Johns Hopkins University on April 6th honors alumnus and Ecomap Technologies co-founder Pava Marie Laperre by rededicating the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in her name. paid homage to. The Pava Marie Her La Perre Entrepreneurship Center, formerly known as Her FastForward U, will continue La Pere’s tradition of supporting student ventures and innovation.
LaPerre, A&S ’19, who passed away in September 2023, was known both at JHU and in the greater Baltimore community as a vocal champion of entrepreneurship. She was also an advocate of giving student entrepreneurs physical space to work. During her undergraduate years, she campaigned relentlessly for what would become Fast Forward University (now Pava Center). When the doors first opened in 2018, Laperre was there with a smile on his face. She later described the construction of this space as “one of her highlights of my time at JHU.”
Many who knew Mr. LaPerre spoke at the Pava Center’s rededication ceremony, including Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels.
“Envisioning a brighter future and investing in making it a reality is what this center has been all about since its founding five years ago,” Daniels said. “Today, by renaming Pava’s brainchild, Fast Forward University, in her honor, we are honoring our loss so that this place will be a lasting memory of her values, energy, and dreams.” Our students, alumni, and local entrepreneurs alike are generating new ideas and turning them into businesses that sustain our city and neighborhoods. [The Pava Center will] It furthers Pava’s belief that everyone, from college freshmen to local business owners to clinicians inventing life-saving technology, can bring something new to the world. ”
During his undergraduate years at Hopkins, LaPerre completely changed what it meant to found a startup company. Recognizing the lack of resources available to student entrepreneurs, he co-founded TCO Labs, a student-run nonprofit focused on building a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem for JHU students. Did. LaPerre and his TCO colleagues provided their classmates with new access to mentorship, resources, and networking opportunities, giving students the tools they need to turn their ideas into viable startups.
As a graduate, Laperre went on to achieve success with his own business, Ecomap. Under Mr. LaPerre’s leadership, the Baltimore-based company has raised millions of dollars in funding and grown to more than 30 employees. But Laperre wasn’t content to succeed alone. She worked diligently to strengthen Baltimore’s startup ecosystem and continued to mentor the next generation of undergraduate entrepreneurs at her alma mater. Most of them got their start through a program that LaPerre helped her design.
Currently, the Pava Center works with students from all nine JHU schools and partners with more than 100 teams annually across six accelerator programs. More than $200 million was raised by student and community teams. Students interested in entrepreneurship can visit her website at Pava Center to learn more about Pava Center resources, mentors, and funding opportunities.
Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
Image credit: Will Kirk / Johns Hopkins University
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