Report of the President – January 2012
Game Change

Innovative ideas win PitchNOLA honors
Social entrepreneurs give it their best shot.

Sarah Mason, left, and Arwen Podesta, right, won first place with their pitch for an integrative medical practice. Also pictured are Andrea Chen, second from left, executive director of SENO, and Stephanie Barksdale, manager of Tulane’s Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives. (Photo by Guillermo Cabrera-Rojo.)

A venture to create a holistic clinic for mental and physical health care took top prize at PitchNOLA 2011, an "elevator-pitch" competition for ideas designed to spur social change in New Orleans.

The idea for "The Well: An Integrative Medical Practice" is to create a comprehensive clinic that integrates treatment for addiction, depression and other behavioral issues with treatments for common health issues endemic in South Louisiana, such as heart disease, chronic pain and diabetes.

The venture won $3,500 plus executive mentorship, as well as consulting and pro-bono technical assistance.

PitchNOLA gives local social entrepreneurs the chance to pitch ideas for social change to a panel of celebrity judges and an audience of more than 200 students, business professionals, social activists and community members. The contest is sponsored by Tulane Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives and the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane.

"It's inspiring to see how much potential there is in New Orleans right now for social innovation." – Stephanie Barksdale, manager of Tulane's Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives
We can make the world a better place.
©2012 Office of Tulane University President Scott Cowen