By Golie Alemi
For Dr. Rob Douk (GEMBA ’16) operating a business is about more than turning a profit. “There is nothing more fulfilling than building something that impacts people in a positive way,” he says. Douk, who was named a 2015 John Wooden Global Leadership Fellow, says that years after he received his doctorate in psychology he felt it was important to pursue his MBA in order to keep up with his growing company, Behavioral Health Works (BHW), an organization that helps individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities to reach their fullest potential by working collaboratively with families, schools and relevant professionals.
Douk, who will be graduating from the Global Executive MBA program next year, also serves as the co-founder and chief clinical advisor of the Hope Out Loud Foundation (HOL). The foundation is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) charitable organization dedicated to developing and supporting programs committed to promoting the well-being of humanity around the world.
HOL collaborates with individuals and organizations globally to address critical problems with three key initiatives: Hope, H2O and Health. Here Douk discusses the three causes that form the foundation of his organization.
Inspiring hope for victims of human trafficking
According to Douk, it all started with hope. “I wanted to do tangible things that would bring hope to people and humanity,” he says. The main focus of the Hope Initiative is assisting victims of human trafficking. Understandably, many of these individuals have lost hope. So Douk, along with his wife Ami, set out to create a program through which they could help these people create a sustainable source of earning revenue.
“We bring in cohorts of people and train them at certain skills. It’s a job creation system. We help them sell their goods and they are compensated more generously than what is typical for their geographical region. What we’re looking to do is very ambitious. Our goal is to be the biggest thorn to these trafficking regions. That way, we can compete so that would-be victims and survivors have an alternative way to sustain a living.”
Promoting education through access to clean water
Douk saw that many people were suffering from waterborne illnesses as a result of inadequate water sources. The foundation partners with several leading water organizations that bring clean water to several countries throughout the world. “We place wells in strategic areas, and bring water to villages so that students won’t miss out on getting an education due to being sick.” Through the H2O Initiative, when people purchase one of the H2O items from the online marketplace, they are funding long-lasting water projects that serve villages and schools.
Working with local communities to improve quality of life
The Health Initiative focuses on innovative programs aimed to improve the quality of life for individuals and their families who are affected by autism and other developmental disabilities. “Through our Co-Pay It Forward program we help families who cannot afford the expensive co-pay for treatments. Costs can be astronomical since visits are so frequent so we’ve built a fund to provide support for families who do not qualify for assistance through traditional channels.”
Want to get involved? This winter, Hope Out Loud will be hosting its first fundraising gala on February 7 in Anaheim, California. For more information, please visit gala.holproject.com.
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