Meet the 2024 Changemaker Institute (CI) Fellows

Each year, a select group of undergraduate and graduate students in Taylor’s social venture accelerator, the Changemaker Institute, work tirelessly to propel their idea for social change into a viable and sustainable social enterprise.

Participants in the 6-month program deepen their understanding of the social issue their venture tackles, gain social entrepreneurship and business development skills, and work as a cohort to iterate their idea and build a sustainable business model.  CI participants are either working to create their own social impact venture (such as a non-profit, program, student-run organization, or business) OR are focused on building a new and innovative capacity within an existing organization.

RSVP for the CI Showcase on April 17th from 12-2 PM 

 Caracas Canteen promotes greater water consumption and improved hydration by using our SMART water bottles and accompanying app. Founded by women of color, researchers, and social justice activists, this innovation seeks to progress water justice and health equity by increasing our collective understanding of water as a vital nutrient for our bodies, by creating a culture around clean, safe, and accessible water as a human right, and by advocating for water justice-forward policies and practices. We envision racial and economic equity in health and clean water access across the world.

Dr. Kamiya Stewart, PhD in Psychology, School of Science and Engineering

Maria Patrizia Santos, Public Health PhD Candidate

Read Maria Patrizia Santos And Dr. Kamiya Stewart’s founder’s story 

ECO Unity is committed to overcoming language barriers within conservation research. Our mission is to foster unity in the conservation community through cultural enlightenment for researchers, English language proficiency for global citizens, and comprehensive conservation education. ECO Unity serves U.S. university students and conservation researchers, empowering them with cross-cultural communication skills essential for fruitful collaboration with diverse international teams and local communities worldwide. Our goal is to cultivate an interconnected network where knowledge flows seamlessly, nurturing collaborative endeavors towards a sustainable planet.

Emily Houtz, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

The College Contemporary is a student-run magazine that is exploring an experimental, intercollegiate model to revitalize college journalism. By sourcing through a wider pool of potential writers and readers, we aim to create a publication that can give student writers access to more reach and student readers access to higher-quality content.

Bobby Becker, Undergraduate, Double major in Computer Science & Philosophy

 

 

 

 

CollegeCounselor.co is a Louisiana-based nonprofit organization that provides accessible higher education support to Louisiana students, with a focus on lessening educational gaps and increasing academic equity. Our organization offers guidance from college student volunteers, free essay revisions to all Louisiana students, and a variety of resources for college application and admission specifically crafted for Louisiana students, with a focus on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Abigail Huddleston, Undergraduate, Double major in Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience
Oliver Sanger, Undergraduate, Dual major in Business and Computer Science with a focus in Marketing

EnviroComm encourages environmental storytelling and visual communication about environmental issues to increase eco-literacy, pro-environmental behavior, and awareness of environmental research. The program will foster collaborations between environmental scientists, non-profit leaders, activists, or individuals connected to environmental issues and visual storytellers, digital media producers, or artists to harness the power of informed environmental communication for addressing environmental issues.

Kathryn (Katy) Perrault, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Kathryn Fronabarger, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

 

Global Progress Ventures is a financial and consulting firm which helps allocate capital and resources to founders and innovators across the developing world and global south, working on solutions to our globe’s toughest problems. GPV is hoping to create a one stop shop for entrepreneurs and governments as well as international organizations who are committed to solving the pressing problems that we face as a society.

Mateo Proano, Altman Scholar (Undergraduate), Finance and International Development

 

 

Period Prepared is an educational platform that creates hands-on menustruation workshops for parents, educators, and adolescents ages 8-12 years old. Our mission is to increase readiness in young menstruators, debunk period misconceptions, and work towards a future of education accessibility without fear of financial or cultural restrictions.

Hannah Chiu, Tulane School of Medicine,  SPHTM, 

Olivia French, Tulane School of Medicine, SPHTM 

 

To learn more, visit the Changemaker Institute page or email CI Director, Julia Lang, at jlang@tulane.edu.