Twenty determined and visionary students are spending the fall as Accelerator Fellows to explore, test and scale up their ideas, projects and ventures while working with peers who are also tackling today’s grand challenges. Throughout the 8-week program, Fellows connect and learn from each other, participate in 1:1 coaching sessions with experts, engage in workshops and immerse themselves in various activities with industry leaders. Fellows were selected after a competitive application process - with this cohort setting a new record for being the largest cohort - and will receive a stipend of $1,500 to support their work over the course of the program.
2023-2024 Do Good Accelerator Fellows are powered in part by the generous support of The Allstate Foundation. The Allstate Foundation empowers youth to serve and improve communities. The Foundation does this by providing youth with opportunities and resources that enable them to serve and preparing adults to support their service journey.
I am so excited to work with this diverse group of ambitious and passionate students as they work to bring awareness, solutions and resources to the communities and issues they genuinely care about. This being our largest cohort of Fellows yet, I can't wait to see all that they accomplish this semester!Kisha McNeil Do Good Accelerator Manager
Yara Ayache, The Spirit of Success
Junior, Psychology and Public Health
The Spirit of Success is a Baha’i-inspired podcast that educates and emphasizes the importance of using careers as a vehicle for serving and helping to advance humanity; analyzes the important impact that doing so has in creating meaningful change in the world; and inspires and empowers people, especially youth, to pursue their dreams or desired careers and find a path in life which they are passionate.
Kanishka Balamurugan, The 988 Project
Senior, Neuroscience
The 988 Project aims to raise awareness about the hotline and the resources available to prevent suicide among college students. 988 is the national suicide prevention hotline and this project aims to ensure that every student knows this number
Rita Booth, Black Creatives Matter
Junior, Civil Engineering
Black Creatives Matter is an art festival designed specifically for Black artists to showcase their creativity on their terms. The project aims to celebrate all forms of art at the University of Maryland. The festival will consist of visual art, music, dance, publications, and handmade formats with the goal to combat the history of oppression and discreditation that has tainted Black artists' experience throughout history.
Saurabh Chapagain, BetterU
Junior, Tech Entrepreneurship
BetterU has a mission to have a positive impact on the world through promoting healthy habits with an app that gamifies habit tracking and encourages people to become their best selves in a fun and social way. Users can join tribes, earn points and compete to stay consistent and accountable with their self-improvement journey.
Faith Comising, Petal Project
Sophomore, Computer Science
The Petal Project is a vibrant, day-long event held at UMD's McKeldin Mall and comprehensive two-month journey, fostering togetherness, support, and vital awareness surrounding the prevalence of relationship abuse, survivors suffering in silence, feelings of isolation and the lack of knowledge to seek help.
Jenna Dawson, Refugee Resettlement Success in the D.C. Metro Area
Senior, Government and Politics
Refugee Resettlement Success aims to eliminate major flaws within refugee resettlement which stem from an overwhelmed system by placing individual attention on families and their needs through mentoring, surveying and matching with resources based on real time needs and demographics collected within a database.
Jasmine Flores, Writtenbyjasmine.com
Sophomore, Public Policy
Writtenbyjasmine.com is a personal blog composed of compelling blog posts that focus on the mental issues that may arise from domestic abuse and bullying in children. Jasmine discusses her own experiences with bullying, mental illness and abuse, with the intention of awareness, advocacy and action-taking for the betterment and protection of our youth.
Christian Folk, Enhancing Educational Opportunities at DMV Area Museums
Ph.D. candidate, Music Education
This project is focused on increasing the accessibility and scope of informal education at DMV-area museums. The project conducts research on visitor experiences, identifies gaps in the educational programming of these museums, and provides recommendations and/or collaborations with museums to implement accessible and diverse educational initiatives to would benefit marginalized populations.
Beteleham (Bety) Kahsay, People4Tigray
Junior, Psychology and Sociology
People4Tigray is a student-driven advocacy group whose mission is to aid the reconstruction of Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia, in the aftermath of the war. People4Tigray is dedicated to fostering meaningful dialogues surrounding contentious issues in Tigray, including but not limited to, the social and political conflicts exacerbated by the ongoing crisis in the region.
