Four teams are participating in our 2021 Capstone Program in Evidence-Based Leadership: NonPolar, Ease Cosmetics, the Seithur Sanitation Initiative, and this year’s London Idea Project — General Intelligences. Meet each team below!

Ease Cosmetics aims to create an environmentally friendly cosmetics brand that will help women feel empowered in their cosmetics choices. By creating a lip tint in a reusable container, Ease will reduce cosmetics waste while providing a line of makeup and self-care products that women will enjoy.

Team members: Hailey Espinosa, Emily Lancaster

General Intelligences is a peer-to-peer nonprofit initiative committed to mitigating educational inequality by providing first-generation, low-income, and refugee high school and undergraduate students with resources for success. This includes peer-to-peer mentorship, information sharing about hidden curricula in colleges, and opportunities to network with professionals and other students.

Team members: Magda Wojtara, Aina Zaidi, Navdeep Kaur

NonPolar tackles the disinformation, misinformation, and heavy bias in news and social media. This team aims to create a less reactionary space while exposing misinformation and providing a reliable and credible source of news.

Team members: Aaron Williams, Corey Schneck, Siddarth Marthi, Adam Aguilar, Jacob Domagalski

The Seithur Sanitation Initiative aims to build bathrooms in Seithur, Tamil Nadu, India, to prevent the practice of open defecation among lower-income women and families disadvantaged by caste. To facilitate long-term impact, the team intends to conduct research into existing initiatives in Seithur that address sanitation education and the risks of open defecation and supplement these initiatives as community leaders see fit--whether this is through their own hygiene education campaigns or by aiding and promoting existing work. In addition to building toilets, the project has a broader aim to promote the long-term usage and maintenance of toilets, increase awareness of the health risks of open defecation, and provide dignity and safety to these women.

Team members: Kavya Chandra, Nikitha Kamath, Sanjana Kannikeswaran

Learn more here about the Capstone Bootcamp – the five-day training to prepare teams for their eight-month Capstone experience.