Highlighting Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change initiatives, ideas, alumni, and faculty members featured in the news.
May 2026
2026 Best 40-Under-40 Business Professors: Natalie Carlson, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Poets&Quants, May 17, 2026
Natalie Carlson PhD, ’21BUS, a professor at the Wharton School, cites CBS Professors Dan Wang and Vanessa Burbano among the professors she admired most while pursuing her PhD in management from CBS. She says, "they modeled for me intellectual courage, efficiency, generosity, and excellence in research and in the classroom."
Can Corporate America Protect Democracy?
Foreign Affairs, May 15, 2026
Georgia Levenson Keohane, CEO of the Soros Economic Development Fund at the Open Society Foundations and former adjunct professor, argues that business leaders must define and defend the institutional redlines — such as the rule of law, independent agencies, and trusted information — that underpin both democracy and well-functioning markets.
Chestnut Run Capital Bets on Dollaride to Bring Electric Vehicles to New York’s Transit Deserts
Impact Alpha, May 11, 2026
Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio company Dollaride has secured financing from Chestnut Run Capital to expand its Clean Transit Access Program, which is electrifying transportation in New York City’s transit deserts. Founded by Su Sanni, Dollaride is helping underserved communities access cleaner, more reliable mobility options.
April 2026
Bronx Organizations Take Center Stage at NYC’s 2026 Mayoral Service Recognition Ceremony
Bronx Times, April 23, 2026
Angria Messam '21, volunteer and partnership coordinator of Part of the Solution (POTS), was among those recognized at NYC Service’s Mayoral Service Recognition Program, highlighting the impact of collaboration in meeting urgent community needs. Through POTS’ partnership with Fordham Preparatory School, thousands of Bronx families received critical food and hygiene support during a time of crisis — underscoring Messam’s belief that “nonprofits can’t do it alone.”
Columbia Business School’s Community Impact Club Builds on a Legacy of Student Volunteerism in Harlem
Columbia Neighbors, April 22, 2026
Columbia Neighbors recently highlighted Columbia Business School’s Community Impact Club and its growing impact in Harlem. Led by co-presidents Leticia De Mattei Goncalves ’26 and William Szczecinski ’26, the club partners with local nonprofits — including Columbia Community Service grantee Figure Skating in Harlem — to provide mentorship, financial literacy, career guidance, and volunteer programming that strengthens ties between CBS and the surrounding community.
Kheyti Wins $250,000 Lipman Family Grand Prize
Wharton, April 20, 2026
Congratulations to Kheyti, winner of the 2026 Barry & Marie Lipman Family Grand Prize and $250,000 in unrestricted funding! Kheyti — co-founded by Kaushik Kappagantulu ’17 and a portfolio company of the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures — has developed climate-smart greenhouse solutions that help smallholder farmers reduce climate risk, increase income, and build more sustainable agricultural futures.
Educators Gather for Teach for America Summit to Discuss Schools’ Most Pressing Challenges
Spectrum Local News, April 19, 2026
At Teach for America New York’s first statewide summit, educators and leaders from across the state came together to tackle urgent challenges facing schools. Among them was Wenimo Okoya, '14PH '19TC, founder of Healing Schools Project (a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio company, whose work helps schools build the infrastructure for teacher well-being and retention — recognizing that when educators are supported, students thrive.
National Women’s Hall of Fame Announces 2026 Induction Class Celebrating Women Who Broke Barriers and Changed the World
National Women's Hall of Fame, April 15, 2026
S. Mona Sinha '93, CEO of Equality Now and Tamer Institute advisory board member, has been inducted into the 2026 Class of the National Women's Hall of Fame for advancing advocacy for gender equality, mobilizing more than $1 billion to advance legal reforms, and championing leadership opportunities for women and girls worldwide.
Kaplan Educational Foundation Names 2026 Leadership Award Honorees: Alison Overseth and Giuseppe “Seppy” Basili
Business Wire, April 14, 2026
Alison Overseth '84, CEO of the Partnership for After School Education (PASE), has been named a 2026 Changemaker Award honoree by the Kaplan Educational Foundation at its 20th anniversary gala. A longtime leader in youth opportunity and nonprofit impact, Overseth is being recognized for her extraordinary commitment to expanding access and creating pathways for underserved communities.
Federico Marchetti '99's Playbook on Risk and Reinvention in Fashion and Beyond
Columbia Business School, April 7, 2026
Federico Marchetti ’99, a pioneer in online luxury retail, returned to Columbia Business School to reflect on his entrepreneurial journey and new book, The Geek of Chic. In conversation with Professor Silvia Bellezza, he shared insights on rethinking risk, the role of persistence in creating “luck,” and why timing is everything — along with his current work advancing sustainability through King Charles III’s Sustainable Markets Initiative. The discussion offered a compelling look at how entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability are shaping the future of business.
ChatGPT Fed His Students Easy Answers, So He Built an App to Argue With Them
The Washington Post April 1, 2026
At Columbia Business School, AI isn’t replacing learning — it’s reshaping it. Professor Dan Wang’s tool, Caisey, challenges MBA students to debate, question, and think more deeply before stepping into the classroom. Instead of shortcutting answers, it slows them down — helping build critical thinking, communication, and decision-making skills. This is a powerful example of how thoughtfully designed AI can enhance education — not replace it.
