
Solve Challenge Finals 2017
Apella | New York CitySolve Challenge Finals 2017
The Solve Challenge Finals in New York City brought together selected innovators to pitch their solutions to a panel of expert judges and a live audience on Solve’s 2017 Global Challenges: (1) Brain Health, (2) Sustainable Urban Communities, (3) Women and Technology, and (4) Youth, Skills, & the Workforce of the Future. Those chosen by our judges became Solvers, who joined the Solve community to build partnerships with cross-sector leaders that help pilot, scale, and implement their solutions.
Watch the Solve Challenge Finals:
The Opening Plenary and Women and Technology Pitch Session
<span id="selection-marker-1" class="redactor-selection-marker"></span>The Sustainable Urban Communities Pitch Session
The Afternoon Plenary and Youth, Skills, and the Workforce of the Future Pitch Session
The Brain Health Pitch Session
The Closing Plenary
Solving for everyone, by anyone: open innovation to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges
We live in an era in which technological, climactic, and demographic changes present unprecedented challenges and opportunities. New technologies threaten to eliminate entire industries: nearly half of today’s jobs are at risk of becoming obsolete by the time young people enter the workforce. Furthermore, 7.5 billion people must be fed without depleting our planet’s food and water sources, and 90% of global population growth is concentrated in cities, heightening the need for sustainable urban communities. Brain disorders that impair mental health, social attachment, and economic productivity are increasingly common across all age demographics. And women and girls, especially in underserved areas, continue to experience inequalities that limit their participation in the growing digital economy.
Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts of Technology, leverages open innovation to identify and accelerate specific, actionable solutions to these global challenges. To kick off the 2017 Solve Challenge Finals, program participants will discuss how inclusive, grassroots approaches are essential to democratizing access to technological innovations and addressing the most profound challenges of our time.
Featured Speakers
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Alex Amouyel
Executive Director, MIT Solve
Jane Wurwand
Co-Founder, Dermalogica and FITE
Dominic Price
Work Futurist, AtlassianCynthia Barnhart
Provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Katherine Maher
Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation
Adaora Udoji
Principal, Boshia GroupHow can women and girls of all socioeconomic backgrounds use technology to fully participate and prosper in the economy? Read more about our Women and Technology Challenge.
Finalists

Kristen Railey
Founder, Girls Who BuildJessica Hubley
Founder & CEO, AnnieCannons
Katharine Wolf
Founder, Odetta
Zara Nanu
CEO, Gapsquare
Sydney Alfonso
Founder & CEO
Asher Hasan
Co-Founder, doctHERs & Founder, Naya Jeevan
ElsaMarie D'Silva
Founder & CEO, Red Dot Foundation (Safecity)
Hephzi Pemberton
Founder, Kiteka
Will Galvin
Chairman, TruTrade
Meena Palaniappan
Founder & CEO, Atma ConnectNasreen Alissa
Founder, Know Your Rights
Tanya Henderson
Founder and Executive Director, Mina's List, Peace is Loud
Amrita Saigal
Co-Founder, 100% Bio-degradable Sanitary Napkins from Banana Fibers
Matteo Cera
Founder & CEO, HOGARU
Roya Mahboob
CEO, Digital Citizen FundShreya Shankar
Co-Director, SHE++
Priya Nirmal
Developer, Erase All KittensJudges

Kavita Gupta
Founding Managing Partner, ConsenSys
Obi Felten
Head of Getting Moonshots Ready for Contact with the Real World, X
Susan McPherson
Founder & CEO, McPherson Strategies
Kate Ahern
Director, Bain Capital
Vanessa Grellet
Executive Director, ConsenSys
Cady Coleman
Former Astronaut, NASA
Katja Iversen
President and CEO, Women Deliver
Katharina Borchert
Chief Innovation Officer, Mozilla
Laura Callanan
Founding Partner, Upstart Co-Lab
Paul Sznewajs
Executive Director, Ingenuity
Leila W. Kinney
Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)
Rachel Goslins
Director, Arts & Industries Building, Smithsonian Institution
Lawrence Yanovitch
President, GSMA Foundation
Karen Appleton Page
US Enterprise Partnerships, AppleCynthia Barnhart
Provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Grace Puma
Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Officer, PepsiCo
Yannick Glemarec
Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme, UN WomenHow can urban communities increase their access to sustainable and resilient food and water sources? Read more about our Sustainable Urban Communities Challenge.
Finalists
Nicola Gryczka
CEO, Gastromotiva
Gabrielle Wimer
Co-Founder, MealFlour
Patrick Suen
Chief Executive Officer, Waterig
Johanna Hoffman
Designer, Urban Fabrick Collaborative
Danny Wright
Executive Director, Gravity WaterGrégoire Landel
CEO, CityTaps
Angel Kuye Oluwayimika
Founder & CEO, Fresh Direct Nigeria
Jim Chu
Chief Executive Officer, UNTAPPED
Komal Ahmad
CEO, Copia
You Wu
Research & Product Lead, MIT
Venkata Chamala Anil
CEO/Partner, Eesavyasa technologies PVT Ltd (Samhita Life Sciences)
Subham Agarwala
Co-Founder, Farm-ASSIST
Edwin Kestler
CTO, Flatbox, S.A.
Elliot Roth
Founder, Spira
Christopher Doroja
Chief Executive Officer, StillFreshJudges

