Lepage Student Fellows

Lepage Student Fellows support the Lepage Center by assisting student founders during spark hours, conducting research, writing blog posts and working with the Lepage Center's community partners on various projects. This accomplished group of graduate and undergraduate students are selected from a competitive pool of applicants at the beginning of each academic year. The Lepage Fellowship is open to students from any school across Tulane University. For more information on how to apply, please contact Timekia Mallery at tmallery@tulane.edu.

2023-2024 Lepage Student Fellows

Alyshah Banani - Student Fellow

ALYSHAH BANANI, MFIN 2024
Major: Finance
Hometown: Pakistan

Alyshah is a hardcore supporter of entrepreneurship and genuinely believes in the utmost importance of this space for impacting and uplifting communities by developing and providing solutions for their problems. He is a Master's of Finance candidate at the Freeman School and has professionally worked in investment banking and strategy roles. During his career, he has had the opportunity to work with numerous international investors, financial institutions, developmental agencies, government entities, and corporations. He is thrilled to now bring his academic and professional exposure, along with his passion for impact and problem-solving, to the Lepage Center and grow through this fellowship.


Clayton Britt - Lepage Student Fellow

CLAYTON BRITT, BS/BA 2024
Major:
Undeclared
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Clayton Britt is from Boston Massachusetts and a transfer student here at Tulane. Clayton is passionate about entrepreneurship and has used his talents at a wide range of companies, such as hedge funds, sports media analytics companies, and industry-leading financial technology companies. During his tenure at Chime, Clayton was on both the brand and paid side of the marketing team. He helped to start and eventually close an NBA Jersey Patch deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Clayton is looking forward to learning more about how businesses come to fruition and helping his new home city of New Orleans.


 
Julia Hender - Lepage Student Fellow

JULIA HENDER, BS 2024
Majors:
Finance and Management
Hometown: Lake Forest, Illinois

Julia has been passionate about entrepreneurship since taking a two-year business incubator course in high school and creating her own start-up company. She is excited to be a part of the Lepage Center and help work towards making a difference in the New Orleans area. She looks forward to growing as she learns more from all the resources the Lepage Center has to offer. Outside of school, Julia has interned for two summers at a campaign tech, data and managed service company and is involved in Greek life here at Tulane.


Kalen Ingram - Lepage Student Fellow

KALEN INGRAM, BS 2025
Majors:
BS Finance, BA International Relations
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee

Kalen believes that entrepreneurship is the foundation of our economy. She developed her interest in entrepreneurship after starting her own picnic and catering business the summer after freshman year. Kalen is passionate about the inequities in venture capitalism resulting in minority owned startups receiving less investment capital. At Tulane, she is a member of the Altman Program, studying finance and international relations, before going abroad junior year. She is excited to contribute to the excellent work the Lepage Center does for Tulane and New Orleans.


Neera Kennedy - Lepage Student Fellow

NEERA KENNEDY, BS/BA 2023
Majors:
Marketing and Environmental Studies
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Neera has always been interested in what it takes to build a business from the ground up. She loves being able to talk to different entrepreneurs to understand the thought and detail that goes into building an idea into a reality. Neera hopes to better learn how to tell the distinct stories of different entrepreneurs from their point of view, while simultaneously reaching different groups of people.


Keona Patel - Student Fellow

KEONA PATEL, BS/BA 2026
Majors: Finance & Political Economy
Hometown: Weston, Connecticut

For Keona, entrepreneurship is not just a skill, it is a mindset that pushes us to lean into the unknown, strive to create substance in once-empty spaces, and to value asking the right questions to forge deeper understanding. Keona developed her passion for entrepreneurship during her exploration of artificial intelligence as a tool for disruptive innovation. She continues to study finance, policy, ethics, economics, and foreign languages to develop a technically and wholistically informed perspective. At Tulane, Keona is an Altman Scholar, a board member of the AKPsi pre-professional fraternity, and a member of the Consulting Club. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, splatter-painting, and exploring new cuisines!

 

Rich Simmerman - Lepage Student Fellow

RICH SIMMERMAN, MBA 2023
Hometown:
Springfield, Louisiana

Rich is passionate about sustainable entrepreneurship, plant-based products, environmental preservation, and agricultural tech. In 2020, he founded a plant-based protein cereal company, Ceres, which developed the 1st cereal with 20g of plant protein and 0g of sugar in every serving. He is a Graduate of the 2021 Idea Village IdeaInstitute Accelerator Program, the 2022 Loyola University New Orleans Inaugural Launch-U Cohort, and is a current member of the 2022 Propeller Social Impact Accelerator Program. In his free time, Rich enjoys going to electronic music festivals, playing Rugby and exploring different cities.


Henry Stewart - Lepage Student Fellow

HENRY STEWART, BS 2025
Majors:
Marketing and Environmental Studies
Hometown: Westfield, New Jersey

Henry has many entrepreneurs in his immediate family and has worked in an entrepreneurial fashion in the past. He has a strong passion for problem-solving to create meaningful solutions to complex problems; he hopes to use the skills and knowledge he learns from entrepreneurs at Tulane for the rest of his career in business. Besides being a LePage fellow, Henry is the Outreach Coordinator for the Tulane Ultimate Frisbee team. He enjoys hanging out with family and friends, and he is an animal lover. agency and instructed peers at local high schools. A few months later, he co-founded his first company, a tech startup based around a music live streaming platform that incorporates both music producers and performers and facilitates “freestyle” rap. Now, he is excited to share all he has learned about entrepreneurship and continue learning himself at the Lepage Center!


Jillian Tobasky - Lepage Student Fellow

JILLIAN TOBASKY, BS 2025
Majors:
Finance and Management
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Jillian has always been passionate about entrepreneurship and philanthropy and is excited for the opportunity to work with her peers and give back to the greater New Orleans community. In high school, she was a leader of DECA and founded a small business to raise money for local charities. Last year, she served on the Freshman Leadership Program and is currently an active member of Pi Beta Phi, Woman in Business, and Women Investing in Women.


Theo Viggiani-Cole - Lepage Student Fellow

THEO VIGGIANI-COLE, BA 2023
Majors:
Political Economy and French
Hometown: Rochester, New York

Theo has been inspired by entrepreneurs in his extended family and has come to appreciate how entrepreneurship has revealed the diverse personalities, perspectives and talents of those with whom he has worked. His interest in business building was elevated during the summer prior to his freshman year of college when he and a friend developed an intensive ACT tutoring agency and instructed peers at local high schools. A few months later, he co-founded his first company, a tech startup based around a music live streaming platform that incorporates both music producers and performers and facilitates “freestyle” rap. Now, he is excited to share all he has learned about entrepreneurship and continue learning himself at the Lepage Center!


Ariana Virani - Lepage Student Fellow

ARIANA VIRANI, BS/BA 2025
Majors:
Business Management and International Development
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Ariana has always been passionate about forming interpersonal connections and being involved with her local community. For these reasons, she developed an interest in entrepreneurship and its ability to facilitate local change, especially as it concerns small business owners in New Orleans. At Tulane, Ariana is an Altman Scholar, peer mentor, and co-manager of the Jazbaa Bollywood Fusion Dance Team. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and crocheting.

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