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With the start of the Fall '25 semester and our programs and events in full swing, we are excited to announce our Interns and Founders in Residence.
In addition to the core Institute team, each year we bring on additional talent from the NYU community, including students and alumni who have recently completed our programs, to help in our work supporting entrepreneurship across the university. This includes a team of Founders in Residence, recent alumni entrepreneurs who help our early stage teams, and undergraduate interns, who support the Entrepreneurial Institute staff in communications and community building.
Founders in Residence provide coaching to NYU students and faculty through 1:1 coaching and through the NYU Startup Bootcamps. If you’re a current or aspiring entrepreneur and you want help on your venture, sign up for coaching with a Founder in Residence or another member of our team today.
New Founders in Residence:
Julia Kingsley (Stern '26) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Context Data, a startup automating property & casualty insurance claims. She previously worked at Blackstone Strategic Partners, where she managed multi-billion-dollar transactions and led operational improvements, and began her career at PwC as a CPA auditing Fortune 500 companies. Specialities include finance, accounting, financial modeling, people management, and B2B Saas.
Nisha Maheshwari, PhD (Tandon '25) is the CEO and Co-Founder of CaroRhythm, a medical device company developing an imaging tool for non-invasive outpatient stroke monitoring. Nisha has participated in the Startup Sprint, Tech Venture Accelerator, and the Entrepreneurs Challenge. They are experienced with research commercialization, building strategic partnerships, navigating the healthcare landscape, design thinking, prototyping, human subject studies, and grant writing.
Zoey Ferguson (Tisch ITP '25) is the founder of Sheltrium. Her multidisciplinary background includes working as a biologist, new media artist, and professional figure skater, and skating coach. Her experience as a Google program manager informs her advice on smooth team communications and Agile/Scrum methodology.
Returning Founders in Residence:
Mir Hwang (CAS '19) is the Co-Founder and CEO of GigFinesse, an online music booking platform that reinvents the way artists and venues connect. Prior to founding GigFinesse, Mir was a touring session drummer studying Chemistry at NYU College of Arts and Science. He was always around fellow artists who were constantly searching for a more efficient way to book shows and venues looking for ways to streamline their booking procedure. After having felt the pain from both sides, Mir decided to put his medical school aspirations aside and start GigFinesse.
Participated in Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, & Summer Launchpad.
Myriam Sbeiti (Tandon '18) expertise lies in storytelling, customer interviews, value proposition definition, GTM strategy. fundraising, contract negotiation, pilotMVP development. Her main industries include manufacturing, consumer, utilities/energy, services. Her experience developing innovation strategy for large corporate clients to create new EBITDA, first at McKinsey then freelancing. Prior to that, she founded and led Sunthetics, a company using AI to accelerate chemical innovaiton. She raised >$1M in non-dilutive funding (Entrepreneurs Challenge, InnoVention Competition, NSF, SBIR, etc) and entered the market through pharmaceuticals.
Participated in Startup Sprint & Summer Launchpad.
New Interns:
Emnet Tesfaye (Gallatin '27) is designing an individualized concentration around Global Education Policy, Diplomacy, and Cultural Preservation, while also pursuing an early M.S. in Global Affairs and a minor in Social Entrepreneurship. She currently serves as the Junior Class President on Gallatin's Student Council and is an Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholar. Emnet is interested in how entrepreneurial approaches can influence national policies shaping education. Emnet is a dedicated student and leader driven by a passion for educational equity, African development, and social innovation. She hopes to work at the intersection of policy, culture, and global impact.
Joyce Lee (CAS '26) is majoring in Economics with a minor in Business Studies. She is passionate about the intersection of finance and business strategy and aspires to one day launch her own company. Through her academic and professional experiences, she has developed strong skills in financial analysis and client engagement, building a solid foundation in both corporate and entrepreneurial settings. At NYU, Joyce is involved in Smart Women Securities, the university’s premier women’s finance organization. Outside of school and work, she enjoys discovering new restaurants across New York City, cooking, and traveling. If she had to describe her approach to life in one word, it would be “curiosity.”
Tazrif Amin (CAS '26) is majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Physics. He is passionate about cancer research and works at a cancer immunology lab at NYU Langone Health, where he leads multiple projects and mentors new students joining the lab. Alongside his research, he serves as a Teaching Assistant at NYU Tandon, supporting students in Biomolecular Science courses. Outside of academics, he is deeply passionate about soccer and plays multiple sports, which fuel his competitive spirit and love for teamwork. He plans to pursue a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and aspires to one day establish his own biotech firm.
Ogechi Okafor (CAS '26) is double majoring in Computer Science and Journalism with a minor in Business of Entertainment, Media & Technology. Her work centers on the intersection of storytelling and technology, often exploring sectors of digital equity, multimedia/documentaries, inclusive design, and data visualization. Ogechi is a 3x Software Development Engineer intern at Amazon (across Ads, AWS, and Fresh/Grocery) and conducted research at NYU Abu Dhabi prototyping interactive mix-media robotics installations. Ogechi serves as a Youth Ambassador/Senior Alumni for Girl Up, having presented at the UN Headquarters and the New York Stock Exchange, co-designing inclusive campaigns advocating for youth voices in business and product development initiatives. On campus, she is a part of the NYS Opportunity Program community starting her journey as a CSTEP scholar. After graduation, she hopes to continue amplifying voices and diverse stories through technology and creative media. Ogechi enjoys learning from different communities through traveling, running track and field, and documenting her life adventures through videography and photography.
Jennifer Huang (Tisch '28)
Returning Interns:
