Each year, a select group of staff, 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.
Come hear from Fellows during our public events! RSVP links below:
Register for the Changemaker Institute Showcase 4/22, 1:00-3:00 PM (TU Business School)
Rooms To Grow is a housing and life skills program for young women in New Orleans who are aging out of foster care or facing housing instability. The program provides safe, affordable housing paired with mentorship, financial literacy, and personal development workshops to help participants build stable, independent futures.
Leslie Scott, Department of Psychology, Coalition for Compassionate Schools, lscott16@tulane.edu
The Health Literacy Exchange (HELIX) is an educational initiative aimed at providing interactive workshops and materials on the health care system to the New Orleans community. HELIX aims to provide foundational understanding on terms and processes related to preventive care, insurance, billing, and drug labels to decrease the health literacy gap and ultimately empower individuals to take charge of their health.
Isabella Posey, Biomedical Engineering, iposey@tulane.edu
BluLotus, led by Dwan Adams, is developing Genesis OS: an innovative AI-assisted framework providing essential structural support for non-linear leaders and creatives, serving as a core tool within her coaching practice to help clients architect personal alignment and amplify their social impact.
Dwan Adams, Center for Public Service, Dadams21@tulane.edu
CampuStyle is a social impact venture designed to provide accessible, affordable, and culturally competent hair care services for Black students—especially women—on university campuses. It aims to reduce the mental health and academic burdens caused by the lack of appropriate hair care by partnering with universities, professional hairstylists and students. The project offers an innovative 3 tier program model that integrates personal care into student support services to promote equity and well-being.
Sylvette Dupé-Vété-Congolo, French and Italian Studies, sdupevetecongolo@tulane.edu
World 2 the Whyze is an educational travel company that connects student travelers with impactful experiences that are immersive, educational, and facilitate cultural exchange. Our experiential learning program, Black Equity & Agency provides students with a practical international experience that immerses them in the transformational work of Black cultural workers and organizations in Cali, Colombia. Rooted in Black history, heritage, and culture, this program invites students to learn about the lived realities of Black populations in Cali, and consider how they can apply their skills to add to the work of organizations struggling for justice and self-determination in these communities.
Nyasha Franklin, Graduate Latin American Studies, nfranklin1@tulane.edu
QuickRefAI combines artificial intelligence and academic empathy to make scholarly writing simpler, faster, and fairer. Its mission is to level the playing field in higher education by offering an affordable, intuitive platform that eliminates citation stress and enhances student confidence across all disciplines.
Spandan Joshi, School of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Program, sjoshi2@tulane.edu
Muzinda Tree Farm is a commercial bald cypress tree farm that sustainably cultivates high-quality bald cypress trees for a variety of landscaping, construction, and restoration projects. We provide premium timber and plant materials, while also contributing to environmental health by restoring wetland ecosystems. Our business is committed to responsible forestry practices, ensuring a reliable supply of bald cypress products for our customers and future generations.
David Noble, Law School, dnoble1@tulane.edu
Upstream Cooperative An operational intervention for Emergency Departments that embeds dedicated social workers into clinical rounding teams. By addressing social determinants of health in real-time, we reduce clinician burnout, improve ED throughput metrics, and transform the ER from a high-cost bottleneck into a streamlined, human-centered environment for both patients and workers.
Danielle Tcholakian, LMSW | Social Work
BREATHE DEEP A community-accessible asthma awareness toolkit translating national health data into actionable resources for New Orleans adults.
Kamyar Sharifi, Medicine, Biomedical Informatics & Genomics
Re-ATM, or Recycling ATM, is a recycling deposit machine that will help to legitimize the recycling system. The machine will probably sort and store recyclables to decrease the chances of damage batches of recyclables and be able to meet the demand of recycle materials that is needed to make new items. By creating a network of these machines, Lamiya hopes to make it more convenient and likely for people to recycle every day materials and earn an incentive for it.
Lamiya Shaheer, Professional MBA, lshaheer@tulane.edu
To learn more, visit the Changemaker Institute page or email CI Director, Tulio Maximo, at Tpereiradossantosmax@tulane.edu.