Today, Heller students heard from Refugees International President Eric Schwartz and Senior Advocate for Women and Girls Francisca Vigaud Walsh about their social justice careers. They mentioned soft skills like compassion and hard skills like writing as key aspects of becoming effective advocates.

Heller students are in Washington, D.C. this week, where they'll have the opportunity to visit more than 20 organizations as part of their Employer Trek. First up: The Brookings Institution, where students heard from Heller alum Tasbeeha Mirza MA SID’17, a project coordinator, as well as a research assistant, a fellow and a representative from human resources.

What does the future of work look like in the United States and beyond? Dean Weil discusses in a new interview on the Matt Townsend Show, starting at 20:19.

Today's Sankofa Community Conversation focused on "Global Equity Through Social Justice and Art," featuring a spoken word performance by Angela Mendez'18, as well as perspectives from three panelists: Charlie Rose, dean of City Year, Inc.; Lauren Bernard, Brandeis MFA Musicology student; and Destiny Polk, founder of Radical Black Girl.

Congrats again to AWES, Nomad Dairy, SafeRide and sySTEMic Flow! "The amazing diversity of our innovators continues to inspire us." -- Rebecca Menapace, Associate Provost for Innovation.

#ValentinesDay just keeps getting sweeter! Many thanks to the Heller Alumni Association for providing delicious coffee and muffins for students, faculty and staff this morning. "If you could please share with the Alumni Association, a HUGE thank you. Those muffins were incredible and my morning class is filled with smiling students. :)"-- MS student Laura Salonga.

Happy Valentine's Day! A few students and faculty members share their Valentine's wishes this year and send messages of love to friends and family back home.

"The genie is out of the bottle," said Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University. "I don't think that this is coming out of good intentions. I think sales that for OxyContin have already been declining."

Brandeis is now a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a prestigious international business honor society with chapters in only the top five percent of business programs!

If you missed Professor Rajesh Sampath's keynote address at the Harvard Symposium on Human Rights, delving into the philosophical premise of human rights and the notion of freedom, you can watch below, starting at the 18-minute mark:

Congrats to the 4 Heller teams who won more than $22,000 in funding at Brandeis' 4th Annual SPARKTank startup pitch competition! Their social ventures range from distributing camel milk in Ethiopia to helping female minority students succeed in STEM fields.

Dean Weil says it's not complicated: Tips should go to the people who earned them: