Grand Challenges Events

Team naRoho at the 2023 Pitch Competition

The Grand Challenges Impact Competition: Presentation and Project Showcase is a celebration of Dyson students, teams, community partners, and clients. During this event each semester, teams share their work and explain how prize money could support the impactful goals of their project partner.

Join us at the Grand Challenges Impact Competition
November 13, 2025
5:00-7:00 pm

We proudly partner with Impact Competition, which empowers students to address the most pressing social issues in their community by building a bridge between academia and local nonprofits. Unlike with most case competitions, winning students receive funding to implement their ideas, allowing their solutions to make a positive difference in the world.

Impact Competition Schedule

4:30 pm: Doors open
5:00 pm: Opening remarks and presentations by four teams (Warren Hall 401)
6:00 pm: Judges deliberate, poster session and gallery walk, heavy appetizers (Warren Hall fourth floor lobby)
6:45 pm: Awards announced and closing remarks, celebration, and networking

The event will be in Warren Hall Room 401 on Cornell’s campus. We encourage busing or carpooling, ParkMobile parking is available on campus for guests.

Celebrating Our Collective Impact Toward Business for a Better World

What is your project? Why does it matter? And how will you translate your knowledge into action toward business for a better world?

Students complete semester-long capstone projects with real-world partners and apply to the Grand Challenges Impact Competition each semester. Project teams present a pitch or a poster, and judges will award $22,500 in prize money to top teams. Prize money is given to non-profit partners or organizations who align with project goals, not to the team itself.

Meet the Fall 2025 Presentation Teams

Meet Our Distinguished Judges

George Belcher has served as Director of the Impact Competition for over five years. Previously, he taught design at the University of Georgia before moving to Denver, where he has helped numerous businesses and startups grow through both digital and traditional marketing efforts. As the primary contact for the Impact Competition, George oversees partnerships, onboarding, and the entire competition process.

Abby Christman is the Assistant Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business. She works with MBA students in Big Red Microenterprise, Environmental Finance and Impact Investing Fellows, and Sustainable Business Fellows, and helps organize the Cornell Energy Connection and Cornell Business Impact Symposium. Previously, she spent five years in Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY program supporting farm business and youth development, and two years in the Peace Corps in Cameroon, collaborating with Heifer International, helping establish an environmental NGO, and leading GLOW and computer clubs. She holds BS in Animal Science and MPS in Global Development from Cornell University.

Jake Dillabaugh is the Associate Director of Strategy and Operations for the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement. He designs and implements initiatives that provide Cornell students with high-quality community-engaged learning experiences, including courses, research, internships, and other programs. Since joining the center, Jake has helped expand the Engaged College Initiative, partnering with college leadership to integrate community engagement into each school’s mission and vision. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame, specializing in higher education, organizations, and culture. His dissertation examined how university status and mission of universities interact to inform the types of programming and partnerships they create.

Thomas Godwin is a Professor of Practice in Accounting at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management in Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business. He earned his Ph.D. in Accounting from Purdue University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Clemson University. A licensed CPA with a CGMA designation, he teaches accounting, tax, audit, and fraud courses across programs. Professor Godwin co-directs Cornell LITLAP, focusing on free tax compliance services for low-income taxpayers. He has extensively published in both academic and practitioner journals and has received multiple honors for research, teaching, and societal impact, including the inaugural SC Johnson Dean’s Distinguished Award for Societal Impact in Teaching.

Lauren Stulgis serves as the Swanson Director of Student Project Teams at Cornell Engineering, where she champions experiential learning, mentorship, and student innovation to create real-world impact. Before joining Cornell, she spent 13 years at Duke University with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Pratt School of Engineering, and the Nicholas School of the Environment. Prior to her career in higher education, she worked as an environmental consultant in Chicago. Lauren holds a B.S. in Earth and Ocean Sciences from Duke University and an M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Delaware.

Event Acknowledgements

The Grand Challenges Program, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the Dyson Undergraduate Council would like to thank our generous donors including the Impact Competition Foundation for helping to fund this Cornell Certified Sustainable Event. We would also like to thank all who provide time, feedback, and insights to support our growing program. A special thanks to our students, clients, and community partners who inspire us with their work.