About the gift
The Edmund and Colleen DiSanto Student Engagement and Innovation Fund supports Boston-area public high school graduates to participate in transformative experiential learning opportunities that align with CEM's mission to develop globally minded business leaders. The fund was endowed in June 2024 by Edmund “Ed” DiSanto (CPS '75), former Executive Vice President at American Tower Corporation, and his wife, Colleen.
The first awards were granted in spring 2026, funding ten students' participation in the inaugural Windows on Washington: Commercial Diplomacy Program.
In addition to their support for CEM, Ed and Colleen DiSanto also fund a student success initiative within Northeastern's College of Professional Studies.
Stats from the inaugural year
About the inaugural program
Ten undergraduate students were selected as the first recipients of the DiSanto Student Engagement and Innovation Award and traveled to Washington, DC over spring break for a four-day immersion program on commercial diplomacy, run in partnership with the Business Council for International Understanding.
Over four days, students took part in curated briefings, site visits, and high-level engagements with government agencies, corporate leaders, and multilateral institutions, including the U.S. Department of Commerce, the World Bank, the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs at the State Department, the National Science Foundation, American Tower Corporation and NAREIT, Motorola Solutions, and USTDA. Students also attended a congressional hearing on U.S. competitiveness and visited the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines. The program closed with a mock strategic market entry project applying what they'd learned to a real-world scenario.
Center for Emerging Markets announces 2026 DiSanto Student Engagement and Innovation Award recipients
About the benefactor
Edmund DiSanto (BS '75) is the former Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of American Tower Corporation (ATC), an S&P 500 company with a market capitalization of approximately US$ 100 billion and leading wireless communications infrastructure company that develops, owns, and operates more than 223,000 communications sites in both developed and developing countries.
He's been a frequent guest speaker in D'Amore-McKim classes, delivered a Nardone Family Seminar on building an infrastructure business in emerging markets in February 2023, and served as Commencement Speaker for the College of Professional Studies in May 2024. His career took him through United Dominion Industries, National Grid, and Pratt & Whitney before he joined American Tower Corporation in 2007, where he helped drive ATC's expansion into Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and Uganda. He's served on CEM's Advisory Board since 2023.