Ashmita Kaur, The OBE Collective
Master’s candidate, Qualitative Finance
The OBE Collective aims to solve the problem of equitable access to education with a focus on students from underrepresented communities in India who are unable to access additional resources to support their academic journey at the undergraduate university level.
Asli McCullers, Leaders in Equity, Access and Diversity in Public Health (LEAD-PH)
Ph.D. candidate, Behavioral and Community Health
LEAD-PH is committed to building a community of scholars from diverse backgrounds who possess a strong interest in advancing health equity at the intersections of research and practice. The organization provides a dynamic array of leadership, service and research opportunities related to addressing the health-related challenges faced by historically marginalized populations.
Rashel Moscoso-Morales, Latinx Pre-Health Society
Senior, Public Health Science
The Latinx Pre-Health Society aims to empower the next generation of Latinx healthcare professionals through integrity, diversity, community service and academic achievement. The organization’s overarching goal is to create a supportive environment for the Latinx community to further the success of Latinx individuals in healthcare.
Ijeoma Okoro, Ora USA Youth
Junior, Public Health
Orlu Regional Assembly USA Youth is an Igbo Nigerian organization that is organized for the charitable, educational, economic, social and political development of the Orlu people. The organization aims to connect Igbo Nigerians in America and Igbo Nigerians in Nigeria to better the lives of those in Nigeria and to maintain Igbo culture throughout the world by creating and sourcing local community service opportunities.
Olabisi Omoniyi-Alake, FirstGen Ladder
Senior, Public Policy
FirstGen Ladder is an online platform that aims to fill the current vacuum in the K-12 education system for first generation American students in highschool. First generation American students are less likely to have the same level of college readiness support from their families and/or communities as their peers, resulting in a lack of access to available resources. FirstGen Ladder fills the gap between resources available and eager first generation students by providing them with access to mentorship, financial aid opportunities, college-readiness workshops and support groups.
Autumn Perkey, Graduate Student Government (GSG)
Ph.D. candidate, Government and Politics
The GSG’s Dealing with Trauma Event is a one day event that aims to support and bring together members of UMD and the broader community to speak out about surviving trauma. The event will help facilitate building community and provide needed support and resources in times of darkness.
Srivishnu Piratia, Mission Uplink
Sophomore, Computer Science
Mission Uplink, a project of Tech for Good Inc., aims to bring inexpensive internet access to Malawi schools in under-connected areas. By intelligently compressing and storing websites on a local network the first time any student visits them, Mission Uplink is able to significantly improve and expand internet usage in schools.
Prisha Ramnath, develAPP
Sophomore, Bioengineering
develAPP was founded to provide technology education and app development opportunities for students aged 9-16, emphasizing inclusivity across diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, with a specific focus on youth in underprivileged areas. By teaching the basics of framework, building, branding and making a mobile application, the group has increased student knowledge in programming and has witnessed the students’ apps being used as a gateway to their own journey in entrepreneurship.
Meg Smolinski, Walk with an Arborist & Your Baby
Master’s candidate, Extension Education
After experiencing postpartum depression when her daughter was born, Meg conceived of a program that would assist in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety in new parents with her “Walk with an Arborist & Your Baby” campus arboretum tour program.
Anna Tovchigrechko, The Unlocked Project
Sophomore, Psychology and Spanish
The Unlocked Project aims to raise funds and awareness for children of incarcerated parents in the DMV area to support their well-being and mental health by organizing fundraisers for holiday presents and nutritional needs. The group also aims to create a safe space for open conversation in an effort to lessen the stigma that children of incarcerated parents face.
Leandra Williams, Black Girls 2
Junior, Public Policy and Sociology
Black Girls 2 is a student-run organization founded to create a space for discourse around the intersectionality between race and sexual violence toward Black women. The organization strives to raise awareness on campus about the difference in issues Black women survivors face as well as cultivating a safe environment for Black women to be seen and heard.
*Any student information pertaining to academic program or major is self-reported by the students.