
Solve at MIT 2023
Flagship EventSolve at MIT 2023
It’s easy to think that the challenges facing us today are insurmountable – that the issues are too big and complex, that we are too divided and gridlocked to actualize solutions at scale. Yet, year after year, the Solve community uncovers incredible entrepreneurs and innovators who are facing these issues head-on and making a real difference in their communities and the world. Join us for Solve at MIT 2023, May 4-6 on MIT Campus, along with 400 social impact leaders to get inspired, build partnerships, tackle global challenges in real-time, and celebrate progress.
About the Event
Solve at MIT is an inspiring, interactive three-day event that brings together our Solve community and cross-sectors leaders from around the world committed to solving global challenges. Over the course of the event, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from leaders in social impact, connect with innovators looking to scale their solutions, form partnerships with like-minded individuals and organizations, and learn about the upcoming 2023 Global Challenges.
Our annual Global Challenges are open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Through an open innovation platform, we source tech-based ideas, businesses, or products that solve urgent global problems. The most promising social entrepreneurs from across the world are chosen to join our Solver class in the areas of Economic Prosperity, Climate, Learning, and Health. Solve also selects a group of Indigenous Communities Fellows who are helping to make Native communities in the US thrive.
View the event schedule here.
Want to join us for Solve at MIT?
Experience the magic of Solve at MIT from anywhere! Livestreamed plenary sessions will begin at the following times:
- Opening Plenary: Unlocking our Collective Potential Thursday, May 4: 1:00pm ET
- Morning Plenary: Ensuring a Just Transition to Net ZeroFriday, May 5: 10:30am ET
- Closing Plenary: Bringing us Together or Tearing us Apart?Saturday, May 6: 11:30am ET
Talent and ingenuity know no bounds, but access and opportunity often do. At Solve, we're on a mission to change that. Join us as we explore how we can harness the power of technology to unlock our collective potential and create a better future for all. Come ready to be inspired, engaged, and equipped to work together on solving the world's toughest challenges.
If you intend to attend only the public opening plenary, register here
Featured Speakers
Elizabeth McGovern
Trustee, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Atif Javed
Executive Director, Tarjimly
Sally Kornbluth
President, MIT (1)-responsive.jpg)
Beatie Wolfe
Artist
Manish Bapna
President and CEO, National Resources Defense Council
Celina De Sola
Co-Founder & President, Glasswing InternationalAdrianne Haslet
Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor, Global Advocate for amputee rights
Norhan M. Bayomi
postdoctoral research associate at the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and Lead Research and Co-Lead of the MIT Climate Machine, MIT
Elaheh Ahmadi
Co-founder and CEO, Themis AIIn this interactive and action-driven session, attendees will hear from our Solver teams who will showcase the progress they have made since being selected at the Solve Challenge Finals in September 2022. During the session, participants will form ad hoc brain trusts, providing advice and brainstorming opportunities for improvement, partnership, and investment to the 2022 Climate: Ecosystems + Housing Solver teams.
In this interactive and action-driven session, attendees will hear from our Solver teams who will showcase the progress they have made since being selected at the Solve Challenge Finals in September 2022. During the session, participants will form ad hoc brain trusts, providing advice and brainstorming opportunities for improvement, partnership, and investment to the 2022 Equitable Health Systems Solver teams.
In this interactive and action-driven session, attendees will hear from our Solver teams who will showcase the progress they have made since being selected at the Solve Challenge Finals in September 2022. During the session, participants will form ad hoc brain trusts, providing advice and brainstorming opportunities for improvement, partnership, and investment to the 2022 Re-engaging Learners Solver teams.
Transitioning to net zero requires dramatic innovation, deployment, and funding. But working towards a zero-carbon future is not enough, as the climate crisis is not just environmental, it’s also one of economic and social justice. Join us as we explore how we can deploy equitable solutions to mitigate the crisis and build a sustainable future for the eight billion of us.
Featured Speakers
Lewis Akenji
Managing Director, Hot or Cool Institute
Lynette Bell
President, Truist Foundation
Hina Baloch
Executive Director of Sustainability and Environment, General Motors
Emily Young
CEO and Founder, Moving Health
Cheri Smith
MIT Solver & 2022 Indigenous Communities Fellow | President & CEO, Founder, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
Mtamu Kililo
CEO, MycoTile Ltd
Jacquelyn Ingram
Midwife, global health advocate, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii
Ellen Fitzsimmons
Chief Legal Officer & Head of Public Affairs, Truist
Heather Clancy
Vice President and Editorial Director, GreenBiz
Kelly Levin
Chief of Science, Data and Systems Change, Bezos Earth Fund
Nneka Jones
Artist
Kelsey Wirth
Co-Founder & Chair, Mothers Out Front
Janelle Knox-Hayes
Professor of Economic Geography and Planning, MIT, Department of Urban Studies and PlanningExplore how your organization can reach its social and environmental impact goals by launching its own customized open innovation challenge powered by MIT Solve. In this interactive workshop, participants will hear learnings from a recent client success story and apply Solve’s challenge design methodology to envision their own social innovation challenge.
