Project Support Program

Urban Athletic Association (UAA) is an after-school and summer program design to provide full and equitable access for under-served youth to sports that have traditionally only been accessible to wealthy students. The program is a nonprofit centered on reducing the barriers that prevent under-served youth from participating in Olympic sports (rowing, judo, swimming, wrestling, etc.) due to high fees and transportation. The program aims to expand sports offerings at middle and high schools, so students have the same access to these sports as they would if they were to participate in an easily accessible sport such as basketball. Currently, we have summer pilot partners connecting 2 rowing clubs to 2 middle schools around San Jose, California. Students will participate in a 3-week summer camp where they will learn to row. It will be free of cost and transportation will be provided as needed and based on health and safety conditions. We are currently in the process of raising funds for the summer camp. Long-term the program aims to provide academic support, build heath and wellness habits, and provide greater college scholarship access to sports only wealthy students have historically been able to access.

COVID-19 has halted all in-person live performance, giving the arts community a unique chance to evaluate what live shows mean and who they serve. Whether physically, financially, or geographically, the time has come to make a compelling live performance experience more accessible. Our preliminary market research strongly indicates that audiences are less interested in attending digital performances than in-person ones, missing the social aspect of theatre going most. PlayHouse is a virtual show companion right at your fingertips, making digital live performance more immersive and interactive. This free, mobile app platform gives audiences easy access to top requested features based on our market research, including interactive programs, live reaction features, live chatting, a dashboard for show suggestions and discovery, and upcoming shows lists and curated venues viewable to both you and your friends. PlayHouse will provide a more social virtual performance experience where audiences can interact with both each other and with the performers. Audiences get a more meaningful, compelling live performance experience, and venues can more easily target and reach new audiences.

I have created a youth organization called the Youth Environmental Consumers Alliance (YECA), which seeks to unify and mobilize the consumer power of young environmentalists to convince companies to make specific practices more sustainable and socially conscious. Please see the website: https://www.youthenvironmentalconsumersalliance.org/ or our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yeca_official/?hl=en for more information

With the rapid growth of electric vehicles there comes a heavy demand for electricity for charging. Adding these loads onto an already stressed electric grid can be detrimental, leading to unstable demand peaks which rely on fossil fueled peaker plants.

So how can we maximize EV growth while minimizing grid stress? Vehicle to grid, or V2G, is the answer. Through bidirectional charging, vehicles can behave like a battery: performing grid services such as selling energy back to the grid in times of peak demand, known as demand response. However, to ensure efficacy of this solution, a large aggregate of V2G enabled EVs is necessary. Data on the grid, including real time demands and production of renewable energy is critical to ensure clean energy is optimized. Load peaks can be reduced through managed, smart charging.

Our solution Vehicle2Grid Analytics transforms electric vehicles (EVs) into grid-scale batteries. Through our SaaS and B2B model using aggregated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) assets, we provide insights to key stakeholders including grid operators, charging station operators, and businesses with goals to electrify their fleets.

Due to a lack of pedagogical strategies based on active learning in STEM, average Ecuadorian high school students lack basic STEM competencies and are less likely to pursue careers in STEM, contributing to the poor scientific and technological output of the country. Clubes de Ciencia Ecuador (CdeCEc: www.clubesdecienciaecuador.org) aims to positively influence the currently normal role and perspective of STEM in the Ecuadorian society via international education and collaborative networks. To achieve this, CdeCEc provides bright Ecuadorian high school and college students with yearly high-quality STEM workshops in an international setting. More specifically, CdeCEc workshops or “science clubs” break the mold of STEM education in Ecuador by creating an ecosystem in which international and local instructors work together to deliver fun, innovative, hands-on workshops relevant to problems in the Ecuadorian society. With its science clubs, CdeCEc envisions to promote both the interest in STEM careers among the Ecuadorian youth, and scientific and educational collaborations between researchers in Ecuador and around the world. For our first edition, which will launch online this August, CdeCEc will offer 8 science clubs in diverse topics to more than 100 students, and counts with the support of several Ecuadorian universities and STEM outreach initiatives.

KadaKareer is a low-bandwidth, community-based career development platform that provides contextualized career resources and coaching for low-income students in rural Philippines. “Kada” comes from the word “barkada”, which means a group of friends or a support group. We want to be these students’ support groups throughout their career journey! Our mission is to support Filipino youth to launch and sustain careers that will help them break the cycle of intergenerational poverty for their families.

Our secret sauce will be our incredible community and our low-bandwidth yet dynamic platform. As such, we are building our organization on two pioneering and flagship products: First, we are creating a Career Coach Connector featuring professionals and experts within specific industries, who will be paired with students for short or medium-term engagements to provide advice and support on all things related to the student’s career journey. Second, we are building an "Inside Look" Career Database with bite-sized videos and designed materials about different careers.

FutureFounder is a social impact venture missioned to create the next generation of founders. Currently focused on strengthening the innovation ecosystem across Brazil, the FutureFounder –Brazil team fervently believes anyone can become a FutureFounder. Through the latest in learning science, the FutureFounder team has assembled a cutting-edge virtual-based innovation readiness program designed by a team of Harvard/MIT educators, consultants, and entrepreneurs. After successful completion of the program, FutureFounders will have the opportunity to gain first hand experience through FutureFounder placement opportunities with innovation-driven enterprises on the frontlines of innovation.

A FutureFounder é uma startup de impacto social que tem como missão lançar a próxima geração de inovadores. Focada em fortalecer o ecossistema de inovação presente no Brasil, a FutureFounder Brasil acredita veemente que qualquer pessoa pode se tornar uma FutureFounder. Utilizando métodos científicos de aprendizagem de última geração, a FutureFounder oferece um programa on-line de ponta criado por uma equipe de educadores, consultores e empreendedores de Harvard e do MIT (Instituto de Tecnologia de Massachusetts). Ao concluir nosso programa de formação em inovação, o bolsista FutureFounder terá a oportunidade de adquirir experiência trabalhando em empresas pioneiras na área da inovação.

At Faith & Polity, we believe that religious discourse can be productive, empowering, and prophetic. We are building a platform where progressive people of faith can access thought leadership, connect with one another, and build a collective political voice. We want to be a voice that speaks to progressive values using the resources of multiple religious traditions, and that brings people together in the process. Through this process, we will develop progressive religious leadership in the political world, create a counter-discourse to that of the Religious Right, and foster connections across lines of difference. These connections will create a healthier religious and political dialogue, and ultimately a more just community for all.

3D Virtual classroom: the purpose of this venture is to develop 3D Virtual classroom to make online courses interesting and to provide the learning resources to the people who has very limited learning materials to solve education injustice. The benefit of this 3D Virtual classroom is to provide interactive learning environment to help to solve global health including students’ mental health problems which are courses by online courses.

Every year, police kill 1000 Americans, a quarter of whom are black. On the other hand, 100 officers are also killed in the line of duty. Throughout these cases, one all-too-common site of tragedy is the traffic stop. Our team analyzed research and found that police pull over 20 million drivers a year and that Black drivers are 20% more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. We concluded that traditional traffic stops pose a significant risk to both parties.

TrustCall is a smartphone app that allows the officer to look up the civilian they pulled over and initiate a video call with them. The officer will be able to establish trust and ask to see the inside of the vehicle, something the officers I spoke to said would be a crucial feature. The civilian can also send the officer their license and registration information through the app, further enabling social distancing.

Once the officer has vetted the identity and background history of the driver, they can choose to safely approach the vehicle for further information. If the person pulled over does not speak English or has special needs, a designated third party can conference into the call.