2025 Summit Summary
Overview
The third annual Impact Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford, hosted by the Emergence Program, brought together a vibrant community of innovators, industry and investment leaders, and student and faculty entrepreneurs committed to shaping a healthier, more inclusive world. The day opened with a grounding meditation and evolved into a rich exploration of system-level challenges and cutting-edge solutions in food is medicine, climate, healthcare access, and precision medicine. Highlights included powerful keynotes on Food as Medicine, Human & Planetary Health, Maternal and Pediatric Health, and breakthrough student ventures reimagining emergency care, nutrition access, early detection and more. The presentations were followed by networking and community roundtable discussions on the challenges and opportunities to collaborate in shaping the health and healthcare of tomorrow.
Explore below for speaker highlights, presentations and contacts, as well as roundtable insights, and opportunities to stay connected.
Stanford Faculty Talks
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Dr. Christopher Gardner shared new insights on Food as Medicine and presented how his new work on transforming institutional food can achieve environmental sustainability and improve public health outcomes at scale.
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Dr. Stephen Luby explored critical intersections between Human and Planetary Health and presented some of his global work in circular economy and transforming pollution to food for sustainable agriculture.
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Dr. Janene Fuerch shared insights on improving pediatric and maternal health and presented her work in catalyzing impactful innovations in this area.
*Please see presentations linked under each speaker description
Emergence Accelerator Student Presentations
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Transforming how healthcare addresses food insecurity.
View presentation here.
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Upcycling fruit pulp into fiber-rich snacks.
View presentation here.
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Early liver disease detection and diagnostics.
View presentation here.
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Transforming post-surgical care with continuous lactate monitoring.
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Revolutionizing gait training with personalized mobility solutions.
View presentation here.
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Tackling nitrogen pollution in the environment.
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Enhancing the continuum of care in emergency rooms.
See presentation here.
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Democratizing access to entertainment and education for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
See presentation here.
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Create value based care for Medicaid Behavioral Health services.
See presentation here.
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Transforming special education compliance and instruction in U.S. school.
See presentation here.
*Please see presentations linked under each speaker description.
Community Talks
Emergence Alumni Health Innovators Hub
Anson Liang, Stanford GSB alum and Founder of Jakery, introduced the Emergence Health Innovators Hub—a new alumni-led community designed to foster real-world impact in health and wellbeing. This community serves as a space to support the continued growth of Emergence’s Accelerator Alumni and to deepen engagement with our expanding network of mentors, coaches, and industry professionals. It is a place to connect, share progress, and stay involved in the journeys of our alumni entrepreneurs.
The Hub will feature reflections and stories from alumni navigating post-accelerator growth, alongside shared insights into sustaining early-stage innovation, scaling mission-driven ventures, and leading for long-term impact.
Emergence Industry Consortium
Joshua Tamayo-Sarver, Vice President of Innovation at Vituity, introduced the Emergence Industry Consortium—a new initiative designed to bridge the gap between startups, healthcare systems, and corporate partners. Be part of a growing network shaping the future of inclusive, preventative health and regenerative innovation.
Strategies for building high-impact partnerships that move innovations from lab to real-world implementation.
Addressing barriers and breakthroughs in translating science to scale.
Centering aligned capital, shared expertise, and systems-level thinking for greater collective impact.
Emergence Investor Leadership Circle
Scott Saslow, Founder of One World Investments, and Mark Kramer , Founder of FSG, introduced the Emergence Investor Leadership Circle—a collaborative platform for values-aligned investors to connect, learn, and co-create capital strategies that drive systemic change. Join a network of mission-driven investors supporting the next generation of impact entrepreneurs.
Exploring investment trends across health, sustainability, and inclusive technologies.
Insight into early-stage impact founders / pipeline at Stanford
Fostering a community committed to building long-term, values-aligned funding partnerships.
Are you interested in joining our Industry Consortium, Investor Leadership Circle, or exploring other ways to get involved? We’d love to hear from you. Please complete this brief interest form, and someone from our team will follow up with you shortly.
Breakout Sessions: Food, Environment, Access, Precision
Food is Medicine
Moderated by Dr. Elizabeth Klodas Founder Step One Foods
This session explored how a lack of nutrition training for physicians, outdated education, and economic disincentives have hindered the integration of food into healthcare. Participants discussed solutions like embedding practical nutrition in medical education, aligning reimbursement models, and shifting public narratives to position food as a foundational health tool.
Precision Medicine
Moderated by Oliver Waterhouse, Biotech Founder and Emergence Coach
The conversation focused on improving accuracy and equity in diagnostics through AI, while addressing the underutilization of innovation in clinical practice. Solutions included training AI on diverse datasets, enhancing patient engagement through education, and creating better pathways for scientific breakthroughs to inform care.
*See full summary of breakout sessions here.
Environmental Health
Moderated by Melanie Edwards, Impact Entrepreneur and Emergence Coach
Key challenges included misaligned incentives, regulatory barriers, and fragmented approaches to environmental problems. The group highlighted cross-sector solutions such as risk-sharing financial products, neighborhood-scale sustainability systems, and large-scale public education to reduce exposure to harmful environmental factors.
Healthcare Access
Moderated by Dr. Kim Greene, Co-Founder of Flourish Labs
The discussion centered on gaps in public awareness, systemic bias in healthcare tools, and limited access to mental health support. Solutions emphasized policy literacy, culturally aware AI systems, and the use of digital agents to provide emotional support, especially in under-resourced settings.
Testimonials
Dr. Christopher Gardner
“Stanford absolutely knocked it out of the park with their Emergence Summit… an inspiring day of impact entrepreneurship alongside brilliant minds from across California and beyond.”
2025 Summit Event Participant
Scott Saslow, Founder of One World Investments
“The Emergence Summit was a powerful convergence of systemic insight and real-world innovation—spotlighting bold student ventures and cross-sector collaboration to shape the future of inclusive, preventive health.”.
2025 Summit Event Participant