Heather Cameron (professor)

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Heather Cameron
Education University of Toronto (BA) York University, Toronto (MA, PhD)
Occupation(s)Professor, Social Entrepreneur & Innovator
EmployerWashington University in St. Louis
Known forSocial Entrepreneurship & Innovation Lab at WashU, Boxgirls, Camp Group, Girls in the Lead, RespAct, Klima Kids, Expedition EV
Website heathercameron.eu

Heather Cameron is a Canadian-British global social innovator, academic, and social entrepreneur, blending theory, policy and grassroots action particularly in underserved or underrepresented communities, especially around community wealth building. She is the Michael B. Kaufman Professor of Practice for Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, where she also serves as the founding academic director of the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab, a joint initiative of the Brown School and Olin School of Business. From 2008 to 2016 she was a Junior Professor of Physical Activity, Inclusion and Sport at the Department of Education and Psychology at the Free University of Berlin and Professor Extraordinarius at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. [1]

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Education

Cameron earned a B.A. in Philosophy and History at the University of Toronto before completing an M.A. and Ph.D. in Social and Political Thought at York University, Toronto. Her doctoral dissertation was titled “Freud, Foucault and the Fate of Critique.” She also completed a Graduate Certificate in German and European Studies at York University. From 2002 to 2004, she pursued post-doctoral research at the Technical University of Berlin, funded by the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Berlin Parliament Scholarship Fund.

Academic Career

Cameron began her faculty career at the Free University of Berlin (2008 - 2016), where she was a professor of education and social pedagogy, and also served as associate professor extraordinarius at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. She held a post-doctoral award from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council at the Center for Technology and Society at the Technische Universität Berlin, and taught at the School of Communications at the Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.

In 2016, following a global search, she was appointed as the inaugural Michael B. Kaufman Professor of Practice in Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a courtesy appointment at Olin Business School and is a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Public Health. She leads the Social Impact Minor at Olin and teaches courses in social entrepreneurship, social innovation, strategic planning, gender, and urban planning. She has also co-taught in the Beyond Boundaries program.

She has served as an external examiner at the University of Hong Kong and advised numerous international organizations, including UN Women, GIZ (German International Development Cooperation), and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Social Entrepreneurship

Cameron is the founder of multiple social enterprises in education and is a leader in the sport for social development movement. In 2000, she founded Boxgirls International using boxing as a tool for girls’ empowerment and community cohesion, with programs in Germany, Kenya, and South Africa. It has been cited as a case study in social entrepreneurship by the IOC and UN Women.

She is a leader in the Sport for Social Development movement and was a founding member of the "Sport for Social Change Network" in East and South Africa and was an early advisory board member to the International Foundation for Women's Sports "Women Win” initiative.

Boxgirls was a project of Camp Group which provided consulting services and expertise to schools, nonprofits, and non-governmental organizations. They delivered training, mentorship, and social programs, especially focused on young people from marginalized backgrounds, to improve their skills and opportunities, for example in Kenya and South Africa. In 2016, Camp Group won the Google Impact Challenge Germany for its educational app for refugee children. Boxgirls has been included as a case study by the IOC and UN Women. [2]

Her more recent initiatives include Girls in the Lead and RespAct, both of which promote equity, education, and participation through sports and community engagement. She works with the German International Development Cooperation on behalf of the German and Afghan governments to support girls education and sport in Afghanistan.

At Washington University in St. Louis, Cameron manages the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab, which works on questions of community advancement through entrepreneurship.

Research

Cameron's research spans social entrepreneurship, social innovation, education, and impact investing. She has published with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on social finance and is principal investigator on Capital Access Prosperity, a project funded by the Kauffman Foundation to explore equitable funding models for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.

Awards

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ "Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron - Curriculum Vitae". Freie Universität Berlin (in German). 2008-05-28.
  2. ↑ "The IOC at the UN for sport's contribution to improving the status of women". International Olympic Committee. 6 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "Die Verantwortlichen kommen" (PDF). Robert Bosch Stiftung.
  4. ↑ "Award for Boxing Project at Freie Universität Berlin". Free University of Berlin. 20 May 2011.
  5. ↑ ""Hochschullehrer/in des Jahres" gesucht". Informationsdienst Wissenschaft.
  6. ↑ "Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron ausgezeichnet als gesellschaftliche Innovatorin". Freie Universität Berlin (in German). 29 November 2010.
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