It's been a few months since graduation, and things have definitely been moving fast with VertiGrow! We are currently working with XYZ design firm on our second round of prototypes, and are testing the new design this month. Our homepage has been updated with some of the new designs, but we will continue to share our progress. We're hoping to have our beta prototype in the field within the next few months.
~Ellie
Ellie and I officially graduated from Harvard College last Thursday, taking VertiGrow along with us :P This means more time to devote to VertiGrow, such as planning our pilot project 2 back in Kibera this summer to test out the newest round of prototypes.
I just want to take a moment to thank Harvard, especially the Idea Translation Lab, SEAS and Medicine in Need, on behalf of the whole VertiGrow team, for believing in us and supporting us from day 1. We hope VertiGrow will always remain part of the amazing Harvard-born NGO community and will make Harvard proud!
~Tina
This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of representing VertiGrow as one of six panelists for the event entitled "Social Enterprise 101: Get it Started", hosted by the Harvard College Social Enterprise Association. This event was directed at Harvard undergraduates interested starting or getting involved with social enterprises, and stimulated great discussion on some of the most thought-provoking issues surrounding challenges and opportunities in this relatively new sector.
The panel featured some of the most inspiring leaders in the field:
Sutton Kiplinger, Executive Director of Project Health (Boston)
Matt Joyce, co-Founder of Philly Fellows
Scott Warren, Executive Director of Generation Citizen
Amit Garg, Founder of Hospitals for Hope
Shalaka Joshi, Vice President of CSO Partners
Next week, Ellie will be leading a workshop on social entrepreneurship at the finale event of the InFocus-Nonprofit Program hosted by Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business. Stay tuned for more updates!
~Tina
