Rudy Awards

One of the most remarkable features of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is our extraordinary community of entrepreneurs. Named for the fearless founder of the Dingman Center, Rudy Lamone, the Rudy Awards were created to honor those members of our community who embody the entrepreneurial and generous spirit that make this center possible.

Rudy Award Winners

Mentor of the Year: Maurice Boissiere ’89

Student Entrepreneur of the Year (tie): Josh Ermias ’21, Door Robotics

Student Entrepreneur of the Year (tie): Caroline Ta ’21, Sweets by Caroline

Student Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Jasmine Snead '17, MPH '19, MBA '21, Aurora Tights – Winner
  • Shyon Parsadoust '19, Gig
  • Zachary Wynegar '19, OpenPoll

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Dhruv Patel '20, Christopher Look '20, Megha Guggari '20, David Boegner '20, Synapto – Winner
  • Myisha Gatson, MBA 19, Pearl Long Term Care Solutions, LLC
  • Rasheeq Rayhan, MBA '20, Alex Woo, MS '20, Justin Fenn '21, OnCall

Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Zeki Mokhtarzada '00, co-founder of Truebill – Winner
  • James Fayal '11, founder of Zest Tea
  • Stephen Steinberg '10, founder of Raw Athletics

Angel Investor of the Year

  • Deborah Hemingway, PhD '18 – Winner
  • Ajay Srivastava, MBA '93
  • Jitin Miki Ahuja '97, MS '02, MBA '02

Mentor of the Year

  • Drew Bewick '88 – Winner
  • Philip Eliot
  • LaKisha Greenwade, MBA '11

Faculty Award

  • Larisa Cioaca MBA '07
  • David Kressler
  • Oliver Schlake

Partner of the Year

  • Berenato & White, LLC – Winner

Student Entrepreneur of the Year

  • George Lee '18, Dark Sonar – Winner
  • Didac Hormiga '19, Flee
  • Sydney Parker '18, Emprology
  • Brianna Queen '19, BEEQBOX
  • Galen Stetsyuk '19, Stephen Walsh '18, Mikhail Sorokin '18, MPLEX VR

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Erich Meissner '18, Maria Chen '19, Kyle Liu '20, Symbiont Health – Winner
  • Audrey Awasom '18, Noble Uprising
  • Matthew Hollister '18, The James Hollister Wellness Foundation
  • Michael Sheehan '18, Citizens of Earth

Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Oscar Zeballos MBA '16, Podcast Village – Winner
  • Hillary Berman MBA '03, founder of Popcorn & Ice Cream
  • Jason Gates '11, founder of Compology
  • Evan Lutz '14, co-founder of Hungry Harvest
  • Jignesh Shah MBA '05, founder of Rybbon

Angel Investor of the Year

  • Kathryn Stewart – Winner
  • Chris College
  • Deborah Hemingway Ph.D. '18
  • Amit Mehra

Mentor of the Year

  • Jennifer Hsin '98 – Winner
  • Paul Capriolo '06
  • Philip Eliot
  • Phil Masiello MBA '92
  • Polly Vail

Faculty Award

  • Joseph P. Bailey – Winner
  • Drew Bewick '88
  • Larisa Cioaca MBA '07
  • Oliver Schlake
  • Jay Smith

Student Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Aaron Bloch '17 and Benjamin Khakshoor '18, CourseHunter – Winner
  • Ray Joyce '17 and Andrew Wills '17, 301 Ventures
  • Richard Kong '20, Gravity Tales
  • Abb Kapoor '18 and David Potter '18, Curu
  • Holly Wilson '17 and Simon Amato '17, FroDoh

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Anastasiia Polyakov '17, Annie's Children – Winner
  • Babafemi Adegbite MBA '17, Re-Empower
  • Alex Beall '19, Drew Hamroff '19 and Ryan Kosmides '19, Turbind

Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Micha Weinblatt '05, Betterific & Crooked Monkey – Winner
  • Dan Cowens MBA '14, founder of Snag-a-Slip
  • John Czupak MBA '89, President & CEO at ThreatQuotient, Inc.
  • David Engle '15, Startup Village & Serial Entrepreneur

Angel Investor of the Year

  • Amit Mehra – Winner
  • Bill Boyle '81
  • Bob Koran
  • Mark Segal

Mentor of the Year

  • Bob London '83 – Winner
  • Maurice Boissiere
  • Henrik de Gyor '98
  • Zeki Mokhtarzada '00
  • Corinne Pouliquen '88

Faculty Award

  • David Kirsch, Smith School of Business – Winner
  • Larisa Cioaca, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Joe Bailey, Smith School of Business
  • Waverly Ding, Smith School of Business

Research Honors

  • Heejung Byun PhD '18 – Winner

Student Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Sam Feldman '16, Cardbuddy – Winner
  • Damar Bess '18, Nonich
  • Taylor Johnson '16, VentureStorm
  • Tommy Johnson '16, VentureStorm
  • Ryan Pillai '17, WeCook
  • Daniel Stern '16, Route One Ventures

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Alexis Carson '16, Cocoa Queens – Winner
  • Nadia Laniyan '16, Cocoa Queens – Winner
  • Robin Chiddo '06, Love Blanket Project
  • Anastasiia Polyakov '17, Annie's Children
  • Oru Wonodi '18, NOVA Prints and Apparel

Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Ali von Paris '12, Route One Apparel – Winner
  • Eric Golman '15, Javazen
  • Matt Furstenburg '11, Grip Boost
  • Evan Lutz '14, Hungry Harvest
  • Manpreet Singh '03, TalkLocal

Angel Investor of the Year

  • Bill Boyle '81 – Winner
  • Hilton Augustine
  • Joshua Goldberg
  • Vadim Polikov

Mentor of the Year

  • Polly Vail – Winner
  • Drew Bewick '88
  • Paul Capriolo '06
  • Bob London '83
  • Rashad Moore

Faculty Award

  • David Kressler – Winner
  • Joseph Bailey
  • Evan Starr

Research Honors

  • Yang Pan PhD '17 – Winner
  • Yuan Shi PhD '18 – Winner

Student Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Fredrica Antwi '15, Locks of Curls – Winner
  • Cody Branchaw '18, Kanga Trash Solutions
  • Sam Feldman '16, Yolk'd
  • Jordan Greenwald '16, Meta Cartel
  • Bethany Monaghan '16, Bethany's Organics

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Evan Lutz '14, Hungry Harvest – Winner
  • Adrienne Baer '17, Gift to Uplift
  • Kikanae Punyua '15, Rafiki Beads

Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year

  • Paul Capriolo '06, Social Growth Technologies – Winner
  • Stephen Steinberg '11, Raw Athletics
  • Obidi Orakwusi '12, Gym Supreme

Angel Investor of the Year

  • Bill Boyle '81 – Winner
  • Hilton Augustine
  • Joshua Goldberg
  • Vadim Polikov

Mentor of the Year

  • Harry Geller '88 – Winner
  • Andrea Keating '83
  • Brice Leconte '01

Faculty Award

  • Oliver Schlake – Winner
  • Protiti Dastidar
  • Andrew Sherman

Dingman Center Angels Portfolio Company of the Year

  • Social Tables – Winner
  • TalkLocal
  • VisiSonics

Partner of the Year

  • Capital One – Winner
  • CONNECTpreneur
  • DC I-Corps
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