium-sized enterprises..”
The Thunderbird alumni network proved instrumental in bringing the Salta program to life. Alumnus Carlos Neuhaus (’74) made critical introductions to partners and funders, helping secure resources to make the program possible.
“I was inspired by Thunderbird for Good’s impact on Afghan women and was excited to extend efforts to Peru,” Neuhaus said. “Through work with many partners, including IDB and the Australian government, $7 million was raised to support 100,000 women entrepreneurs, helping them triple their small businesses across Peru. It was a complete success.”
Within the Salta program was a pilot initiative called Thunderbird Emerging Markets Laboratory that sent teams of Thunderbird students to Peru to work on real-world projects. Later, the lab evolved into the current Global Challenge Lab — the capstone for Master of Global Management students.
Maximizing a commitment to fighting poverty, securing peace and improving living conditions worldwide meant expanding accessibility. DreamBuilder, an innovative training and certification program in partnership with the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, furthered this goal.
Designed for aspiring women entrepreneurs, DreamBuilder utilizes web-based technologies to deliver all instruction, tools and resources online. Since its inception in 2012, DreamBuilder has trained over 165,000 people across 180 countries.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of State selected DreamBuilder to be the central curriculum of its Academy of Women Entrepreneurs program, which is implemented through U.S. embassies across the world, which have graduated over 35,000 women.
“It’s an opportunity to provide the training needed to start and grow the small business sector and diversify local economies … developing the skills and livelihoods to thrive,” said Tracy Bame, president of the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation.
Building on the success of DreamBuilder, Thunderbird and the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation developed a training program for Native American women entrepreneurs in the Southwest. Project DreamCatcher has empowered 300 Native American women entrepreneurs since 2015, which is at no cost due to the support of the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation.
As Thunderbird for Good looks ahead, a next step lies in utilizing AI to support a new breadth of learners.
“Mentors are crucial to the success of our entrepreneurs. However, it can be challenging to find enough due to language barriers, time constraints or the right expertise. AI agents could be trained as mentors to augment that need by providing answers in real time,” Kreiser said.
On April 5, Thunderbird will celebrate this milestone anniversary through an event featuring learners, partners, alumni, community members and individuals worldwide who helped shape Thunderbird for Good’s legacy — past, present and future.
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