This award recognizes an outstanding Hoyapreneur for their achievements as a creator, innovator, and leader in the field of entrepreneurship. Nominees are dedicated to going above and beyond to support the entrepreneurial community at Georgetown University.

Athena Karp is the CEO and founder of HiredScore, a leading artificial intelligence technology company that was acquired by Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY) in 2024. She led HiredScore’s acquisition by Workday and is currently GM, HiredScore at Workday. For over 10 years, Athena has been an entrepreneur, leading her company and creating responsible AI products that enable organizations to adapt to the future of work, improve how they prepare and upskill employees for new jobs, and progress diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, HiredScore won best-in-class recognition and honors, including Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, Deloitte Technology Fast 500, and global HR innovation awards. Athena is a member of the 2018 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute and currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service.

About HiredScore:
HiredScore is a leading provider of Talent Orchestration technology. HiredScore's artificial intelligence, automation, and deep integrations empower some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world to safely and transparently drive critical business outcomes in recruitment productivity, internal mobility, and total talent management. HiredScore's proprietary technology provides responsible AI that seamlessly connects to data and systems to power the shift in HR operating models. HiredScore is live in 150 countries and available in 70 languages. 

This award is given to a newly minted Hoyapreneur, showing excellence in contribution, commitment, and passion. Nominees are eligible if they are either: a) 10 years or less from graduation, or b) demonstrably have been in small-business, startups, and/or entrepreneurship for fewer than five years.

Claudia Naim-Burt is the co-founder and COO of Keep Company, a group coaching platform on a mission to improve employee wellbeing. Keep Company’s proprietary technology creates small groups of peer employees, at scale. Proven to reduce burnout for employees, the Keep Company platform is now patented, and trusted by some of the leading professional services organizations in the world.

Founded in 2022, Keep Company has been recognized by Techstars and Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures as a rising leader in Care Tech, and SHRM as a leading Workplace Innovation. Keep Company has closed $2.3 in venture capital financing, making Claudia one of only 250 Latinas to raise over $1M in venture capital.

Previously, Claudia was a member of the leadership team at Framebridge, a direct-to-consumer custom framing company, where she led Brand and Communications. After Framebridge, Claudia served as an entrepreneur in residence at NEA, and as a strategic advisor to several high-growth businesses.

Claudia has held marketing and communications roles at American Express and Edelman Public Relations. She holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA with honors from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Claudia lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and two boys.

About Keep Company:
Keep Company partners with employers to support and retain parents and caregivers.

Offered exclusively through employers, Keep Company specializes in a group experience that creates a Third Space - between therapy and happy hour - where similarly situated employees come together, and build strategies for integrating the demands of work and life. Fueled by their patented group gathering technology and proprietary platform, Keep Company members report feeling more equipped to handle challenges, at work and at home. Their employers feel the impact: Keep Company clients see 3X less attrition of parents and caregivers.

This award is given to a successful investor or venture capitalist who shows dedication to pushing the boundaries of innovation and supporting entrepreneurship.

Paul Hudson is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Glade Brook Capital Partners, a leading investment firm that specializes in global growth equity, with a focus on internet, software and technology enabled businesses. With offices in Greenwich, CT and Miami, FL, Glade Brook partners with entrepreneurs and management teams to accelerate growth and maximize long-term shareholder value, from growth stage through IPO and beyond. Since the firm’s inception, Paul has led all investment efforts across a portfolio of 40+ companies that include Airbnb, Axios, Instacart, Patreon, Stripe, SpaceX, Uber, xAI and Zepto. Prior to founding Glade Brook in 2011, Paul was a Managing Director and Head of the Communications, Media & Entertainment group at Shumway Capital Partners where he also helped launch the firm’s private investment efforts. Earlier in his career, he was an Analyst at Rhombus Capital Management, an Associate at Alterity Partners, and an Analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co. Paul earned an A.B. with honors from Georgetown University.

About Glade Brook Capital:
Glade Brook is a leading global investment firm that invests in emerging leaders in the internet and software sectors through its growth equity and private credit strategies. The firm partners with entrepreneurs and management teams to accelerate growth and maximize long-term shareholder value, from growth stage through IPO and beyond.

Glade Brook’s complementary strategic offerings enable the firm to offer tailored, creative capital solutions to high quality, enduring private technology companies as they grow and evolve in the market. Through deep sector expertise, fundamental research, operating discipline and an extensive network of industry relationships, Glade Brook seeks to catalyze value creation for many of the world’s most promising technology companies.

This award is given to individuals or organizations that are either Hoya owned, operated, founded, and/or cofounded, recognizing excellence in the restaurant/hotel business and/or food/beverage sector.

Richard Bennett is the CEO and co-founder of Epicured, a food-is-medicine healthcare company that combines clinical and culinary expertise to deliver meals that help people eat better, feel better, and live better, one meal at a time. Epicured was founded in 2016, driven by a belief in the evidence-based healing power of food and its ability to positively impact health outcomes related to chronic diseases. Under Richard’s leadership, Epicured has partnered with Mount Sinai to validate its therapeutic menu, spearheaded nutrition-focused clinical research with University of Michigan, Columbia University, University of California San Francisco and others, expanded nationally to deliver meals to thousands of subscribers across the United States, and has developed food-is-medicine programs with top health insurers, provider organizations, grocers, and even major league sports teams.

