The Center for High Impact Philanthropy and Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice are proud to present the inaugural Franklin SP2 Social Innovation Prize. The Franklin Prize is a cash prize awarded to the team of students that best develops the most promising and innovative project addressing an issue area in the SP2 Penn Top 10. On May 12, the six teams presented their projects in a live pitch competition held at the Pennovation Center, and the winner was decided by our panel of esteemed experts in the social innovation, impact and justice worlds.

The winner of the inaugural Franklin SP2 Social Innovation Prize is

Fresh Box!

Team members Lauren Kruglinski (NPLD, 2018), Robin Kendall (MBA, 2018), and Benjamin Young (BS College of Arts and Science, 2018) impressed the judges with their innovation solution to urban food deserts in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

Judges

Michael Nutter

Former Mayor, City of Philadelphia

Michael Nutter

Michael A. Nutter was elected the 98th Mayor of his hometown in November 2007 and took office in January 2008. With the support of his staff, Mayor Nutter made significant progress on his pledges to lower crime, improve educational attainment rates, make Philadelphia the greenest city in America and attract new businesses and residents to the city. During his tenure, Philadelphia City government received more than 150 awards for innovative programs, good government practices and excellence.

Since leaving public service on January 4, 2016, Mayor Nutter has remained active in public policy, government, and civic life. He holds multiple professorships and fellowship positions, including as a Senior SP2 Executive Fellow at the Penn Institute for Urban Research. Mayor Nutter is a life-long Philadelphian, born and raised in West Philadelphia and educated at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nadya Shmavonian

Director, Nonprofit Repositioning Fund

Nadya Shmavonian

Nadya is Director of the Nonprofit Repositioning Fund, a newly created pooled fund that supports strategic alliances and restructuring activities among nonprofits in the Greater Philadelphia region. She also serves as a strategy consultant to foundations and nonprofits nationally and internationally. Nadya has extensive experience in foundation and nonprofit management, having previously served as president of Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), vice president for strategy at the Rockefeller Foundation, and executive vice president at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Before joining the foundation community, she worked in the health sector, as well as overseas in humanitarian relief.

Nadya is an instructor at the School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2) at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches graduate seminars to SP2 and Wharton students on nonprofit governance, as well an international on-line governance course for the Center for Social Impact Strategy. Nadya holds an MBA with a concentration in health care management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was awarded the Kathleen McDonald Distinguished Alumna Award from Wharton Women in Business in 2011.

Marc Singer

Managing Partner, Osage University Partners

Marc Singer

Marc Singer is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Osage University Partners (“OUP”), which he joined in 2008. Marc manages all of OUP’s technology investing activities, including software, hardware, semiconductors, advanced materials, and more. OUP partners with high quality university and research institutions to serve as their coinvestment vehicle in start-ups that are licensing their technology. Osage works with its partner institutions to build a broad venture capital portfolio across a range of advanced technologies, including software, hardware, advanced materials, life sciences, and more. Osage and its partner institutions share in the profit of the fund, helping to align each institution’s incentives with those of its companies and their investors. OUP has partnered with over 80 research institutions, including Caltech, Columbia, Duke, Florida, Harvard, Michigan, Penn, UC Berkeley, and many others. OUP has over $300 million in capital under management and has invested in over 70 university start-ups.

Marc has spent more than twenty years in venture capital. He previously served as a General Partner and Co-Founder of BEV Capital, an early stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 1997. Over ten years Marc helped BEV raise and invest over $200M in over 40 companies and co-invest with over 100 other venture capital firms. Marc managed or co-managed eighteen of BEV’s investments and successfully managed multiple companies from start-up through IPO or trade sale. Prior to co-founding BEV in 1997, Marc worked at Consumer Venture Partners, another VC firm he joined in 1993. He is also a member of the Selection Advisory Council of GreenLight Philadelphia. Marc earned his BS from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Danielle Wolfe

Executive Director, M. Night Shyamalan Foundation

Danielle Wolfe

Danielle Wolfe is the Executive Director of the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation. Danielle manages the Foundation’s portfolio of grants, building partnerships with emerging community leaders and like-minded organizations around the world. She has extensive experience in grantmaking, social policy research, and nonprofit leadership.

