STREAT CEO Wins Social Ventures Scholarship

Melbourne social enterprise entrepreneur, Rebecca Scott has won a Harvard scholarship through her work as CEO and co-founder of hospitality training entity STREAT.

The award, the David Clarke Scholarship for Outstanding Leadership in Social Change was established to honour Social Ventures Australia (SVA) Leadership Council founding Chair David Clarke.

Scott now has the opportunity to attend Harvard Business School's 'Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management' course.

Social Ventures Australia CEO Michael Traill AM and David Clarke’s widow, Jane Clarke, presented Scott with the award at the annual SVA Leadership Council dinner.

Trail said Scott exemplified the new breed of social leaders, who were having a profoundly positive impact on their communities.

“Bec’s work with STREAT is turning around the lives of scores of homeless youth in Melbourne through their café operations. And STREAT’s embrace of innovative funding mechanisms is a shining example of how social enterprises can innovatively finance the scaling of their business to reach a goal of financial sustainability.”

Scott said she was honoured to follow in the footsteps of last year’s award recipient, Career Trackers CEO Michael Combs.

“STREAT’s success is testament to the hard work and determination of a great team of people and the tenacity and commitment of the young people we work with,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to bringing everything I learn at Harvard back to STREAT.”

STREAT provides opportunities for youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, to receive training and lifeskills through its Melbourne cafes. STREAT operates on a social enterprise business model and won the social enterprise innovation award at the inaugural Social Enterprise Awards in May. 

Social Ventures Australia (SVA) works with innovative partners to invest in social change to help create better education and employment outcomes for disadvantaged Australians. Social Ventures Australia does this by bringing the best of business to the social sector, and by working with partners to strategically invest capital and expertise.