Solve Innovation Future, MIT Solve's venture philanthropy vehicle is a disruptive model using philanthropic capital to accelerate social and environmental outcomes while generating financial returns. Join us for a conversation to learn and engage with experts advancing the impact investing and venture philanthropy fields, and explore why partnerships are critical to this work.
Speakers include: Betsy Cohen, Co-Founder, Cohen Circle and Radiate Capital; Tom Kuo, Co-Founder and Managing Director, A-Street Ventures; Amy Pirozzolo, Head of Marketing, Fidelity Charitable; Casey van der Stricht, Principal, Solve Innovation Future
In this interactive and action-driven session, attendees will hear from our Solver teams who will showcase the progress they have made since being selected at the Solve Challenge Finals in September 2022. During the session, participants will form ad hoc brain trusts, providing advice and brainstorming opportunities for improvement, partnership, and investment to the 2022 Indigenous Communities Fellows.
In this interactive and action-driven session, attendees will hear from our Solver teams who will showcase the progress they have made since being selected at the Solve Challenge Finals in September 2022. During the session, participants will form ad hoc brain trusts, providing advice and brainstorming opportunities for improvement, partnership, and investment to the 2022 Care Economy Solver teams.
In this interactive and action-driven session, attendees will hear about the impact made by Solve's youth program - Solv[ED] - and get to meet our 2023 Solv[ED] Youth Innovator teams. The teams will each showcase their solutions and impact to date. During the session, attendees will form ad hoc brain trusts, providing advice and brainstorming opportunities for improvement and mentorship to the 2023 Innovator teams.
Solvers

Navya Akkinepally
Head of Training and Impact , Learning Equality
Emily Young
CEO and Founder, Moving Health
Laura Stachel
Executive Director and Co-Founder, We Care Solar
Atif Javed
Executive Director, Tarjimly
Jonathan Key
Co-Founder, Labour xchange
Gayatri Datar
CEO, EarthEnable
Sanskriti Dawle
CEO, Thinkerbell Labs
Anthony Kinslow II
CEO and Founder, Gemini Energy Solutions, LLC
Cheri Smith
MIT Solver & 2022 Indigenous Communities Fellow | President & CEO, Founder, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
Zeenith Ebrahim
Founder, Jamii Life
Mtamu Kililo
CEO, MycoTile Ltd
Sabrina Habib
CEO and Co-Founder, Kidogo
Joaquín Gastelbondo
Project Manager, Corpocampo
Vanessa Castañeda Gill
Co-Founder and CEO, Social Cipher
Michelle Schenandoah
Founder & Director , Rematriation / Kanenhi:io Ionkwaienthos
Aishat Adeniji

Suzanne Cole
Co-Executive Director, Operations, Blue Butterfly/Third Sector New England
Nidhi Mirani
Executive Director, Carina
Ronald Kasule

Erica Plybeah
Founder & CEO, MedHaul
Akshita Sachdeva
CEO and Co-Founder, Trestle Labs
Progress Success Mahureva
Chief operations officer , Dawa health
Chelsea Sprayregen
CEO and Co-Founder, Pie for Providers
Jono McKay
Co-founder, SameSame
Augaly S. Kiedi
Development Officer, reNature
Raphaël Ascoli
Architect Coordinator , Blue Temple
Brooke Rodriguez
Director / Founder , Grinding Stone Collective
Ines Serra
CEO and Founder, BIOSORRA
Doreen Toutikian
Human-centered designer, cofounder & CEO, omgyno
Ashley Barrow
CEO Founder , A Statue of Excellence LLC dba RE-Assist
Emtithal Mahmoud
Senior Growth Manager, Speetar
Mary Hermes
Director GIM/ Professor UMN, Grassroots Indigenous Multimedia
Brittany Gene
Lead Designer, Brittany Gene Design
Cree Whelshula
Executive Director
Tahereh Pazouki
Founder and CEO, LetzMath
Valerisa Gaddy
Post Doctoral Research Associate, University of Arizona
Jacquelyn Ingram
Director of Clinical Services , Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii
Wenceslas Djokpe
Senior Manager, The Batonga Foundation
Wolf Bierens
Founder, Easy Housing
Rama Kayyali
CEO, Little Thinking MindsThis event is not part of Solve at MIT programming. It is a celebration, cocktail reception, and exclusive screening of "The Big Idea."
The event is accessible by purchasing tickets here.
Please reach out to events@solve.mit.edu with questions.
