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Cohort 4

Health Equity

BLOOM

Joanne Mercaldi

Lessonbee Inc.

Reva McPollom

Lessonbee Inc.

Katie McPollom

BEHR Health Systems, Inc.

KwameTerra

Webquity

Kianjai Huggan

Kianjai Huggan

Kaustubh Prabhu

Cohort 3

Female Founded Health &
Wellness Technologies

RadGreen

Sigalit Mutzafi

Cubtale Inc

Selin Tamer

Gals Bio Ltd

Hilla Shaviv

Leila Daneshmandi

Encapsulate

Every Two Minutes Inc

Erin Rose

Wellbit

Milica Spužić

6Degrees Ltd

Miri Berger

Wide Therapy Ltd

Roni Singler

It's July

Tamar Liberman

Parallel Profile

Cathy Cather

Libbie Health, Inc.

Colette Ellis

Every Two Minutes Inc

Peter Dolch

Empowered Together

Sarah Spear

TaraCares Global

Jyoti Sharma

Encapsulate

Armin Rad

Wellbit

Nenad Spužić

Every Two Minutes Inc

Peter Dolch

RadGreen

Sigalit Mutzafi

RadGreen

Sigalit Mutzafi

RadGreen

Sigalit Mutzafi

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Joanne Mercaldi

Co-Founder, CEO

Joanne Mercaldi, also known as “Boss,” is a dynamic and inspiring leader who serves as the Co-Founder and CEO of BLOOM. With an unwavering commitment to motivating her team and partners to reach new heights, Joanne has earned a reputation as a trailblazing entrepreneur. She holds a cum-laude degree in Occupational Therapy from Quinnipiac University, a testament to her dedication to academic excellence.

Throughout her professional journey, Joanne has made a significant impact, having successfully founded and scaled three start-up ventures. Notably, she founded TLC @ Home, one of Massachusetts’ largest home health agencies, and in just five years, provided essential care to over 5000 elders and employed over 600 dedicated direct care staff.

Joanne’s remarkable survivor spirit, forged through adversity, coupled with her passion for empowering women-owned businesses, sets her apart as a leader who makes a meaningful impact both in business and the lives of others. Beyond her entrepreneurial endeavors, Joanne finds solace and thrill in outdoor activities, such as hiking, rowing, and enduro mountain biking, and values quality time spent with friends and family.

She welcomes connections with like-minded professionals, entrepreneurs, and individuals who share her passion for making a difference and is eager to collaborate in pursuit of new ventures.

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Reva McPollom

Founder & CEO

Reva McPollom is founder & CEO of Lessonbee, an edtech startup disrupting K-12 health education with investors including Connecticut Innovations and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. As a child, Reva struggled to feel healthy and connected within the U.S. education system and suffered from anxiety in and out of school. Today, Reva’s company is building a future where young people learn to explore and nurture all dimensions of health and well-being in grades K-12.

Reva began her career as a news writer for Gannett Co. and The Star-Ledger. As the print news industry faltered with the rise of blogs and social media, Reva pivoted to web content management and search engine optimization before transitioning to instructional technology in 2009 and establishing elearning firm Reva Digital Media LLC in 2011. After 7 years designing innovative digital learning solutions for clients in K-12, higher education, and workplace learning – including 5 spent transforming employee training at Razorfish (Razorfish University) and Liquidnet (Liquidnet University) – and becoming a first-time mom, Reva established Lessonbee in 2018 to reimagine the K-12 health class experience as a platform for self-directed learning and wellness mastery.

Reva has 18 years of experience in digital media, digital marketing and digital learning, a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She was named one of the “100 most influential African Americans of 2020” by The Root for developing an “innovative” platform that makes “coming of age less confusing.”

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Katie McPollom

Head of Content and Customer Success

As the Head of Content and Customer Success at Lessonbee, I lead a team of passionate educators and content creators who are committed to providing culturally responsive K-12 health education to schools and families. With over 17 years of experience in the education sector, I have developed expertise in curriculum development, teacher and leader coaching, program evaluation, and strategic planning and implementation.

