CASE Fellow
Derek Rhodes is a Durham, NC native and a Duke Fuqua MBA student whose career sits at the intersection of business, leadership, and community impact. His background spans the Department of Justice, the White House, the Miami Heat, and the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, where he combined strategic and operational work with a focus on expanding opportunity for first-generation professionals and underrepresented communities.
Derek graduated from Duke in 2015 with a degree in Public Policy Studies from the Sanford School, and he returned to Fuqua to deepen his impact at the intersection of business and community development. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Durham Success Summit, an organization built to expand opportunity and connection across the Durham community. At Fuqua, he serves as a Coach K COLE and CASE fellow and sits on the Board of Advisors at Duke Law’s Wilson Center.
His professional interests include impact investing, social entrepreneurship and innovation, and social impact consulting. Outside of work, he enjoys international travel, a good cup of coffee, Duke Basketball, and attempting to cook.