Food & Nutrition Entrepreneurship
Activities, Education, and Networks that Catalyze Change
- A University-wide annual Food and Nutrition Entrepreneurship Prize, called the Friedman Prize, in collaboration with the Derby Entrepreneurship Center’s $100K New Ventures Competition.
- Now in its 3rd year, the Friedman Prize is just one exciting part of our full suite of innovation activities.
- Read more about past competitions and winners
- A growing network of Entrepreneurship Advisors from a diverse group of industries.
- A Food and Nutrition Innovation Council, linking companies with a strong interest in being active collaborators in a new ecosystem of food and nutrition innovation
- Graduate coursework and programs in entrepreneurship to provide fundamental knowledge and skills
- An online certificate program: Nutrition for Industry Professionals and Entrepreneurs
- Mentoring, workshops, and internship opportunities
Past Events & Competitions
Volunteer Leaders Providing Mentorship and Perspective
Our Advisors are successful business and social entrepreneurs who provide, based on their own time and interest, guidance to the School, our amazing students and faculty, and fledgling companies.
Meet the Advisors
Get to know the people who are moving nutrition forward with the School!
- Dasha Agoulnik, MS, RD, N19—CEO, CorePerform
- Wendy Behr, N15—Chief R&D Officer, Sovos Brands; Member, Tufts Nutrition Council
- Silvia Berciano Benitez—Tufts University
- Richard Black, PhD—Principal, Quadrant D Consulting; Adjunct Professor, Friedman School; Member, Tufts Nutrition Council
- Michael Blau, JD, N12P—Retired Partner, Foley and Lardner LLP; Member, Friedman School Board of Advisors
- Kevin Boylan—Co-Founder, Veggie Grill; Managing Partner, PowerPlant Ventures
- Karen Bressler —Director, Boston Scott/ Qurological
- Matthew Claudel—Founder, Field States, Co-Founder MIT Design X
- Christopher Damman, MD—Chief Medical Officer, UR Labs
- Jessica Deckinger, MBA—Chief Marketing Officer, Everbridge
- Jack Derby—Professor, Tufts Entrepreneurship Center; CEO, Derby Management
- Stephanie Dorsey—Founding Partner, E2JDJ VC
- Leslie Durso—Vegan Chef & Wellness Expert, Leslie Durso Inc.
- Jimena Florez—Founder and CEO, Chaak Health Snacks
- Betsy Fore—Co-founder, Tiny Organics
- Kim Fortunato, JD—CEO, Kim Fortunato Consulting; former President, Campbell Soup Foundation
- Arvind Gupta—Managing Director, IndieBio; General Partner, SOSV
- Jennifer Hashley, MS, AG05—Director of New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Friedman School
- Andrew Ive, MBA—Founder, Big Idea Ventures; Member, Tufts Nutrition Council
- Kellee James, MBA—Founder & CEO, Mercaris
- Corey Jones—Founding Partner, E2JDJ VC
- Johan Jorgensen—Founder, Sweden FoodTech
- Michael Karsch, A90, F91—The Juice Press, LLC; Member, Friedman School Board of Advisors; Trustee, Tufts University
- Zain Kassam, MD, MPH—Zain Kassam, MD, MPH—Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer, Finch Therapeutics
- Patricia Kearney, MEd, RD, N78, AG81—President & CEO, PMK Associates, Inc.; Member, Tufts Nutrition Council
- Alexander King, MBA—Director, Strategy, Insights & Analytics, Eastman; Mentor, MIT Venture Mentor Service
- Ashley Koff, RD—CEO, The Better Nutrition Program
- Monique Marez, Founder, Eptimizo
- Ron Molina-Brantley—VP, Relationship Manager, Berkshire Bank
- Ayr Muir—Founder & CEO, Clover Food Lab
- Tawanda Muzhingi—Innovation, Plant Based Foods Association
- Mehrdad Noorani, MBA—Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners
- Sean O’Sullivan, BSEE—Founder and Managing Partner, SOSV; Member, Tufts Nutrition Council
- Kevin Jyo Oye, E79 —Executive Director, Gordon Institute; Director, M.S. in Innovation & Management Program Professor of the Practice, Tufts University
- Rebecca Parekh—Founder & CEO, THE WELL
- Eve Turow Paul—Author, Journalist, and Executive Director for the Food for Climate League
- Victor Penev—CEO, Edamam, food tech/health tech mentor
- David Radlo—Partner, Achievemost
- Micah Risk, MS, N13—Head of Nutrition, Lighter Inc.
- Ron Shigeta, PhD—CSO, Wild Earth Pets
- Rajiv Srinath—Co-Founder and Managing Partner, MNI Partners LLC
- Emily Steliotes, A15, N17—Agriculture and Food Systems Researcher, HowGood; Co-Founder and Coach, Golden Acorn
- Bob Stringer—Founder & CEO, Crimson Seed Capital LLC
- Maha Tahiri, PhD—Founder & CEO, Nutrition Sustainability Strategies LLC; Adjunct Professor, Tufts University
- Heather Terry—Executive Mentor, Serial Entrepreneur, and Partner at BeyondBrands
- Latham Thomas, HHC, AADP—Founder, Nutrition and Lifestyle Expert, Mama Glow; Member, Tufts Nutrition Council
- Matthew M. Whitney—CEO, Siegel Egg
- Amy Wu—Founder & Chief Content Director, From Farms to Incubators
Want to learn more? Let's get in touch!
Learn more about the advisors and how to join this incredible group. Just send us a note and we'll follow up with more information.