Grand Challenges Impact Competition Winner Protects Rural Artisans in India

Winners of the 2024 Grand Challenges Impact Competition celebrate.
Improving health care for incarcerated populations, promoting regional food in New York State public institutions, and creating shared kitchen resources for local entrepreneurs were among the 18 projects student teams presented at the Cornell SC Johnson College’s Grand Challenges Impact Competition on November 14 in Cornell’s Warren Hall. Teams focused on the impact of their semester-long community engagement projects and presented on behalf of their project partners, which included for-profit organizations, startups, and nonprofits in Ithaca and beyond. The philanthropic organization Impact Competition donated over $20,000 for unrestricted donations to nonprofits aligned with student project goals.
This competition and celebration of student work is an integral part of AEM 4000, a senior capstone course in Dyson’s Grand Challenges Program. All Dyson students complete four courses aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals over four years. Each course involves direct experience with projects addressing societal issues that communities face locally, regionally, nationally, and abroad.
This was the first Grand Challenges collaboration with Impact Competition, which partners with universities to empower student community work. In addition to funding the competition, the organization supports a paid internship for a student team to further develop their project.
Each team worked with a project sponsor, an SC Johnson College faculty member, and an MBA coach to hone their business and consulting skills. At the Grand Challenges Impact Competition, teams presented pitches or posters; critically reflected on their project work and their impact; and shared next steps for sustained action. Students then addressed questions from judges Jackie Barrett, associate director of leadership programs at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management; Lance Breitstein, founder of the Impact Competition organization; Jennifer Galvin, president of the Henry David Thoreau Foundation; Alison Fromme, communications writer at the SC Johnson College of Business; and Andrea (Andi) Merrill, executive director and founder of Opus Ithaca School of Music. This Cornell Platinum Certified Sustainable Event also featured a plant-based menu and included items from local businesses.
Preserving ancient art forms in today’s India
Top honors went to Team Kalamkari (Tara Bathaii’25, Madison Leroy’25, Grace Michalowski’25, Ryan Porter’26, and Sanjana Tarigopula’24). Kalamkari is a traditional hand-rendered textile form produced in Andhra Pradesh, India. Fast-fashion imitations have been drawing customers away from authentic artisans, threatening their livelihoods. Tarigopula led the presentation with a personal story and then outlined the team’s work with the 1M1B Foundation, helping practitioners to augment their Kalamkari businesses by selling directly to international consumers through an e-commerce platform. The competition’s top prize of $10,000 will go directly to this effort through the 1M1B Foundation.
Tarigopula said the project taught the team “how to generate true social impact across cultural barriers. While it was an iterative process that required trial and error, this skill is definitely one that all of us will carry forward both personally and professionally.” After her December graduation, Tarigopula continued the project’s mission with the aid of mentors in the fashion industry and by working with 1M1B Foundation.
Other projects honored
Team Avocet (Brooks Bak AEM ’25, Mei Lin Hu AEM ’25, Noelle Kruger, BS ’26, and Guy Ragland AEM ’26) was awarded $5,000 to support Social Purpose Corrections for its work with Avocet Health Partners to address healthcare in jails, prisons, rural communities, and challenging industrial environments. This project focused on recruiting top talent into healthcare for underserved populations.
Team Shared Kitchen Ithaca (Talal AlHusayni AEM ’25, Sean Cai AEM ’24, Grace Lin AEM ’25, Amelia Rooney AEM ’25, and Amanda Zhang AEM ’25) received $2,500. Shared Kitchen Ithaca sponsor Roger Rotondi commended the students on their excellent customer discovery, “setting up connections with Cornell student organizations to provide ongoing assistance to our local food entrepreneurs for the future.” Rotondi went on to say he was thrilled to see Cornell students supporting this local development project. “We will use the contribution towards kitchen equipment, which is what really powers the entrepreneurs.”
Team Red Jacket Orchards (Robert Baucom, Chris Chapadia, Makena Kraus, Alexandra Savu, Lauren Sutioso, and Audrey Yu, all AEM ’25) received $2,500, with funds supporting New York State food purchasing goals for New York agricultural products. Their award will go to the Field & Fork Network and the Double Up Food Bucks nutrition incentive program, which matches Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases at participating local farmers markets and grocery sites, benefiting over 550 New York State farmers every year.
Two teams received poster awards of $1,250. Student team Brooklyn Bugs supported an edible insect agriculture organization working to promote global food systems, food security, and nutrition. Team Marshall Wace will work with the UK-based alternative investment firm to identify a nonprofit community partner recipient.
A range of benefits
Students articulated their appreciation to the Impact Competition organization in emails detailing a range of benefits, such as improving their public speaking and professional communication abilities, becoming stronger team players and client managers, and learning the value of storytelling in community engagement. They were also inspired by this experience to continue supporting social causes near and far. Lisa Gerber, manager of the Grand Challenges Program, sees this regularly. “Community-engaged projects enhance our understanding of global opportunities and challenges while showing students that their business skills can have a positive impact,” Gerber said.
Sarah Wolfolds, assistant professor and academic director of the Grand Challenges Program, closed the event with gratitude for the program’s growing support. “Each semester we bring the Grand Challenges community together to celebrate the incredible work of our student teams and the impactful initiatives of our clients and partners. The Impact Competition highlights our efforts toward business for a better world, and the event continues to improve based on feedback from our stakeholders.”