Two students from the Kennedy School of Government led a seminar last night on starting non-profit organizations.

The seminar was sponsored by the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) and the Black Student Caucus at the Kennedy School.

"The seminar is part of PBHA's effort to provide information about careers in public service," said Lisa A. Tomlinson '99, president of PBHA.

One of the current missions of the Black Student Caucus is to provide resources for students considering non-profit work, said Patrice E. Ford, the community service liaison for the Black Student Caucus.

The caucus was established to address specific concerns within the black community at the Kennedy School.

Both seminar leaders had successfully started their own non-profit organizations, and discussed the lessons they had learned along the way.

"Be bold. Be creative. Believe in what you're trying to do. Belief is more important than anything," said Dufirstson J. Neree, one of the two seminar leaders.

Neree, who is of Haitian descent, began doing public service in a Haitian community when he was in high school.

Later, Neree established a credit union after noticing the local need to "anchor the community and spark economic growth."

Saru Jayaraman is one of the founders of Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE), a program which works with girls of color in grade schools.

WYSE started as an initiative to educate students in San Fernando Middle School about teen pregnancy. It has since become a nationwide non-profit organization with six sites and will soon be opening a seventh at Harvard.

Jayaraman stressed the importance of eventual self-governance in non-profit organizations.

"Slowly, slowly, slowly we're letting the girls run the entire organization," Jayaraman said.

She also said she believed strongly that people should not start non-profit organizations until they are absolutely sure there is no other similar organization already established.

"In a world of scarce resources, I think people need to be responsible about what they're starting. You don't just go off and do what you want because you think that's how you're going to save the world," Jayaraman said.