GSEHD alumnus Mohanad Alsaid (master's, Organizational Leadership and Learning) and doctoral candidate Dex Burns (Human and Organizational Learning) were classmates in a GSEHD consulting skills course during the spring 2023 semester. By chance, they sat next to each other on the first day, and a simple “hello” led to the two GW alumni becoming business partners as they pursue their passion of helping others through their nonprofit organizations.
Alsaid, who graduated in 2023 with a master’s in organizational leadership and Burns, a doctoral candidate in the Human and Organizational Learning program, met in a consulting skills course taught by professor Ramien R. Pierre.
The class was assigned a project that allowed students to break into teams and put the lessons they learned in the course into practical business applications.
“The course was aimed at helping you develop your consulting skills and being sort of a mover and shaker for an organization,” Burns said.
Alsaid and Burns, both CEOs of a nonprofit, saw a chance to collaborate and use what they learned in their GSHED course to improve their businesses.