Richard’s extensive career includes roles in healthcare management, start-ups, and global investment banking. At MUFG, as COO of Latin America Corporate & Investment Banking, he supported the expansion of the regional portfolio from $4 billion to $22 billion, managing a team across multiple countries and driving significant revenue growth. Earlier, he co-founded North Shore Health Enterprises (now Northwell Ventures) and Vivo Health, Inc. the venture capital and consumer-facing business divisions of Northwell Health, creating various health and wellness businesses like retail pharmacies, fitness centers, and healthcare education and media.

Richard holds a degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University and remains actively involved in its community through the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance and the Georgetown Angel Investor Network, which launched with Epicured as its pilot portfolio company. Richard just recently received the Empire BlueCross BlueShield Whole Health Hero Award in 2023 and was named to the Digital Health New York 100 list for the past two years.  His work at Epicured reflects his enduring commitment to developing novel solutions to make good health more accessible and appealing.

About Epicured:
Epicured is a food-is-medicine healthcare company that brings together the best of the clinical and the culinary worlds to help people eat better, feel better, and live better, one meal at a time. We deliver fresh, delicious, culturally-compelling foods that are medically-tailored to help achieve better health - translating the latest nutrition science into food-is-medicine menus that help people meet their health goals, bite-by-bite. Epicured’s kitchens offer hundreds of dishes, each designed by a culinary team spearheaded by our five-star chef and registered dietician partners. Epicured is eaten by health-conscious consumers across the United States, and is now available through select partnerships with health plans, leading healthcare provider organizations, and life sciences companies.

This award is given to individuals or organizations that are either Hoya owned, operated, founded, and/or cofounded, recognizing excellence in a retail or consumer product business.

Ben McKean is the Founder and CEO of Hungryroot, the AI-driven grocery and recipe service that is redefining food-at-home, making it more personal, sustainable and economical. Prior to Hungryroot, Ben was a Vice President and General Manager at Groupon, overseeing their food and beverage business. Ben came to Groupon through the acquisition of Savored, which he founded in 2009. Savored was the nation’s leading provider of yield management technology to the restaurant industry. Prior to Savored, Ben worked in Merrill Lynch’s technology investment banking group.

Ben is a graduate of Georgetown University and currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and kids.

About Hungryroot:
Hungryroot is your partner in healthy living. We get to know your lifestyle, budget, health objectives, and preferences, and we recommend and deliver nutritious groceries, easy recipes and essential supplements for you and your family. It’s the easiest way to eat healthy, achieve your goals, save time, and live a healthy (and delicious) life. Founded on the belief that food is the foundation of health, convenience should not mean compromise, and we’re all unique in how we eat and live, Hungryroot is building a future in which healthy living is easy and enjoyable.

This award recognizes a Hoya owned, operated, founded, and/or cofounded startup or small business (either for-profit or non-profit) whose mission and core values remain at the forefront of all business decisions and may include a 1:1 give-back model, percentage donated to charity, environmentally/socially responsible product or service, etc.

Cheryl Contee is Chief Executive Officer at The Impact Seat Foundation, which is working to create a world in which women can succeed as business leaders. Cheryl is the Amazon bestselling author of Mechanical Bull: How You Can Achieve Startup Success.

Passionate about creating new tech and new narrative for a new era, Cheryl uses her vast experience in startup entrepreneurship and community engagement to lead our portfolio companies and funds to success, provide resources for underrepresented founders, and build the new economy. Previously, Cheryl was CEO of Fission Strategy, which brought Silicon Valley startup culture to the world’s leading causes and campaigns.

She’s the co-founder of Attentive.ly, the first tech startup with a Black female founder to be acquired by a NASDAQ company, the National Board Chair for Netroots Nation, and the first portfolio company board member of New Media Ventures.

About The Impact Seat Foundation:
The Impact Seat Foundation is providing resources, community and access to create a world in which women succeed as business leaders. To build an ecosystem that promotes women leaders, we need to make sure they receive the support and financing they need at every step of the way.

What does impact investing + grantmaking + advocacy equal? That’s Full Stack Philanthropy.

We utilize these three pillars of Full Stack Philanthropy like other foundations do, except that we added a twist. We wanted to amplify the effect of our philanthropy by making sure that every facet of our Foundation’s existence serves to further fulfill our mission.

This award recognizes excellence in the tech sector and may include any Hoya owned, operated, founded, and/or cofounded business or operation that services finance, social, education, enterprise wearables, or government sectors.

Christine de Wendel is co-founder and US CEO of sunday, where she leads the rapid growth and development of sunday's restaurant payment solutions, which power 2,000+ restaurants' business and help guests check out faster than ever in groups like Levy Restaurants, Lettuce Entertain You, Boka Hospitality and more.

Prior to this, she was Chief Operating Officer of ManoMano, one of France’s fastest growing tech companies and Europe’s leading online platform for home improvement. Before joining ManoMano, Christine spent seven years at Zalando, Europe’s largest online fashion retailer, where she grew the Paris office and managed Zalando’s French business. 

Christine is passionate about the European tech industry and has become an expert in scaling start-ups. Christine holds a BSc in International Affairs from Georgetown University, an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and an MBA from INSEAD.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Christine has American, French and Austrian citizenship. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children after spending 15 years in Paris.

About sunday:
With US headquarters in Atlanta, sunday is the fastest way in the world to pay in restaurants. This solution developed for restaurant owners allows any of their customers to avoid waiting for their bill and the card machine to pay. Thanks to a QR code placed on the tables in restaurants, the customer can pay in less than ten seconds without having to create an account or download an app.