An AI-powered app that lends a unique and natural-sounding voice to help nonverbal individuals communicate. A brand that connects global artisans to customers across the world. An initiative to help women in Sierra Leone gain income and financial independence through training and mentorship in automotive repair.
The 34 recipients of the <a href="https://womenwhoempower.advancement.northeastern.edu/2026-innovator-awards/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>2026 Women Who Empower Innovator Awards are pursuing game-changing ventures in AI, technology, health, arts, entrepreneurship and social change. They join a community that now totals 167 honorees and represents all of Northeastern University’s schools and colleges and more than 25 countries.
Now in its sixth year, the program has invested more than $2.3 million in Northeastern founders since it was launched in 2021.
But these awards are about so much more than money, said Betsy Ludwig, executive director of Women’s Entrepreneurship at Northeastern and one of the awards leaders.
“We believe we’re in the business of producing entrepreneurs and creating innovators for life,” Ludwig said. “This is about building an ecosystem of support throughout their lifelong journey as builders, entrepreneurs and change agents. Each of these innovators are making a difference in the world and we want this network to amplify their impact.”
A record number of 165 Northeastern University students, graduates and affiliates applied for this year’s awards from across Northeastern’s network, including Mills Institute at Northeastern, Roux Institute Founder Residency and Marymount Manhattan College, now called Northeastern University New York City.
This year’s awardees join a growing network of 130 past recipients. Reflecting the depth and breadth of this year’s innovators, the program introduced several new categories, including “Storytelling and Culture,” “Femtech and Reproductive Health,” “Entrepreneurial Leadership” and “Future of Work.”
“This program has continued to grow because our community’s talent and ambition demand it. We’re surrounded by proof in this year’s cohort,” said Diane MacGillivray, senior vice president of Advancement and Global Enterprise Initiatives at Northeastern.
Applications opened in January and were evaluated by a reading committee of leaders and entrepreneurs with expertise across a wide range of industries. Prior award winners also participated in interviewing applicants. Finalists presented their ventures in a showcase in front of three-judge panels in May.
The judges found it challenging to select winners from this year’s particularly strong applicant pool. Hoda Abou-Jamra, a Women Who Empower Innovator judge and Northeastern graduate, said the applicants’ stories of pushing past doubt and trusting themselves reminded her of her own journey that began at Northeastern.
“I was told more than once that I couldn’t do what I was setting out to do, and I did it anyway,” said Abou-Jamra, co-founder of TVM Capital Healthcare, a growth capital investment firm based in Dubai and Singapore. “We see that same spark in this year’s winners, and it’s so important to celebrate their strength and resilience as they turn every ‘no’ into fuel for what comes next.”
This group of winners includes eight new Innovator Fellows, recognized for their extraordinary vision, impact and leadership. Now in its second year, the Women Who Empower Fellowship Program provides Fellows with resources and support to help accelerate their professional and venture growth.
“These awards reflect the ingenuity, vision and range of what our students and alumni are pursuing across every field they touch, and we are energized to keep building a network that believes in these founders, fuels their momentum and supports their drive for impact in communities well beyond our own,” MacGillivray said.
One such founder duo, Elizabeth Raia and Margaret Montavon, were awarded first place in the “Storytelling and Culture” category for their film, TV, and theater production company: Pipe Dream. Their company focuses on stories from overlooked and underrepresented groups.
As individuals and together as a company, Raia and Montavon felt “profoundly supported by this newly unified community” between Northeastern and Marymount Manhattan College, where they received their undergraduate degrees.
“The mission of WWE closely aligns with our own guiding principles, making this acknowledgment particularly resonant on both a personal and professional level,” the two wrote to Northeastern Global News. “As we continue to grow within this community, we also hope to use our presence to advocate for the essential role of arts integration across all areas of academia and everyday life – championing the arts not as a supplement, but as a vital framework for connection, critical thinking and cultural progress.”
The Women Who Empower Summit and Innovator Awards Celebration will take place on the Boston campus on Nov. 12.
2026 Women Who Empower Innovator Awards winners
Innovator Fellows
Ana Eugenia Carvajal Minvielle, E ‘16
Vie: A precision medicine platform that models individual female biology to enable earlier diagnosis and personalized reproductive healthcare for every woman.
Bronwyn Bridges, Roux Institute Founder Residency, ‘23
PRIMS: Transforms how neurological disorders are assessed and managed by combining AI and 3D motion analysis to provide real-time, objective evaluations aligned to clinical standards.
Dayna Altman, CSSH BS ‘2015, Bouvé MPH ‘18
Bake It Till You Make It LLC: A community-based organization that uses food and baking to cultivate authentic mental health conversation in the kitchen, around the table and beyond.
Hannah Sheehan, COS Ph.D. ‘22
SauveBio: Expands access to high-precision cellular analysis, equipping biotech companies with elite data and expert guidance to validate therapies and accelerate the path to the clinic.
Katie Karmelek, E BS ‘06, MS ‘08
Chamfr: The only digital marketplace in MedTech connecting R and D engineers with qualified suppliers tol devices
Marjan Monfarednasab, DMSB ‘26
LeafGuardian: A contactless patient monitoring system that enables stage zero pressure injury diagnosis and automates nursing documentation using machine vision.
Nouf Alawadhi, DMSB ‘22
COYA: Connects global artisans to customers worldwide, empowering independent designers — many of them women — through storytelling, market access and sustainable income.