March 2026
How Markets Can Help Protect Life On Earth
Columbia Business School, March 30, 2026
Biodiversity loss is not just an environmental issue — it’s an economic one, yet conservation remains underfunded. Research from Professor Geoffrey Heal, alongside Caroline Flammer and Thomas Giroux, shows that blended finance — using public or philanthropic capital to reduce risk — can help attract private investment. The key is structuring projects to balance risk, return, and environmental impact, making nature investable at scale.
Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2025
Poets&Quants, March 15, 2026
Sara Technology, co-founded by Jiaxin Zhang ’25, has been named one of Poets&Quants’ “Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2025.” Inspired by the founders’ personal experiences, the AI-powered platform is helping children improve speech clarity and confidence through engaging, clinically grounded practice — expanding access to critical speech support for those who need it most. Sara Technology is a portfolio member in the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures.
Ben Franklin’s Revolving Loans and 80 More Ways to Expand Opportunity With Fair Financing
Impact Alpha, March 15, 2026
Antony Bugg-Levine (adjunct faculty at Columbia Business School) traces the roots of impact investing back to Benjamin Franklin — and makes the case for expanding access to fair financing today. Drawing from his forthcoming book Investing in America, he highlights innovative models helping workers, entrepreneurs, and communities access capital and build lasting opportunity.
February 2026
Forbes BLK50
Forbes, February 25, 2026
Kesha Cash '10 has been named to the 2026 ForbesBLK 50: Money Masters list, honoring leading Black investors in private capital. As founder and general partner of Impact America Fund, she manages $177M in assets, backing high-growth companies serving underserved communities with early-stage investments of up to $3M — building performance-driven impact in venture capital.
Financing Resilience After the Storm: Catastrophe Bonds as Impact Fixed Income
Environmental Defense Fund, February 24, 2026
As climate-driven disasters intensify, the protection gap between insured and uninsured losses continues to widen. As a sustainable finance consultant for the Environmental Defense Fund and a 2025 ClimateCAP Fellow, David Foye '25 explored how catastrophe (cat) bonds can serve as an underrecognized form of impact fixed income — delivering rapid, rules-based capital after disasters and strengthening economic resilience when it’s needed most.
The ClimateCAP initiative is run by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the MBA Fellowship. The fellowship supports MBAs to dedicate 12 months to working on a climate-related project, with the opportunity to learn from academic advisors, attend the ClimateCAP Summit, and develop collaborative relationships with climate-driven MBA students from around the world.
How Emerging Markets Can Define the Future of Health Care AI
Forbes, February 20, 2026
Health care AI’s future may not be decided in Silicon Valley — but in emerging markets. In her latest Forbes piece, Sylvana Q. Sinha, ’04LAW, founder of Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Praava Health, explores how countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America have a rare opportunity to design AI around clinical care, accountability, and patient trust from the start — avoiding the legacy distortions of high-income systems and redefining what responsible health care innovation should look like.
New Climate Finance Initiative Supports Climate Adaptation Efforts in Glacier-Dependent Regions
Columbia Climate School: State of the Planet, February 18, 2026
The world’s largest climate fund approved $250M for Glaciers to Farms — paired with $3.25B in co-financing — to help glacier-dependent countries strengthen water systems, agriculture, and resilience. Professor Bruce Usher calls it “a very significant investment in climate adaptation,” particularly given the capital shortage facing developing countries.
January 2026
A First-generation Immigrant Sets His Sights on Inclusivity and Leadership
Columbia News, January 27, 2026
Felipe Gatos '26 is building a career at the intersection of strategy, climate, and social impact. During his time at CBS, Gatos has been deeply involved in several Tamer Institute programs, including our Three Cairns Fellowship, ClimateCAP Fellowship, and Pangea Advisors — alongside leadership in the Green Business Club — helping advance real-world work in climate resilience, nature-based solutions, and inclusive growth.
After USAID and WHO: Global Health Without the US
Forbes, January 23, 2026
Sylvana Q. Sinha, ’04LAW, founder of Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Praava Health, offers a firsthand look at what it takes to build more equitable, resilient health systems from the ground up. An inspiring perspective on mission-driven leadership, innovation, and impact at scale.
From Seed to Scale
Columbia Business School, January 6, 2026
Over the past 10 years, the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures has become a cornerstone of Columbia University's social and environmental innovation ecosystem — pairing seed capital with hands-on mentorship and classroom-based investing to help founders turn promising ideas into scalable solutions. The result? Nearly 80 ventures supported, over 1,000 Columbia Business School students trained as real-world impact investors (through a course co-taught by Professors Vikas Raj ’10 and Julius Mokrauer), and more than $300M collectively raised by portfolio ventures addressing urgent social and environmental challenges.
Established in 2015 by Sandra and Tony Tamer, the fund was built on a simple conviction: entrepreneurship can be a powerful tool for solving real-world problems. From Eat Offbeat (co-founded by Manal Kahi ’15SIPA and Wissam Kahi ’04), to Synvect (co-founded by Pooja Y. Patel ’18PH ’16BC), to WellMiss (founded by Jennifer “Jaki” Johnson ’18JRN), these stories show how early support can create lasting impact.