My mission is to leverage my skills and knowledge to create impactful learning experiences that empower students and educators to thrive in a diverse and inclusive society. I have a strong background in sociology and race, ethnicity, and post-colonial studies, which informs my approach to designing and delivering content that is relevant, engaging, and respectful of different perspectives and identities. I am also a community-minded leader who has helped build and scale various education initiatives in the US and abroad, such as an NGO in India, a high school in Brooklyn, and Lessonbee, a CT-based EdTech company. I am always eager to collaborate with and learn from others who share my vision and values of social impact and social responsibility.

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KwameTerra

Founder & CEO

Kwame is the founder and CEO of bEHR Systems, Inc., a community-based, patient-centered care platform that utilizes a comprehensive health scoring algorithm to educate and provide personalized health solutions to the Black community. Kwame is an alumnus of Xavier University of Louisiana, where he studied Biology and Public Health with a concentration in Health Equity.

His mission at bEHR is to maximize health in the Black community, using health equity best practices and the latest innovations in human longevity. His ultimate vision is to integrate health into Black culture— placing health at the core of how we live, learn, work, play and celebrate in the Black community. In addition to his work at bEHR, Kwame serves as the adjunct director of the Kirchner Food Fellowship. This program is training and empowering a diverse next generation of investors to allocate equity investments into early-stage companies addressing food insecurity in the US and abroad. He participated as a fellow in 2021 where he and his team looked to invest in an early stage company improving nutritional health in predominantly Black communities.

Kwame’s life’s mission revolves around founding and supporting enterprises dedicated to alleviating global suffering by dismantling obstacles to fundamental human needs. He firmly upholds the moral duty of every individual to pursue the highest ideals for society and assume responsibility for manifesting them within our lives and communities.

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Kianjai Huggan

Founder & CEO

Kianjai (Kia) Huggan, an engineer and educator, embarked on an inspiring journey amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s sudden shift to online education. As an educator herself, Kia was deeply moved by the accessibility gaps that emerged, prompting her to dedicate tireless hours to meet her students’ needs This personal commitment arose from her own experiences grappling with double vision and online content consumption during her graduate studies. Leveraging her engineering background, Kia envisioned a solution – the birth of Webquity. Rooted in the belief that accessibility and inclusion are fundamental – Webquity aimed to automate and integrate accessibility tools across the digital landscape. Kia’s story stands as a testament to innovation fueled by empathy, with her academic achievements from Harvard University and the University of Connecticut underscoring her dedication.

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Kaustubh Prabhu

Data Science and Insights specialist

Kaustubh Prabhu, a multifaceted leader at Webquity, blends his expertise in data storytelling with a fervent dedication to social impact across diverse domains. At Webquity, Kaustubh spearheads initiatives in business development, product innovation, strategic partnerships, and user growth, with a focus on empowering individuals with visual impairments, dyslexia, and beyond.

Rooted in a family legacy of healthcare service and armed with a background in Data, Kaustubh is committed to dismantling access disparities across various sectors. His firsthand experiences in healthcare underscore the urgency of creating inclusive systems. His research endeavors revolve around leveraging AI and machine learning to address accessibility challenges, particularly within mental health.

As a neurodiverse professional with a rich history in teaching and mentoring, Kaustubh thrives in collaborative environments. He not only brings a diverse skill set encompassing data analysis, product development, and partnership building but also a deep-seated commitment to knowledge sharing and supporting others.

Looking ahead, Kaustubh actively seeks opportunities to harness his data storytelling prowess and passion for social impact. He envisions contributing to initiatives promoting accessibility, equity, and innovative solutions across various sectors. His focus extends to improving mental health accessibility through avenues such as early intervention programs, teletherapy access expansion, and AI-powered support systems.

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Sigalit Mutzafi

Co-Founder & CEO

Mrs. Sigalit Mutzafi is the CEO & co-founder of RadGreen, She is a seasoned product manager with vast experience in bringing digital products to serve customer needs and in enterprise sales.


Sigalit is a mother, a city climate evangelist, who loves hiking and a bar of dark chocolate.

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Selin Tamer

Co-Founder & CEO

Selin Tamer is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cubtale. Selin is an engineer and she’s built personalization engines for 3 Fortune 100 companies in her 10 year experience. In 2021, she founded Cubtale which takes a caregiver-friendly, personalized approach to support parents with the real-time insights they need to provide better care.

