Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and Implications for Sustainability

Cheryl A. Townsel, S.M., GPC, is the President/CEO of Townsel Consulting LLC (Townsel Consulting | Townsel Consulting, LLC). She is a Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credentialed grant professional with over 30 years of diverse experience in healthcare and not-for-profit management. As a grant professional she has helped not-for-profit organizations win over $20M in grant funds to serve vulnerable populations including seniors and individuals living with disabilities. Her grant professional experience includes serving as an external contract reviewer for several federal agencies (e.g., Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Administration for Community Living (ACL) and others. She is a founding member and officer of the Michigan Chapter of the Grant Professionals Association.

Dr. Bernard Turner is a tenured Associate Professor and Program Director of Social Entrepreneurship in the Jack C. Massey College of Business at Belmont University. Before his appointment at Belmont in 2008, he served as the Associate Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations at Meharry Medical College. He has also worked at Vanderbilt University in fundraising management positions in the School of Nursing and the Medical Center. He has extensive experience with nonprofit organizations working in the field of human services, higher education, health care, and minority and women-owned business development.

According to Fortune Magazine, Belmont became the first college/university in the nation to start an undergraduate degree program in social entrepreneurship. Since the first graduate in December 2009, the program has now graduated 124 students and there are currently 43 majors. The program includes courses in social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, and a thematic track. Experiential education is imbedded throughout the curriculum. Students complete service-learning hours, internships, and capstone projects throughout Nashville/Middle Tennessee. Dr. Turner includes local nonprofits in all of his courses by utilizing 30 each academic year. His senior students are part of the CNM Innovation Catalyst serving as student consultants.

Dr. Turner has been affiliated with the Center for Nonprofit Management for nearly 30 years. Using his expertise in obtaining over $60M in grants, he is known for his “participatory” grant writing workshops. He currently serves on the board of the Nashville Social Enterprise Alliance. And previously, Interfaith Dental Clinic, Inc., Soles4Souls, Nashville CARES, STARS Nashville, Tennessee Nurses Foundation, WPLN Public Radio Station, Christian Community Services, Inc., Samaritan Ministries, Inc., Alliance for Nonprofit Management, and the Steering Committee of the Community AIDS Partnership.

Dr. Turner holds memberships in the several national associations, Grant Professionals Association, National Society for Experiential Education, and the Society for Case Research. His academic qualifications include being the first African American male to receive the Doctor of Education degree in Leadership and Professional Practice from Trevecca Nazarene University. He also has an MA in Philanthropy and Development Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, an MBA in Organizational Administration from the University of Toledo, and a BS in Business Administration from Findlay College, now the University of Findlay. He was also in the inaugural class of the Certificate of Social Entrepreneurship developed by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.