Current Projects

The Dominican Republic

Since returning from the Middle East in November 2020, Dr. Commini and his team have begun focusing on the Dominican Republic and the needs of its citizens. Initial interviews with officials and industry leaders revealed there is a pressing need for Dominican nationals to develop their skills and experience in the following areas:

• Business Leadership | Business executives and their employees are in dire need of developing their leadership skills
• Business Management | Business executives are lacking the proper management skills to guide their companies to successfully compete with a global marketplace
• Change Management | Most Dominican companies do not have adequate change management procedures in place to help them navigate the changes needed to allow them to successfully compete with their global peers
• Technology | Dominican nationals are behind in the develoment of their technical skills and are behind other developing nations
• English | While Dominican nationals receive rudimentary English through the public school system, their skills with the language need to be greatly improved if they are going to compete with their global peers. Four areas of focus have been identified: sales, business, aviation, and education

To meet those needs, Dr. Commini and his team are in discussions with Dominican officials to establish a college in the eastern region of the country. While universities do exist in other parts of the country, they are not easily available to nationals in La Romana, Punta Cana, Higuey and other cities on the east coast and do not provide the business and technical skills needed for nationals to compete in a global marketplace. Currently, Summit International is awaiting approval for the creation of a local branch of the non-profit. Summit International's legal counsel in the Dominican Republic has submitted all the paperwork necessary to begin operations in the DR. Approval is expected within the next few weeks.

Once approval has been given, the local branch will then open the college and begin offering courses to provide skills training and development. To that end, Summit International's Dominican legal counsel is in the process of protecting the name, The Caribbean-American College of Business, Technology & English. Once approved, he will file the documents needed to create the college entity. Anticipated start date is mid-2021.

The United States

Meanwhile, Ms. Shows, managing director for LYDIA, Inc., in New Mexico, is continuing to meet the needs of families in crisis. More information about Summit International's LYDIA, Inc. project is available on LYDIA's website: Click here to learn more.

All volunteer staff

With the exception of Summit International's legal counsel, all team members are currently providing their expertise on a volunteer basis. Because Summit International's team members have families to support, this will need to change once the college is operating and students have enrolled. Currently, Dr. Commini is funding the projects from the money he saved during his tenure in the Middle East. As you can imagine, those funds are quickly running out. Your financial gifts are appreciated and will help Summit International continue to meet the needs of those we serve.