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Hilla Shaviv

Inventor, Founder & CEO

Hilla Shaviv is a biomedical engineer, a serial inventor and entrepreneur in the women’s health arena, with more than 20 years of experience in medical device R&D. Over the last 13 years she focused on researching and developing women’s health devices. Hilla’s education and experience concentrated on bio-fluid dynamics where she developed various devices, including a heart assist device, as well as carrying out computational blood flow and in-vitro simulations. Hilla entered the entrepreneur world in 2007 after having founded her first company GalMedics, where she developed a new kind of tampon that treats menstrual pain, based on her own invention. In 2016, she established GalsBio with the goal of developing Tulipon.

Hilla earned a BSc from Caltech (Mechanical & Fluid Dynamics Engineering, cum laude) and an MSc from Tel Aviv University (Biomedical Engineering).

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Leila Daneshmandi

Founder & COO

Leila Daneshmandi, Ph.D. is the co-founder and COO of Encapsulate Inc, a MedTech startup in cancer precision diagnostics. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and a Master’s in Global Entrepreneurship from the University of Connecticut. Leila is a TEDx speaker, CT Women of Innovation Finalist, a board member at the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) and was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Scalable Venture in 2020. Encapsulate has raised over $1.8 M in funding and was recently featured in Hartford Business Journal’s annual Tech 25 issue of startups to watch. The company has received numerous awards including the prestigious Technology-in-Space Prize from The International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory and Boeing for $653k, an NSF SBIR phase I, and the first place in the Deeptech category at ICT Spring’s Mastermind Summit and Competition hosted by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Europe Network.

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Erin Rose

Founder & CEO

Erin’s passion for combating violence motivated by bias runs in the family. Her father has a black belt in jiu-jitsu and created a self-defense program for women based on the martial art in the early-1980’s. His VHS tape was nationally distributed and thousands of women attended his seminars. Erin grew up acutely aware that the overwhelming responsibility to stay safe fell upon the shoulders of potential victims. No one at the time was tackling cultural change or getting to the real root of this problem. Self-defense is not the way to stop violence motivated by bias in its tracks. Those were the analog days. We had limited resources and research at our disposal. Erin founded Every Two Minutes and created MySideKick app because she knows we can leverage next-generation technology to tackle the rise in violence.

Erin also founded Positive Detroit (2008); the first website dedicated to highlighting nice things people say about Detroit, averaging 350K page views per month globally & organically growing the Twitter following to 33.4K+ with notable followers like President Obama; and co-founded the online dating game show Pick MI Date (2009-2012).

Erin graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Telecommunications. She has over 16+ years of expertise building social media followings & online community building, sales, advertising/marketing/branding, driving customer acquisition & loyalty, and guiding product development strategy toward customer needs. Erin has been featured in numerous publications such as Time Magazine, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Boston Herald, Crain’s Detroit, Detroit Free Press, and Detroit News.

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Milica Spužić

Co-Founder & CEO

Milica Spuzic is a distinguished professional with dual Master’s degrees in Software Engineering and Architecture. She is a co-founder of Eight Dots, a consultancy firm specializing in software engineering, and Wellbit, a startup dedicated to enhancing personal wellbeing.

Throughout her career, Milica has been driven by a passion for innovation, particularly those that have the potential to significantly improve human life. In the realm of architecture, her exploration of parametric and generative design led her to create a powerful automation tool for the construction industry. This software has revolutionized the way engineers approach and execute their tasks.

At Eight Dots, Milica and her team have had the privilege of working with numerous inspiring startups. Their missions, creativity, and innovative approaches have motivated them to strive for more than just developing software products or creating beautiful designs. This inspiration culminated in the creation of Wellbit, a platform designed to empower individuals to take charge of their wellbeing. As she devotes herself to Wellbit, Milica’s focus is on identifying AI patterns in the simple things of life that can bring about genuine happiness and contentment.

On a personal note, Milica is a daughter, sister, wife, and mother of two young children. She has a deep appreciation for nature, enjoys painting, plays football recreationally, and is always keen to explore new horizons.

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Miri Berger

Co-Founder & CEO

Miri Berger is the CEO and co-founder of 6Degrees, a groundbreaking technology company that specializes in developing innovative solutions to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Miri is a highly experienced entrepreneur with a passion for using technology to solve complex problems and make a positive impact on society.

