Enactus hires Duke director as CEO

Courtesy Duke University

Robyn Schryer Fehrman starts Sept. 7.

Springfield-based international academic and entrepreneurial nonprofit hired a Duke University director as its next president and CEO.

Robyn Schryer Fehrman, who serves as managing director of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, is slated to start at Enactus on Sept. 7, according to a news release. She succeeds Rachael Jarosh, who exited this summer after five years in the position.

A search was ongoing since at least February.

“Robyn brings a passion for social entrepreneurship and nonprofit leadership experience to Enactus,” said Gonzalve Bich, Enactus board chair, in the release. “Her experience, energy and core values make her well suited to advance Enactus’ growth agenda, and I’m confident that the true benefactors of this selection will be the thousands of participating students around the world.”

Prior to joining Duke's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Fehrman worked for 15 years in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy, including a stint as executive director of Teach For America – Eastern North Carolina, according to her profile on Duke's website.

Enactus engaged Chicago-based executive international search firm Spencer Stuart to find Jarosh's successor, Springfield Business Journal previously reported.

In 2020, Enactus' count of participating students jumped to 500,000 from 72,000 in 2019, Jarosh previously told SBJ. The count represents engagement in national and international programming from student, academic and business participants.

The nonprofit organizes teams of college-level entrepreneurs creating community development projects and student competitions. Enactus worked in 35 countries with participants from 1,730 campuses as of this spring.