FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY March 16, 2009
New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE)
ANNOUNCEMENT: New York Women Social Entrepreneurs Launches Incubator Program
Boldly challenging today’s tough economy, New York Women Social Entrepreneurs (NYWSE) is launching an initiative to develop new female-led social ventures through its new Incubator Program.
The Incubator Program provides six budding social entrepreneurs a six-month immersion environment complete with the support of mentors and apprentices (i.e. junior partners) who, as a three-person team, work to realize the entrepreneur’s social venture. Founder and Program Manager Allison Lynch and NYWSE Director Natalia Oberti Noguera have designed the Incubator Program to provide maximum support to ensure entrepreneurs’ sustainable success. The incubator initiative also includes entrepreneurship training and development, access to information and other business resources, as well as networking.
These fledgling female-run social ventures are a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit business models featuring a double bottom line of financial sustainability and social impact. They include:
Early Earners – Online education destination for youth and families promoting positive financial habits
Girl Guides USA – Outdoor program that develops girls’ environmentalism, leadership and teamwork
Out Against Abuse – Online resource to stop domestic violence in the South Asian community
Public Stuff – Software to connect government and citizens to improve services and community life
Start Your Engine – Exercise, nutrition, stress and time management program for low-income women
Illume – Online mentoring and career resource for young women from illiterate families in India
The Incubator’s principal provider of business training is the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College and its Small Business Development Center, providing core technical training in entrepreneurship and follow-up consulting. Baruch is joined by Geri Stengel, Adjunct Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the New School and President of Stengel Solutions and Ventureneer, who provides marketing training. Another program highlight is professional development training provided by program partner and inspirational entrepreneur Angela Jia Kim. Kim is a concert pianist, owner of the luxury and eco-friendly skincare company Om Aroma & Co., and founder of Savor the Success.
NYWSE Incubator Team Profiles
Spring 2009 Program
Early Earners:
Keren Perry-Shamir, entrepreneur, Columbia Business School graduate, and Product Manager at Tacoda, is Co-manager of Early Earners with her business partner, Ami Desai, who founded the company. Early Earners is an online destination which develops financial skills and investment among youth and their family members. Team mentor Geri Stengel, President of Stengel Solutions and Ventureneer, has long been nurturing nonprofit and for-profit enterprise growth through her business solutions and marketing expertise and also served as a long-time board member of The National Association of Women Business Owners in New York City. The team apprentice is an analyst at a New York City financial firm and a former director of the MFY Affordable Legal Services Program, bringing her finance industry and consulting experience to the team.
Girl Guides USA:
Caitlin Dean is the entrepreneur behind Girl Guides USA, an outdoors activity program with the purpose of empowering young women with the values of environmentalism, leadership and teamwork. Dean is a Yale University alumnus, French teacher, public policy maven, and journalist. Jacqueline Muna Mustiiwa Esq. is team mentor and is experienced in counseling start-up enterprises in company formation and contracts and also teaches International Law at Central Michigan University. Rachel Netski, apprentice, is contributing her unique perspective and diverse skill sets as a graduate of New York University with a Masters in Educational Sociology and is also an internet Marketing Manager and wine connoisseur.
Illume:
Zoe Timms, University of Wisconsin graduate, is the Founding Director of the Women’s Education Project and most recently founded Illume an international web forum that invites successful career women to share their stories with young women from illiterate and impoverished families in India for the purpose of career development and mentorship, as well as collecting online resources for these young Indian women. The team mentor is Sarah-Leah Gootnick who has designed and implemented several nonprofit and for-profit organizations such as Secretary in Israel LLC, Empona Foundation, and Grant Warriors and also has expertise in marketing and communications. Erin Ewart is the team apprentice and is currently attending Columbia University Business School; she has experience in building corporate performance metric systems, recruitment and training, and was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Embassy in Panama.
Out Against Abuse:
Sabrin Chowdhury, a University of Texas graduate with a professional finance background, founded of Out Against Abuse – an interactive online resource that connects domestic violence abuse victims, scholars, and advocates with the purpose of engaging and educating the South Asian community to stop domestic violence. Team mentor Alison Woo is President of NewMediaMavens.com, a communications consulting firm targeted at growing small businesses through marketing strategy and technology capability and has authored articles and books in the realm of finance, marketing, and communications. Shubha Balasubramanyam is currently a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, was formally with Villai LLC providing business consulting services to improve their productivity, and worked at Engineers Without Borders. Balasubramanyam will be bringing her public and private sector expertise in efficiency improvement, team management, and policy advocacy as team apprentice and has worked internationally including Nepal, Canada, and India.
Public Stuff:
Lily Liu works for the New York City Department of Education and is the entrepreneur behind the online resource Public Stuff, founded to bridge the gap between the public and government through interaction and feedback to improve services and community life. Lily graduated with a Masters from Carnegie Mellon and also studied at Harvard. Helene Heller, a seasoned public sector executive with strategic planning, governance, and operations experience, is the team mentor. Currently Senior Adviser to the City of New York Department of Aging, she also held senior positions with the New York Housing Authority and Cisco Systems and has been a leader in introducing information technology solutions to improve public sector operations. Morena Vattuone is the team apprentice and brings a wide range of skill sets from her various experiences, such as work as a market research analyst, television reporter, health policy adviser, case manager with Consumer Action, and senior health researcher.
Start Your Engine:
Anastasia Holmes created Start Your Engine, a program that aims to reduce obesity among low-income women through a holistic program of exercise, nutrition, and stress and time management. Holmes is a nonprofit management consultant with the Families of September 11, has many years of experience in the psychosocial support sector, and holds a Masters Public Administration. Elizabeth Weinmann is the team mentor and founder of Weinmann and Associates, a strategic consulting firm for nonprofit and for-profit enterprises. Weinmann has over twenty years of experience and expertise in strategy, management consulting and marketing for Fortune 500 companies and trade associations. Maria Roker, junior partner, is currently studying for a Masters Degree from Chatham University in Wellness and is experienced in designing and implementing programs within the education and healthcare sectors. Roker has also worked directly with at-risk children to educate them and their families about health to support community-based awareness.
For more information, please contact Natalia@ywse.org
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