Miri’s interest in technology and social impact led her to co-found 6Degrees in 2017. Under her leadership, the company has developed a cutting-edge technology platform that leverages motion-sensing technology and data analytics to create new opportunities for people with disabilities. The platform uses sensors to detect and track human motion, and then provides real-time feedback to users, enabling them to improve their physical abilities and achieve greater independence.

Miri is committed to driving innovation in the field of disability technology and has been recognized for her contributions to the industry. She is a highly respected figure in the technology and disability communities and has been invited to speak at numerous conferences and events around the world. With her vision and leadership, 6Degrees is poised to make a significant impact on the lives of people with disabilities, providing them with the tools and support they need to reach their full potential.

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Roni Singler

Co-Founder & CEO

Roni Singler is a highly experienced professional with a strong commitment to education and the advocacy of special needs children. She has over two decades of experience in various educational roles, demonstrating exceptional leadership and expertise. In the last years, Roni founded and is the CEO of WiDE Therapy LTD, a company dedicated to providing digital therapy services to individuals with special needs, promoting independence, well-being, and empowerment.

Roni holds a Master’s degree in Special Education with a specialization in autism (Hons), a Teaching Certificate in Special Education, a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences – Education with a focus on curriculum and teaching methods, and a Degree in Psychopedagogy specializing in learning disabilities and emotional disorders.

Roni has demonstrated an ability to effectively communicate and connect with individuals from a variety of backgrounds. As a result of her unwavering dedication and passion for society, she strives to make a positive impact on the lives of individuals with special needs and their families.

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Tamar Liberman

Co-Founder & CEO

Born in Sweden, raised in Israel. LLB in law (TAU). Entrepreneur since 2010, initially with Giftoree, an online gift cards platform, which after ~3 years sold its activity to a leading media group. In 2013 founded ‘Just About’, a pop-up event management venture. Holds a master’s degree in Gender Studies (with distinction, TAU) and serves as a co-chairwoman of the alumni organization

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Cathy Cather

Co-Founder & CEO

With over 20 years experience in the health care field, Ms. Cather is well versed in health care start ups, product and program development, consumer research, emerging trends, and rapidly growing and scaling new offerings. In recent years Ms. Cather has worked with numerous health care specialty companies on the forefront of innovation bringing new products to market for employers, consumers, physicians, and hospitals and with the Grand Bahama Port Authority to do a feasibility study and design a specialty hospital for Freeport, and the Bahamas National Health Advisory to envision utilization of the latest innovations in the Canadian, American, and UK health systems (including optimal integration of telemedicine, personalized health, care advocacy, referral management and consumer engagement).

Prior to establishing Cather Consulting she was an executive with HealthAllies a network company serving the un and under-insured. When HealthAllies was acquired by UnitedHealth Group, Ms. Cather stayed with UnitedHealth Group for 3 years and worked with a number of subsidiary companies including Uniprise, UnitedHealth Care, Ovations, and GoldenRule to research and bring to market a number of new integrated products.

Prior to HealthAllies, Ms. Cather was at national health care consulting firm Towers Perrin, now Willis Towers Watson serving in a number of leadership roles including leading the Integrated Health Management practice and co-leading the Health Care Strategy practice.

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Colette Ellis

Founder & CEO

Colette Ellis is an experienced entrepreneur and innovator who has successfully executed workplace wellness programs for Fortune 500 companies. She has been a leader in the health and wellness industry for 15 years. Prior to founding Libbie Health, she worked as a Behavioral Health Coach at Calm, and an internal HR Consultant at Willis Towers Watson. In addition to her training in EFT-Tapping, Colette has been certified by the National Council for Behavioral Health in Mental Health First Aid and by the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse in Trauma-Informed Care. As a co-host for Brooklyn Savvy TV, she facilitates substantive conversations about issues that affect women and families. Her tips and advice also have appeared in Thrive Global, Real Simple, Small Business Chronicle, and Daily Burn.

