Lepage Student Fellows

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.

IRIS BROOK, BS 2023
Majors: Business Management, Computer Science, and Math
Hometown: Brookline, Massachusetts

Iris Brook is a Senior at Tulane looking forward to using her business and more technical computer science knowledge to make the tech industry more efficient. She is aiming to make a career in the intersection of the business and tech industries. She has experience working with corporate, start-up, and non-profit organizations and therefore has vast and diverse knowledge of company operations and logistics. Iris is also passionate about helping companies find and apply technical solutions to their non-technical problems. She is excited about the opportunity to help entrepreneurs both at Tulane and in the greater New Orleans area..

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, 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, 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.

IVY ROBINSON, PMBA 2023
Majors: Marketing and Environmental Studies 
Hometown: Thomasville, Georgia

As a creative professional and lifelong learner, Ivy believes that entrepreneurship represents a sense of energy and optimism that extends beyond the traditional constructs of business. She joins us as a third-year Professional MBA candidate and the Director of Strategic Development for St. Thomas Community Health Center in New Orleans. Ivy is originally from Thomasville, GA, and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2013. Having previously worked in the music business, hospitality franchising and politics, her experience is rooted in sales, marketing, and business development for both singular practices and multiunit territories. She consults for a variety of local organizations and currently serves on the Graduate Business Council Executive Board. Ivy is also a practicing visual artist, avid traveler, and dedicated music enthusiast.

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, 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, 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, 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, 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.

MATTHEW YAM, BA/BSM 2023
Majors: Finance and Political Economy
Hometown: Los Angeles, California

For Matthew, life is all about working with people, solving problems, and having fun along the way. He developed his love for entrepreneurship while on a gap year where he studied public health and sustainability in Central America and interned for a startup accelerator based in Wellington, New Zealand. At Tulane, Matthew is a member of the Altman Program in International Studies and Business, serves as President of Freeman Student Government, and spends his free time playing basketball, singing, and cooking. Fun fact: Matthew has been stung by a stingray!