Chelina Odbert
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Kounkuey Design Initiative
Ryan Whalen
Director, Initiatives and Strategy, The Rockefeller Foundation
Kazunao Sato
Senior Manager, Legacy Planning and Produce Department, Dentsu, Inc
Hervé P. Duteil
Managing Director, Regional Coordinator for Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainable Finance, Americas, BNP Paribas
Laura Callanan
Founding Partner, Upstart Co-Lab
Paul Sznewajs
Executive Director, Ingenuity
Leila W. Kinney
Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)
Rachel Goslins
Director, Arts & Industries Building, Smithsonian Institution
Gunhild Stordalen
President and Founder, EAT FoundationCommunicating for Change: Connect Your Big Ideas to Societal Action
How can stories motivate audiences to take action?
Join Atlantic Media Strategies for a workshop exploring how to engage and energize the right audiences around urgent societal issues. How can powerful stories enable you to reach new people and increase participation in your cause? What is the most effective call to action? Participants will leave this session with lessons for humanizing complex issues and fostering meaningful engagement and action over the long term.
Inclusion as Fuel for Innovation
Featured Speakers

Ursula M. Burns
Founding Partner, Integrum Holdings
Christina Vuleta
VP, Women's Digital Network, Forbes Media
Karl Burkart
Director of Innovation, Media & Technology, Leonardo DiCaprio FoundationHow can every person improve their brain health and mental resilience? Read more about our Brain Health Challenge.
Finalists

Tara Thiagarajan
Founder and Chief Scientist, Sapien Labs
Fahad Al Saud
Founder, Tomo
Albert Kwon
CEO & Co-Founder, AUGMENTx
Oliver Thornton
CEO and Founder, Coding Autism
Jay Newton-Small
CEO, MemoryWell
Nihal Satyadev
CEO & Co-Founder, The Youth Movement Against Alzheimer's
Oren Miron
Reseach Associate, Harvard Medical School
Kristina Saffran
CEO & Co-Founder, Project HEAL
William Hamilton
Co-founder, Mimerse
Bea Arthur
CEO, The Difference
Emma Yang
Founder, TimelessMichael Niconchuk
Director of Research and Development, Beyond Conflict
Sean Mayberry
Founder & Executive Director, StrongMinds
Randall Davis
Co-Founder, DCTclock
Vic Strecher
CEO, JOOL Health and Univ. of Michigan
Tanjir Soron
Founder, Learn to CareJudges

Corinna Lathan
CEO, Co-Founder, and Board Chair, AnthroTronix, Inc.
Olivier Oullier
Professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Aix-Marseille University
Rebecca Brachman
Runway Fellow, Cornell Tech, Cornell University
Alvaro Fernandez
CEO & Editor-in-Chief, SharpBrains
Sarah Lenz Lock
Senior Vice President for Policy, AARP; Executive Director, Global Council on Brain Health, AARP
Laura Callanan
Founding Partner, Upstart Co-Lab
Paul Sznewajs
Executive Director, Ingenuity
Leila W. Kinney
Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)
Rachel Goslins
Director, Arts & Industries Building, Smithsonian Institution
Arshya Vahabzadeh
Chief Medical Officer, Brain Power; Innovation Officer, Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy
Kenneth Kaplan
Senior Advisor, Initiative for Health Systems Innovation, MIT Sloan School of ManagementHow can disadvantaged youth learn the skills they need to prepare them for the workforce of the future and thrive in the 21st century? Read more about our Youth, Skills, & the Workforce of the Future Challenge.
Finalists

