Rustandy Center Announces Seven 2024 Tarrson Fellows

New social ventures coming out of the University of Chicago are working to offer clean pet food made with sustainable proteins, a social media curriculum that fosters safety in the digital world for youth, equitable access to treatments for opioid disorder, and efficient waste management solutions for middle- to low-income communities in Indonesia.

Behind the mission-driven startups are the seven 2024 Tarrson Social Venture Fellows, all recent University of Chicago graduates, including three from Chicago Booth and four from the Harris School of Public Policy. The Tarrson Fellows will receive funding and mentoring from September 2024 through August 2025 to pursue their social ventures full time.

The Tarrson Social Venture Fellowship is the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation’s capstone social entrepreneurship resource. The program provides $25,000 each in funding and other support to graduating university students or recent alumni who are committed to growing a startup that helps solve a social or environmental problem. The fellowships are supported by Ron Tarrson, ’72 (XP-31), and matching funds from John Edwardson, ’72.

To be eligible for the fellowship, applicants must be committed to working full time for their startups, which should be focused on social or environmental impact. To view past Tarrson Fellowship winners, click here.

Six of this year’s fellows participated in the John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC), which has helped jumpstart more than 200 startups that have collectively raised more than $175 million in philanthropic dollars, grant support, and venture capital funding. The Edwardson SNVC is the social impact track of the University of Chicago’s nationally ranked business launch program, the New Venture Challenge (NVC).

“The eighth cohort of the Tarrson Fellows is addressing issues of sustainability and equity with practical solutions that can easily be incorporated into our daily lives. It is a privilege to support their efforts for meaningful change,” said Robert H. Gertner, the Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Strategy and Finance at Chicago Booth and John Edwardson Faculty Director of the Rustandy Center.

The 2024 Tarrson Fellows are:

Gabe Huertas del Pino, MBA ’24, Arch Pet Food
Arch Pet Food endeavors to break the pet industry’s reliance on traditional livestock by offering wellness-focused alternative protein treats and food that are sustainable, nutritionally balanced, and species appropriate. Crickets, a natural, protein-rich superfood that requires less water and land than beef, chicken, or soy, are the key ingredients in a range of products.

Jane Kim, MPP ’24, KindEd
Jonathan Brooks, MPP ’24, KindEd
Xinyi (Bella) Huang, MPP ’24, KindEd
KindEd aims to provide schools and educators with a social media education curriculum for youth. KindEd’s goal is to equip and empower the younger generation with the knowledge and critical thinking skills to safely navigate the digital world.

Christopher Wen, MBA ’24, Covery Health
Nikiar Ahmed, MBA ’24, Covery Health
Covery Health’s mission is to provide equitable access to evidence-based treatments for opioid use disorder. It aims to bridge gaps in care for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients in rural areas by building a centralized group of addiction medicine specialists that pair hybrid onsite telehealth workflows with software technology.

Claudia Natasha Montolalu, MPP ’24, Sirkularis
Sirkularis combines efficient waste management solutions tailored for middle- to low-income communities in Indonesia with cutting-edge SaaS tools. It empowers households and local businesses to responsibly manage waste while aiding businesses in optimizing resource usage, fostering a greener and more sustainable future.