Sophie Shrand, CAMD ‘11
Cool Jacket Productions: A women-led production company that finds joyful solutions to serious problems, using comedic storytelling and educational entertainment to amplify women in STEM and beyond.
AI and Technology
1st place: Anwita Chaudhry, Khoury ‘28
ExpressAI: An AI-powered Augmentative Alternative Communication App that gives nonverbal individuals a natural, expressive and personalized voice.
2nd place: Lauren Steidl, Roux Institute Founder Residency ‘25
Integrated Reality Labs (IRL): Building technology and games that get people off the couch to play and connect with real friends in the real world.
3rd place: Kellin Haley, Roux Institute Founder Residency ‘26
Velzee: A fintech platform that helps young professionals plan for retirement earlier by turning their financial habits into a personalized, adaptive path to financial freedom.
Entrepreneurial Leadership
1st place: Simran Mohinani, DMSB ‘20
Mohlia: A leader in budding agricultural technology providing a cost-effective and sustainable alternative for waste and pollutants from flowers, serving B2B and B2C companies.
2nd place: Nicole Khoury, E ‘20
Journée: Redefining energy by replacing overstimulating, artificial energy drinks with a clean, functional alternative that supports mental clarity, balanced energy and everyday well-being.
3rd place: Tori Farley, DMSB ‘15
Center Street Soap Co.: An award-winning, female-founded artisanal soap brand combining craftsmanship and sustainable practices to create everyday products with meaningful local and global impact.
Femtech and Reproductive Health
1st place: Alexandra Chabaneix, DMSB ‘15
Sage: An AI-powered pregnancy guidance system that replaces information overload with a structured, week-by-week curriculum, transforming how first-time parents prepare for parenthood.
2nd place: Emily Sylvester, Roux Institute Founder Residency ‘23
Mother of Fact: Expands access to dietitian-led nutrition care for women through a scalable telehealth model that fits directly into existing clinical workflows.
3rd place: Haley Waud, Bouvé ‘12
eggPlan: A fertility-financing platform helping women freeze eggs earlier. Using predictive insights, we underwrite a first-of-its-kind money-back guarantee, reducing uncertainty and financial risk.
Future of Work
1st place: Bridget Gleason, DMSB ‘26
Inside Athletics: An online community platform connecting verified college athletes with youth athletes and parents to share firsthand experiences and bring transparency to college sports.
1st place: Erin Knight, Roux Institute Founder Residency ‘26
gatherwise: Helps teams meet less and meet better by supporting purposeful planning, strong agenda design, real-time facilitation and smart follow-through.
2nd place Aashka Dave, Khoury ‘26
Atrium: Creating a deployment layer for embedded operators, helping startups access cross-functional execution without full-time hires while enabling multi-role careers in an AI-augmented workforce.
3rd place: Aarya Dhru, DMSB ‘26
The I3 Competition: Partners high school students with underserved small businesses to build their digital footprint, reducing barriers to technology and expanding economic opportunity for overlooked communities.
Health and Wellness
1st place: Jude AlBukhari, COS ‘15
Under the Olive Tree: A preventive digital platform that builds emotional resilience in children ages 3-13, using neuroplasticity to develop lifelong coping skills before clinical care becomes necessary.
2nd place: Natalia Coriano Diaz, Bouvé PhD ‘26
Enlace Institute: A health intelligence organization that develops the evidence infrastructure Puerto Rico’s healthcare system needs to withstand disasters, reduce inequities and improve decision-making.
3rd place: Seleen Sarah Maya, DMSB ‘28
Lean by Seleen: A women’s health coaching platform delivering sustainable weight loss through mindset, nutrition and menstrual cycle-aware strategies that prioritize long-term hormonal health.
3rd place: Zoe Smith, E ‘26, MS ‘27
Ritua: Delivers private, transformative 25-minute fitness and wellness sessions that adapt to each user’s needs, remove friction and fit the realities of high-cognitive workdays.
1st place: Soumya Raguraman, COS ‘27
LabMatch: Expands equitable access to undergraduate research by creating a transparent, structured system that matches students with academic labs based on skills and fit rather than informal networks.
2nd place: Pam Boiros, DMSB ‘92
Women Applying AI: A global community that helps women build practical, real-world AI skills through hands-on learning, mentorship and supportive peer networks.
3rd place: Tanya Singh, DMSB ‘27
Athenova Group: Building an AI-powered, university-affiliated campus marketplace that matches students to buy and sell trusted, hyperlocal items safely and efficiently.
Storytelling and Culture
1st place: Elizabeth Raia, MMC ‘13
Pipe Dream: A female-founded film, TV & theater production company using heart and humor to create and champion diverse stories that authentically highlight overlooked and underestimated groups.
2nd place: Kariman Abuljadayel, COS ‘17, M.Arch ‘18
From Northeastern to the Olympics: Kariman Abuljadayel becomes the first Saudi woman to run the Olympic 100m — a documentary about breaking barriers, sisterhood and representation.
Global Impact
1st place: Yanoh Bah, COS ‘08
Women in Auto: Equips women in Sierra Leone with automotive repair, business training, mentorship and job pathways into a higher-income trade.
2nd place: Jenna C. Woods, COS MS ‘26
AngelRock BV: Accelerates carbon capture by generating nanometer-scale olivine particles, enabling faster and lower-energy mineral carbonation offering a scalable and cost-effective path for CO2 removal.
3rd place: Joud Rai, COS ‘27
HIYAH: A philanthropic organization working to increase access to menstrual, dental and hygiene products both locally and worldwide through donation collections, events, drives and drop-offs.
