Tamer Institute

The founders of three Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio members — AdvanceH2O, Folia Materials, and microTERRA — discuss how their innovations are shaping a more water-conscious world.

Guava — where Kelly Ifill '17 is founder and CEO — has amassed over 3,000 members since January 2023. The online banking platform is designed to support Black entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Professor Dan Wang provides thoughts and a preview of what he has planned for his fall 2023 classes with AI integrated into many of the routine elements of course assignments, research, and group work. He suggests that it is the responsibility of educators to expose students to the potential for generative AI tools as an organic feature of their everyday lives. But, he argues, there is room for debate on what this responsibility looks like.

Climate tech company BlocPower, where Donnel Baird '13 is founder and CEO, was awarded a $1.2 million grant by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) to create and implement a groundbreaking workforce development program in partnership with local nonprofit, Browning the Green Space.

Climate tech company BlocPower, where Donnel Baird '13 is founder and CEO, announced a collaboration with Georgia Power to implement an Energy Empowerment Program, designed to provide clean-energy projects in underserved communities in Georgia.

Bridging the American Divides, co-taught by Professors Bruce Usher and Todd Jick, is considered "that class" at Columbia Business School — "the stuff of legend, the one that fills up fast because it is worth the price of admission." The class is "an exercise in dialogue," where students discuss polarizing topics such as globalization, immigration, job loss, race, income, education, and politics. The class culminates with a trip to Rust Belt Ohio, where students meet with business and community leaders working actively to address these issues.

Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Kelvin (formerly Radiator Labs) retrofits buildings’ cooling and heating systems to reduce their environmental impact.

We're thrilled to (once again) see Phoebe Boyer '93, president and CEO of Children’s Aid; Alison Overseth '84, CEO of Partnership for After School Education; and Ben Thomases '03, executive director of Queens Community House, included in this list of top 100 leaders of social services providers, legal aid organizations, advocacy organizations, and foundations leading the nonprofit sector in NYC.

Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member Dollaride is partnering with Revel to create the state’s first electric dollar van network. Dollaride co-founder Su Sanni writes about how this partnership will provide drivers with reliable access to affordable fast charging and New York’s air will be cleaner because of it.

"COP28 has the potential to encourage further climate action, including the introduction or strengthening of policies that can lead to emissions-reducing technological breakthroughs, as well as to deliver a much-needed rulebook on important technical issues, such as the use of offsets. Whether it succeeds depends entirely on execution," writes Professor Geoffrey Heal.