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Our origins: From one Afghan experiment

Thunderbird for Good - Our Origins "What is Thunderbird for Good?" That was Kellie Kreiser’s first question in 2005 when Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera offered her a job as director of the new initiative. “That’s your first assignment,” Cabrera told the recent Thunderbird graduate. “Figure it out.” Cabrera gave just three guidelines:

  • Do good.
  • Get the Thunderbird community and its partners involved as much as possible.
  • Focus on global business education.

“Don’t do hospital drives, don’t build bridges, don’t do food drives and don’t do marathons,” he told her. “All of those things are good, but that is not our core. We need to stick with what we do best.” As Kreiser explored the possibilities, she leaned upon the early success of Project Artemis, a crash course in business for aspiring women entrepreneurs from Afghanistan. Former Thunderbird Trustee Barbara Barrett, who later served as U.S. Ambassador to Finland, conceived of Project Artemis while touring Afghanistan in 2004 as a member of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. “She came back to Thunderbird with this idea of creating a program to help Afghan businesswomen get the skills they need to be successful,” Kreiser says. Thunderbird Professors Steven Stralser, Mary Sully de Luque and others stepped forward to raise funds, design curriculum and recruit mentors. The school welcomed its first group of 15 Afghan businesswomen to campus in January 2005. “We realized what a profound impact Project Artemis had — not only on the women, but also on us here at Thunderbird,” says Kreiser, who served as an Artemis volunteer. “Our entire community was so excited to be able to help these women, and that started the discussions around what we should do next.” Under Kreiser’s leadership, the school moved Project Artemis under the banner of Thunderbird for Good, which then expanded to include initiatives in Jordan, Peru, Pakistan and beyond.

Starting and growing a company takes courage anywhere. But the challenges are multiplied for men and women at the base of the pyramid in emerging markets such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Peru and Indonesia. Aspiring entrepreneurs in these countries have passion and tenacity, but they often lack knowledge to write business plans, manage cash flow and market their enterprises. Business schools teach these skills, but the cost of an MBA excludes many trapped in cycles of poverty. Thunderbird for Good works to tear down these barriers through management education programs that support nontraditional students on campus and abroad in the places where they live and work. Graduates of our programs create jobs, share knowledge and improve living conditions in their communities. We invite you to join us as a donor, mentor, student or partner.

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