Danielle began her career as a Program Manager for City Year New York where she designed academic and behavioral interventions for at-risk youth, and forged partnerships with public schools throughout East Harlem. She transitioned into the philanthropic sector when she joined the team at the Center for High Impact Philanthropy as a Social Impact Fellow in 2013. She went on to serve as a Senior Analyst at the Center, managing the development of guidance to funders engaged in domestic education and public health projects. Danielle then teamed up with the staff of the Neubauer Family Foundation to launch the Philadelphia Academy of School Leaders, an organization that provides high-quality leadership development opportunities to principals from all across the city.

Danielle holds a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Barnard College and a joint M.P.A. and M.S.Ed with honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government and Graduate School of Education.

Competing Teams:

Click to learn why each team chose the topic they are working on.

DreamMAPPers - Interventions for Youth

Team members:

Jessica Soriano – MSW, 2018

Marc Stuart – MSW, 2018

Dare Henry-Moss – MPH, 2018

William Whitesides – MBA, 2018

Why did you choose this issue?

“5.8 million “disconnected” young adults are not employed or enrolled in school. High school drop-outs are at-risk for long-term unemployment and poverty. The national high school graduation rate is 71.7%; it is only 45.8% in Philadelphia. Philadelphia schools lack educational, social and recreational resources to support youth. As a result, youth fail to complete their education and are unable to successfully transition into adulthood, which leaves an imprint on society. They need our help.”

Fresh Box - Urban Food Deserts

Team members:

Lauren Kruglinski – NPLD, 2018

Robin Kendall – MBA, 2018

Benjamin Young – BS College of Arts and Science, 2018

Camille Koenig – NPLD, 2018

Why did you choose this issue?

“Our team has a passion for food justice. We believe that food access is a human right. We believe that no family in America should ever be hungry and that all Americans should have access to clean, healthy food.

Each member on our team has a diverse work history and connection to food. Collectively, we have experience in, government agencies, businesses, schools, and nonprofits both nationally, and internationally.”

From Prison to Professional - Mass Incarceration

Team Members:

Betty Tran – NPL, 2017

Thomas McKeon – MPH, 2018

Why did you choose this issue?

“Since last semester, beneficiaries from the Rescue Mission of Trenton described to me the comprehensive and transformative services they receive from the organization. They believe that while the RMT addressed many parts of the interlocking problem cycle of mass incarceration such as substance use and homelessness, they also express deep interest in gaining professional development and vocational skills to find stable employment after leaving the RMT, which I address through my project. “

New Beginnings Community - Mass Incarceration

Team members:

Mary Archer – MSW, 2017

Astrid Colon-Torres – MSW, 2017

Caleb Jackson – MSW, 2018

Xuan Trinh – MSW, 2017

You Wu – NPL, 2017

Angel Bonilla – community partner participant

Trevis Farrior – community partner participant

Why did you choose this issue?

“Incarcerated individuals are one of the most overlooked, stigmatized groups in society. The current recidivism rate of over 60% represents an unprecedented failure on behalf of our nation and a devastating cycle for families and communities. New Beginnings Community is run by two formerly incarcerated individuals who seek to address the issue of community reintegration by providing housing and economic opportunities as an instrument of restoration to those seeking to reestablish their lives.“

RKADE - Mass Incarceration

Team members:

Xuan Trinh – MSW, 2017

Mary Archer – MSW, 2017

Astrid Colon-Torres – MSW, 2017

Caleb Jackson – MSW, 2018

You Wu – NPL, 2017

Kenneth Green – N/A

Why did you choose this issue?

“Reintegrating formerly incarcerated people into American society is more challenging than ever. The U.S. has had the highest prison population rate since 2002; and the annual increase in prisoners returning to communities has led to a prisoner reentry crisis, due to gaps in services and adequate support.

RKADE addresses the issue of community reintegration through social entrepreneurship and innovation: an after-school program with an arcade component, founded and run by a returning citizen.”

Transforming Work: Reconnecting Opportunity Youth - Redefining Work

Team members:

Raven Dorsey – MSW, 2018

Matthew Premus – MBA, 2018

Rose Yaguchi – MBA, 2017

Why did you choose this issue?

“We are interested in creating opportunity for a population that is generally disenfranchised.”

Keynote Speaker

Katlyn Grasso, W’15

Recipient of the inaugural President’s Engagement Prize, Founder and CEO of GenHERation

Katlyn will give a keynote address about her own path to social impact.