Register for GSIL 2025 here.

About GSIL

The Global Social Innovation Lab is an annual pitch competition held at Georgetown University over the course of one weekend. GSIL gathers both graduate and undergraduate students to form teams and come up with innovative solutions to a pressing global problem. Students receive close mentorship by practitioners and entrepreneurs, so that by the end of the weekend they may pitch a technical intervention of their own design to a panel of expert judges. In the past, students have tackled issues around global health and nutrition and climate change. GSIL is a unique opportunity for students to interact with experts in the field, engage in human-centered design and learn how to effectively pitch their innovative ideas.

In 2025, the competition will take place on February 8 and February 9 in the Hariri Building. The theme will be sustainable food systems.

Why Participate?

• GSIL is an opportunity for participants to network with like-minded and like-hearted individuals who are interested in social innovation, and collaborate at the intersection of business, policy, social impact!
• GSIL will help participants exercise their creative muscles in the field of sustainable food systems, as well as other related fields such as climate, nutrition and health, social justice, public policy, technology for development, and social entrepreneurship.
• There are multiple generous prizes to be won (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners). 

2025 Event Details

What?

Once registered, participants will be matched with 3 other teammates from across Georgetown University, and collectively undertake an “ideathon” on social innovation! 

When & Where?

GSIL 2025 will be held in Lohrfink Auditorium, located in the Hariri Building on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus. The event takes place across two days; Saturday, February 8 and Sunday, February 9. Attendance on both days is mandatory, and meals are provided. An example run-of-show is detailed below.

Day 1 (Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.)

• Check-in and Breakfast
• Introduction and Team Announcements
• Keynote Address on Sustainable Food Systems
• Panel Discussion on Innovations for Sustainable Food Systems
• Team Ideation
• Lunch
• Team Ideation and Mentorship
• Workshop on Designing and Pitching Innovative Solutions
• Team Ideation and Mentorship

Day 2 (Sunday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.)

• Check-in, Breakfast and Pitch Prep
• Keynote Address on Sustainable Food Businesses
• Pitches (5-minute pitch; 3 minutes of Q&A)
• Lunch
• Announcement of Winners

Who’s Coming?

Keynote Speaker

Andy Jarvis – Director of Future of Food, Bezos Earth Fund

Andy Jarvis has worked for over 20 years in research for development to support the delivery of food security and environmental sustainability in the food system. His research has focused on data-driven policy analysis on a variety of topics from agrobiodiversity conservation to climate impacts and adaptation. Andy joined the Bezos Earth Fund from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, a CGIAR center, as the Associate Director General for Research Strategy and Innovation where he oversaw research that spans from crop breeding and genetics to landscape management, climate adaptation and mitigation through to dietary shifts and consumer behavior.

2025 Judges

Dr. Anthony Wenndt – Technical Officer for Reaching the Very Poor and Social Protection Programme Lead, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

Based in Washington, DC, Anthony supports GAIN’s efforts to improve the diets of the very poorest and most marginalized communities. His background is in community-based participatory research and context-sensitive food system interventions in smallholder communities, with particular emphasis on mitigating dietary mycotoxin exposure among the rural poor.

Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin – Executive-in-Residence, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

A globally recognized thought leader and serial entrepreneur, Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin is Executive-in-Residence at the McDonough School of Business. Prior, as Chief Innovation Officer at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in New York, she founded and led timbuktoo Africa, a $1 billion initiative to promote African startups. Prior, Dr. Eleni was the founding CEO of the globally acclaimed Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), the first exchange of its kind in Africa, which achieved $1.2 billion in annual trading and impacted the livelihoods of over 15 million small farmers.

Dr. Diego Arias – Manager for Agriculture and Food, World Bank

Diego Arias is currently Manager for Agriculture and Food at the World Bank. He manages the World Bank team working on agriculture and food projects and advisory services. Previous to the World Bank, Diego worked at the Inter American Development Bank as Natural Resources Economist and as a commodity trader for coffee, rice and petroleum products.

2025 Mentors

Daniel Silverstein – Private Sector and Capital Markets Strategic Advisor, Heuristic Management, LLC

Dan Silverstein provides strategic advice on private sector engagement, capital markets, and impact investments in agricultural and economic development to USAID, donor aid agencies, embassies, ministries, research centers, universities, and corporations. He works with an elite group of clients on aligning public and private capital that is invested to achieve tangible impact with the Strategic Development Goals while generating a return on invested capital.

Ekin Birol – Associate Professor of the Practice of Development, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Professor Ekin Birol serves as the director of the Global Human Development Program’s (GHD) graduate certificate in Social Innovation and Global Development, and she oversees the capstone project and Washington D.C. internship processes for the GHD program. Prior to joining GHD, Professor Birol was a Research Integrity Lead with the Research, Data and Innovation team of the World Resources Institute (WRI).

Gina V Hall – Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University

Gina Hall is highly motivated by the challenges – and opportunities – posed by climate change. She has 14+ years of experience in climate change-related consulting and investments alongside tested analytical, negotiation and people-management skills. She has created and taught an undergraduate course, Business and Climate Change, at Georgetown’s Capitol Applied Learning Labs (The CALL) program.

Grace Kim – Impact Investing Professional

Grace Kim is an impact investing professional with expertise in market-based solutions for financial inclusion, food security, and renewable energy. She served as the Chief of Party for USAID Pacific American Fund and Sr. Advisor at USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures.

Julian Lampietti – Manager for Global Engagement, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank

Julian Lampietti’s responsibilities include strategic planning, donor outreach, and oversight for global knowledge and advisory programs. Previously, he managed the Agriculture and Food program in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Julian used to be based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and he has published books and journal articles on a broad range of topics including poverty, economics, agriculture, food security, logistics, and energy.

Ken Wake – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

In addition to teaching courses in the Communication, Culture, & Technology program at Georgetown University, Ken Wake is also the Vice President of Experience Design and Implementation at Wider Circle, a neighborhood-based health organization that empowers members of the same community to live happier, healthier lives.

Laine Clark – Entrepreneur-in-Residence, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

Laine Clark has a diverse and extensive background in entrepreneurship, innovation, capitalization, and startup growth. Most recently, she served as the Senior Corporate Engagement Manager, Innovation, for the Good Food Institute. There, she supported emerging companies and entrepreneurs in the alternative protein sector, helping startups from ideation through Series C navigate scaling challenges. Additionally, she founded a regional retail chain in the pet industry, which she exited through acquisition to a national company. Since 2017, she has worked with Georgetown University as an Entrepreneur in Residence, mentoring and collaborating with entrepreneurs and startups across various industries.

Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku – Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University

For the past 18 years, Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku has worked at the intersection of international development and innovation, mobilizing partnerships, advancing groundbreaking ideas, and designing solutions to address global challenges. A recognized leader in open innovation, she has spent the last decade crafting and scaling global programs with donors, foundations, and private sector partners. Her work has impacted diverse areas, including supporting Venezuelan migrants across Latin America, scaling solar energy solutions for underserved households, and fostering locally-led humanitarian responses in complex environments.

Nichola Dyer – Founder and CEO, NJDyer Advisory

Nichola Dyer brings experience across multilateral institutions and the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors to her sustainability work. She has designed and led strategic global initiatives across a wide range of sectors and themes, including seaweed & aquaculture, food systems and food security, governance, and engagement of marginalized and vulnerable groups. She serves as Senior Advisor to the Global Seaweed Coalition and on several non-profit boards and chairs an education grant program for women from developing countries.