This session focuses on Solve’s 2023 Global Learning Challenge, which asks ‘How can all people learn about and take civic action to improve their communities and the world?’ The session will feature a panel conversation with experts and an activity to get participants thinking about opportunities for collaboration around this topic.
This session focuses on Solve’s 2023 Global Climate Challenge, which asks ‘How can communities adapt to more extreme weather and create low-carbon housing for all?’ The session will feature a panel conversation with experts and an activity to get participants thinking about opportunities for collaboration around this topic.
This session focuses on Solve’s 2023 Global Economic Prosperity Challenge, which asks ‘How can we provide financially excluded individuals and small enterprises with the tools they need to withstand financial shocks and build wealth?’ The session will feature a panel conversation with experts and an activity to get participants thinking about opportunities for collaboration around this topic.
This session focuses on Solve’s 2023 Global Health Challenge, which asks ‘How can we build resilience in health systems and maintain access to care despite destabilizing events?’ The session will feature a panel conversation with experts and an activity to get participants thinking about opportunities for collaboration around this topic.
Join us as we explore how to harness technology to create positive social change and build community while avoiding its pitfalls. We'll delve into the complex interplay between technology and social change, and discuss how to create a more engaged, cohesive, and connected society.
Featured Speakers

William Gumede
Founder and Executive Chairperson, Democracy Works FoundationWhitney Wolfe Herd
Founder and CEO, Bumble
Sophia Kianni
US Representative, United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
Nighat Dad
Founder and Executive Director, Digital Rights Foundation-responsive.png)
Kami Dar
Co-founder and CEO, Uniti NetworksAmy Nordrum
Executive Editor, MIT Technology Review
Aida Murad
Impact Artist & Entrepreneur
Sangbae Kim
Director of the Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory and Professor of Mechanical Engineering , MIT
Mariama Kabia
Digital Equity Accelerator Lead, Social Impact, HP
Adam Bly
Founder and CEO, SystemFeatured Speakers
Elizabeth McGovern
Trustee, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Atif Javed
Executive Director, Tarjimly
Sally Kornbluth
President, MIT (1)-responsive.jpg)
Beatie Wolfe
Artist
Manish Bapna
President and CEO, National Resources Defense Council
Celina De Sola
Co-Founder & President, Glasswing InternationalAdrianne Haslet
Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor, Global Advocate for amputee rights
Norhan M. Bayomi
postdoctoral research associate at the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and Lead Research and Co-Lead of the MIT Climate Machine, MIT
Elaheh Ahmadi
Co-founder and CEO, Themis AILewis Akenji
Managing Director, Hot or Cool Institute
Lynette Bell
President, Truist Foundation
Hina Baloch
Executive Director of Sustainability and Environment, General Motors
Emily Young
CEO and Founder, Moving Health
Cheri Smith
MIT Solver & 2022 Indigenous Communities Fellow | President & CEO, Founder, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy
Mtamu Kililo
CEO, MycoTile Ltd
Jacquelyn Ingram
Midwife, global health advocate, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii
Ellen Fitzsimmons
Chief Legal Officer & Head of Public Affairs, Truist
Heather Clancy
Vice President and Editorial Director, GreenBiz
Kelly Levin
Chief of Science, Data and Systems Change, Bezos Earth Fund
Nneka Jones
Artist
Kelsey Wirth
Co-Founder & Chair, Mothers Out Front
Janelle Knox-Hayes
Professor of Economic Geography and Planning, MIT, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
William Gumede
Founder and Executive Chairperson, Democracy Works FoundationWhitney Wolfe Herd
Founder and CEO, Bumble
Sophia Kianni
US Representative, United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
Nighat Dad
Founder and Executive Director, Digital Rights Foundation-responsive.png)
Kami Dar
Co-founder and CEO, Uniti NetworksAmy Nordrum
Executive Editor, MIT Technology Review
Aida Murad
Impact Artist & Entrepreneur
Sangbae Kim
Director of the Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory and Professor of Mechanical Engineering , MIT
Mariama Kabia
Digital Equity Accelerator Lead, Social Impact, HP
Adam Bly
Founder and CEO, SystemRegistration for the full event is by invitation only. If you are a part of the Solve community, please check your email for a registration code. If you are not a part of the Solve community but would like to be, you can request an invitation here.
Register for Solve at MIT 2023
Experience the magic of Solve at MIT from anywhere! Livestreamed plenary sessions will begin at the following times:
- Opening Plenary: Unlocking our Collective Potential
Thursday, May 4: 1:00pm ET - Morning Plenary: Ensuring a Just Transition to Net Zero
Friday, May 5: 10:30am ET - Closing Plenary: Bringing us Together or Tearing us Apart?
Saturday, May 6: 11:30am ET
Solve at MIT is open to our community of innovators and supporters. Learn how you or your organization can become a supporter here, or fill out this form to get in touch.