Business professor honored for student-led project to empower women in India

International business teaching professor David Wernick has earned a 2025 Changemaking Education Award from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of South Florida.

The award celebrates a dozen educators in higher education who prepare students to become engaged, thoughtful leaders in their communities. FIU alumna and public policy assistant teaching professor Daniella Long also received the same award.

Wernick is in the Department of International Business and at FIU since 2002. He teaches courses in international business and management at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to his research and teaching responsibilities, Wernick advise the International Business Honor Society, which runs Bandhwari Women’s Project. It is for this transformative initiative that Wernick received the Changemaking Award. 

The Bandhwari Women’s Project began when Wernick traveled to India to study its economy and society. During a visit to the village of Bandhwari, near New Delhi, he witnessed the deep poverty, which particularly affected women and children. There, he met Anup Nair, who with his wife had “adopted” the village by supporting its families in various ways through the Incentive Foundation, including building a women’s center.

Inspired, Wernick saw an opportunity for students to gain real-world experience while making a difference. This led to the launch of the Bandhwari Women’s Project, a partnership between the honor society and the local women’s cooperative to create exportable handicrafts for sale throughout the academic year, with proceeds reinvested back into the community. A trip to the Bandhwari village is then arranged for students to witness the direct impact of their contributions and to immerse themselves in India’s culture.

“It has truly been a joy to work with our friends at the Incentive Foundation to develop a program that has touched so many lives these past 10 years," Wernick says. "I look forward to continuing this remarkable journey of cross-cultural friendship and discovery while scaling our sustainable enterprise in the years to come.”