Richard R. Rowe
Founder & CEO, Open Learning Exchange, Inc.
Clary Castrission
CEO, 40K Plus
Clare Sutcliffe
Executive Director, Raspberry Pi Foundation
David Sweeting
Founder, The Urban Platform Studio
Nathan Murphy
CEO & Founder, JobHack
Patrick Meier
Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Flying Labs
Allison Sanders
Research and Partnerships Coordinator, Baan Dek Foundation
Muhamad Iman Usman
Co-Founder/ Chief Product Officer, Ruangguru
Amanda Simandjuntak
Co-founder, Markoding
Jacob Bronstein
Founder & CEO, WordScientists, LLC.
Zhihan Lee
CEO, BagoSphereMona Mourshed
President, Generation
Taj Pabari
Founder, Fiftysix Creations
James Centenera
Co-Founder and CEO, TULA Philippines
Janine Teo
CEO, Solve Education!
Rebecca Novak
CEO, Code NationFabrice Filachet
Education and Social Mission Manager, Passerelles Numeriques
Paul Falzone
Executive Director, Peripheral Vision International
Tariq Fancy
Founder, The Rumie Initiative
Godwin Benson
Co-Founder and CEO, TuteriaJudges

Kevin McAndrew
Senior Director, Social Innovation Partnerships, Save the Children
Melissa Beaumont Lee
Foundation Manager, Atlassian [Youth, Skills, & the Workforce of the Future Coalition]
Lisa Neuberger Fernandez
Managing Director, Accenture
Cynthia McCaffrey
Director of the Office of Global Innovation, UNICEF
Lucy Ashman
Global Director of Social Innovation, Teach For All
Tom Fletcher
Global Strategy Director, Global Business Coalition for Education
Azita Berar Awad
Director of Employment Policy, International Labor Organization
Larry Berger
CEO, Amplify
Nafez Dakkak
CEO, Queen Rania Foundation
Dana Stepp
Global Education Vertical Manager, HPPartnering to create a solutions marketplace
The challenges the world faces today are too complex and multi-dimensional to be solved by one sector or one actor alone. Governments recognize the need to involve private actors – whether corporations, foundations, NGOs, or social entrepreneurs – to address local and global issues. Cross-sector partnerships are key to Solve’s problem-solving methodology: it is only through building and convening a community of cross-sector leaders and change-makers that the best solutions designed by our Solvers can be supported and accelerated. To conclude the 2017 Solve Challenge Finals, program participants will discuss how cross-sector actors can work together and partner to create a solutions marketplace where good solutions to address the challenges of our time are funded and implemented.
Featured Speakers

L. Rafael Reif
President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Queen Rania Al Abdullah

Katja Iversen
President and CEO, Women Deliver
Sarah Lenz Lock
Senior Vice President for Policy, AARP; Executive Director, Global Council on Brain Health, AARP![Headshot of Mark Reading [Old]](https://d3t35pgnsskh52.cloudfront.net/uploads/conversions/3211_P1360403-edited-responsive.jpg)
Mark Reading [Old]
Head of Foundation, Atlassian
Luis Alberto Moreno
President, Inter-American Development Bank
Her Excellency Mrs. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of the Republic of Mauritius
Premal Shah
Co-Founder and President, Kiva
Guilherme Leal
Co-Founder, Natura-responsive.jpg)
Julie Bishop
Australian Minister for Foreign AffairsFeatured Speakers
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Alex Amouyel
Executive Director, MIT Solve
Jane Wurwand
Co-Founder, Dermalogica and FITE
Dominic Price
Work Futurist, AtlassianCynthia Barnhart
Provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Katherine Maher
Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation
Adaora Udoji
Principal, Boshia Group
L. Rafael Reif
President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Queen Rania Al Abdullah

Katja Iversen
President and CEO, Women Deliver
Sarah Lenz Lock
Senior Vice President for Policy, AARP; Executive Director, Global Council on Brain Health, AARP![Headshot of Mark Reading [Old]](https://d3t35pgnsskh52.cloudfront.net/uploads/conversions/3211_P1360403-edited-responsive.jpg)
Mark Reading [Old]
Head of Foundation, Atlassian
Luis Alberto Moreno
President, Inter-American Development Bank
Her Excellency Mrs. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of the Republic of Mauritius
Premal Shah
Co-Founder and President, Kiva
Guilherme Leal
Co-Founder, Natura-responsive.jpg)
Julie Bishop
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ursula M. Burns
Founding Partner, Integrum Holdings
Christina Vuleta
VP, Women's Digital Network, Forbes Media