Silicon Valley’s Westly Foundation Names Eight Finalists for the 2024 Westly Prize for Young Social Innovators
The Californer/10265934

Trending...
MENLO PARK, Calif. ~ The Westly Foundation has announced the eight finalists for the 2024 Westly Prize for Young Social Innovators. On Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Stanford University's Haas Center for Public Service, these finalists will compete for $145,000 in unrestricted funding - including three top awards of $40,000 each.

The Westly Prize honors early-stage innovators who are tackling persistent community and global challenges. This year's finalists are addressing issues such as providing cell service to 3.5 billion people globally; minimizing high maternal mortality rates that disproportionately impact Black women in the United States; and eradicating drug-related deaths on college campuses nationally.

Arpad Kovesdy and Mateo Abascal have developed Beamlink, a revolutionary technology that provides internet access worldwide at a 99% cost reduction with its lunchbox sized cell towers. This technology has the potential to improve safety, education, healthcare, and equity outcomes in disaster zones and internet-deprived communities.

More on The Californer
Ijeoma Uche and Mercy Oladipo have created Birth By Us, an innovative digital platform that bridges gaps in maternal health by addressing disparities faced by American Black women who are 3-4 times more likely than their white peers to experience maternal mortality.

Jason Lin, Scott Hickmann, and Schwinn Saereesitthipitak have developed Mida: 100+ Languages to Polished English which utilizes a custom version of OpenAI Whisper for transcription and an ensemble of learning language models to transform the way non-native English speakers communicate.

Esin Gumustekin has created Brain Exercise Initiative (BEI), which delivers a unique approach to Alzheimer's care rooted in proven cognitive stimulation methods that is executed across 80 universities internationally.

Gabriel Reyes has founded FLi Sci which addresses the accessibility gap for low-income high school students of color aspiring to enter science graduate programs through a high-touch, transformative two-year experience.

More on The Californer
Madeline Hilliard and Madison Minear have founded Team Awareness Combating Overdose (TACO) Inc., a national nonprofit dedicated to eliminating accidental overdose deaths among college students which was founded by former University of Southern California (USC) students during the pandemic as drug-related deaths plagued their campus.

Karly Hou has created Wave Learning Festival which addresses systemic inequities in education through their live, no-cost, interactive peer-learning platform serving 20k+ students across 600 schools and organizations.

Saanvi Arora and Ayaan Moledina have established the Youth Power Project which reshapes the landscape of public policy engagement by empowering young people to actively participate in local, state, and federal policymaking.

The Westly Foundation is proud to recognize these eight innovators who are making an impact on society with their creative solutions to global challenges. The winners of this year's Westly Prize will be announced on Saturday January 20th at Stanford University's Haas Center for Public Service where they will compete for $145,000 in unrestricted funding - including three top awards of $40,000 each.
Filed Under: Business
Show All News | Report Violation

0 Comments

Latest on The Californer