Dr. Eva Szalkai Csaky
Dr. Eva Szalkai Csaky is the Executive Director of the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at SMU and the co-founder of the Inclusive Economy Consortium. She has 25 years of global experience in the areas of climate-smart inclusive economic development and fostering solutions to pressing societal problems in those areas through innovation and social entrepreneurial approaches
Her work leverages transformational technologies for high impact solutions; from energy efficiency, renewable energy and water purification to climate-smart agriculture and sustainable and inclusive value chains. Financial and policy innovations are integral to all her efforts to ensure sustainability and systemic impact. Prior to the Hunt Institute, Dr. Csaky worked for 18 years at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, where she developed innovative programs and financial mechanisms to empower small businesses, farmers and social enterprises.
Dr. Csaky has served as an advisor to the G20, OECD and various UN agencies. She has also served on the Dallas Mayor’s Poverty Task Force and on the advisory council of the Dallas 100 Resilient Cities Initiative. Dr. Csaky has an MS in Finance from George Washington University and a PhD in Public Policy from Duke University.
Corrie A. Harris, M.A.
Assistant Director for the Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity
214-768-3360
caharris@mail.smu.edu
In this role, Harris manages the design, implementation and growth of the Global Development Lab. She has significant experience in operational excellence for organizations focused on poverty alleviation, both locally and globally. Harris has also worked across various sectors, including academia, international government relations, nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurial ventures and for-profit institutions.
Most notably, Harris was the director of Villa Familia Nicaragua (VFN), an orphanage for children in crisis in Nicaragua. She managed the day-to-day operations as well as all of its strategic programs, including initiating a Coalition of Directors for collaboration. With the collective knowledge of the coalition, Harris created an economic development strategy for retrofitting and expanding VFN. After this, she recruited nationally and internationally for the implementation of development. This effort was highly successful and received the highest governmental recognition from the Department of Mi Familia as the standard by which all other centers for children in crisis should be modeled.
Harris earned a Master of Arts in Sustainability and Development from SMU and an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington with concentrations in Economics, Sustainability, Management and Cultural Studies. Her master’s thesis is titled Resilient Sustainable Development: Localized Transformational Impact to Alleviate Poverty.
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