Dr. Ellen Morris, current MKA parent and President and Founder of Sustainable Energy Solutions, visits the Upper School
Dr. Morris is also a Founding Partner of a new social enterprise called Embark Energy that is focused on radically increasing the scale of energy access by empowering thousands of clean energy entrepreneurs in low-income countries. Their mission is to create clean energy enterprises using a web-based portal that is centered on experiential learning, business coaching, supply chain management, links to financing and access to high quality energy products.
On Tuesday, November 4th Dr. Morris spoke to the entire Upper School student body about energy poverty and energy entrepreneurship in Africa, explaining the issues Africa faces in regards to the country's lack of access to energy, and how this can be solved through entrepreneurship. Three days later, she returned to campus to 'dig deeper' into these issues with the 9th grade class as part of their Global Citizenship course. Dr. Morris led the students in a valuable and engaging discussion regarding the lack of energy access in poverty stricken regions, and the solutions that are available based upon local resources. She focused primarily on the example of 'Toyola Energy' a business started by Suraj Wahab in Ghana that has expanded to four countries with over 600 employees across Africa. Wahab adapted existing cookstoves available in his country and improved them by adding ceramic components that harness energy more effectively, and then set up a financial model that advised people on how much money they would save by using the stove. The students were able to hear this remarkable story first-hand as Wahab phoned in from Nigeria where he is currently working.