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Peter Dolch

After graduation from MIT, Peter founded a technology consulting company which he grew to over $16M in annual revenue. During that time he managed numerous global engagements for enterprise clients — including Pfizer, Hewlett Packard, and Hearst Publishing — as well as helping 40+ founders launch their startups. He incubated (and was a founding board member of) CheetahMail, which he saw through to a $36M exit, and helped take MediaMetrix from an idea-on-a-napkin all the way through to an IPO. He subsequently moved more deeply into the NY entrepreneurship ecosystem, managing a small venture fund (AEON Foundry), and co-founding several startups, including a medical device startup based in Switzerland (Biospectal), where he helped raise initial funding, developed first generation tech, negotiated a partnership with the World Health Organization, and won Gold as MassChallenge. He has worked with numerous accelerators, incubators and angel groups to help entrepreneurs in various stages of their journey. He is on Chairman of the MIT Sloan Club of New York and a co-founder of the MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition, held annually in NYC. He is an advisor to numerous startups, helping with fundraising, product roadmap, customer acquisition, technology and operational strategies. He is currently a co-founder of MySideKick, where he is focused on technology, product roadmap, go-to-market strategy and fundraising.

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Sarah Spear

Founder & CEO

Sarah Spear is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Together, a venture backed startup connecting families affected by disability to recommended businesses. Previously, Ms. Spear led development and communications at New Haven-based, human rights organization Love146. She also served as Executive Director of the economic development fund, Arch Grants, in St. Louis and as Co-founder of PharmaSecure, a healthtech company in India, where she saw the company through its Series A funding. Ms. Spear lives in central Connecticut with her husband and two children where she serves on the Portland Public Schools Board of Education. Find her on Twitter (@SarahSpearIt) or LinkedIn.

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Jyoti Sharma

Founder & CEO

Jyoti is a SAP Press bestselling author and international speaker on digital transformation. After a successful 22 year tech innovation, management consulting and intrapreneur career, she has chosen a new path to become a Psychologist and alternates her time between York and London. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Psychology from University of Westminster. She is working towards her PhD and aims to pursue a career in the domain of Health Services, Health Economics, and Public health on topical issues of international concern.

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Armin Rad

Co-Founder & CEO

Armin Tahmasbi Rad, Ph.D., MBA, is the CEO and co-founder of Encapsulate Inc, a MedTech startup in cancer precision diagnostics. Armin received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, with a focus on cancer nanomedicine, and a Master’s in Global Entrepreneurship from the University of Connecticut. Armin has published 30+ peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the field of life sciences and has two issued patents in pharmaceuticals, and has served as PI or Entrepreneurial Lead on several competitive research funding totaling over $1.5M. He is currently PI on ISSNL Technology in Space and NSF SBIR awards. In the past four years, Encapsulate has raised over $1.8 M in funding, has been awarded by NASA, Boeing, and NSF, and was recently featured in Hartford Business Journal’s annual Tech 25 issue of startups to watch. The company has received numerous awards including the prestigious Technology-in-Space Prize from The International Space Station National Laboratory, and the first place in the Deeptech category at ICT Spring’s Mastermind Summit and Competition hosted by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Europe Network.

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Nenad Spuzic

Nenad Spuzic is a seasoned technology leader with over a decade of experience in the tech industry. Nenad has a proven track record of bringing innovative software products to market, serving millions of customers worldwide. His expertise spans Technical Leadership and Agile Project Management, Software Architecture and Development, Cloud Services, DevOps, and Machine Learning. Nenad holds a Master’s Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Belgrade, where he was recognized for his academic excellence with multiple scholarship awards. Nenad is a co-founder of Eight Dots, a consultancy firm specializing in software engineering, and Wellbit, a startup aimed at enhancing personal well-being, where he currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He provides technical and team leadership for the development team that has brought Wellbit to the market. Wellbit leverages AI to boost employee engagement and teamwork. It serves as a digital well-being coach, generating personalized growth challenges. This innovative application of technology for enhancing workplace satisfaction and team cohesion is a testament to Nenad’s commitment to using technology for good to solve meaningful large-scale problems. Throughout his career, Nenad has demonstrated a strong commitment to innovation, growth, and leadership. He has held leadership roles at several companies, including Captain Dash in Paris, France, where he led and coached cross-functional teams in the development and delivery of a microservice-based data analytics solution used by numerous large enterprises. He values curiosity, growth, openness, community, and meaningful work. With his extensive experience and innovative approach, Nenad Spuzic continues to make significant positive contributions to the tech industry and the world at large

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