WORLD EDUCATION SERVICES: EXPANDING PATHWAYS TO IMPACT
Executive Summary This case study documents the evolution and transformation of World Education Services (WES), a North America-based non-profit social enterprise that supports the educational, economic, and social inclusion of immigrants, refugees, and international students. The case shows how long-time leaders developed the organisation and unpacks key decisions made by a new leadership team to strengthen and expand the pathways through which WES creates positive social impact. Adding to WES’s historic focus on academic credential evaluation services, the new team expanded programming, policy and advocacy initiatives, philanthropy, and investment strategies aimed at facilitating economic inclusion for immigrants, refugees, and international students. The case unpacks the leadership and organisational work involved in this transformation, shedding light on challenges as well as successes, and offers practical insights for social entrepreneurs and innovators seeking to expand their organisation’s pathways to impact.
1974-1999: Becoming a Category Leader in International Credential Evaluation World Education Services (WES) was founded in 1974 as a 501(c)(3) (non-profit and tax-exempt) organisation by returned Peace Corps volunteers, including Steven Fisher and Josef Silny, in partnership with Jim Frey, Ivan Putman, and others at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the State University of New York (SUNY). Appreciating the common challenges faced by immigrants, refugees, and international students in getting their education and qualifications recognised and accepted in their new country, the founding group set about developing a practical solution: credential evaluation. The service focused on assessing educational degrees earned abroad and confirming their US equivalent (and later, their Canadian equivalent). These evaluations enabled individuals to gain recognition for their international education for the purpose of continued education, employment, licensing, or immigration. The price for a credential evaluation was intentionally kept low to ensure that people who were already grappling with moving to or integrating into a new country did not also face financial obstacles in having their credentials evaluated. The fees paid by individuals covered WES’s operating costs, so donor funding was not required. Seven years later, in 1981, Mariam Assefa started working at WES, initially as a credential evaluator employed on a part-time basis. Originally from Ethiopia, Assefa had studied at the University of Montpellier in France and then immigrated to the US to attend SUNY at Buffalo. Through these experiences she developed a deep understanding of the challenges facing immigrants, refugees, and international students, as well as a passion
Mariam Assefa, former Executive Director, New York, 1999
2
Powered by FlippingBook