A Note From Our Director
Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,
There is almost too much good news to share in this edition, but we already anticipate another great batch of updates for you in our August newsletter and 2026 Annual Report, so we hope you’ll read through to the end.
In the weeks leading up to commencement, we celebrated our graduates – check out many of their stories below. One of the benefits of the Center is that founders can continue to work with us as they transition from students to alumni.
Kudos to the Club Ralley team for a successful IRL (in real life) event held May 3. We’re looking forward to sharing their app across our socials later this summer.
We’re featuring several alumni founders, including Lisa Hagerman ’90 and her venture CarbonAGX, a model for technology-enabled sustainable agriculture, and Monica Laurence ’86, who recently published her book Quantum Surfing, which shot to the top of the charts in its first weeks.
The big news this week is that we will officially be launching two new 12-month, intensive graduate programs to start in June 2027, Creative Enterprises and MedTech Innovation, both of which will be master of science degrees. Applications will open this academic year. This has been a labor of love for the PGCEI team, and we can’t wait to welcome our first cohort. Credit especially goes to Faculty Fellows Emily Martin, Charles Kim, and Bill Meek.
I want to close this note with a message of immense and genuine gratitude. Everyone who engages with the Center, in ways large or small, has helped us advance our vision. We are moving “Aspirations” to “Operations” even as we add new initiatives designed to benefit all Bucknellians to our “Works in Progress”. The PGCEI team is a remarkable group of optimistic doers, and we get to work with truly inspiring students and alumni.
Best. Job. Ever.
XXO Athletics Dept.
Joel Langdon ’29
Economics major Joel Langdon knows what it’s like to train hard. A high jumper on the men’s track and field team, Joel is committed to learning from every experience. He’s building a brand that speaks to driven athletes who train when no one is watching.
In April, Joel launched the first XXO Athletics Dept. collection featuring the Forged hoodie and heavyweight t-shirt, alongside performance gear.
Club Ralley
Abby Platt ’26 & Jaycie Mair ’27
Business Analytics major Abby Platt and Mechanical Engineering major Jaycie Mair are lifelong athletes who want to maintain the connections sport provides post-graduation. That’s why they, alongside Bucknell alumna Caroline Marcus ’25 and Whitney King ’25, created Club Ralley.
Club Ralley was built on the idea that people crave the social connections that sports offer. The strength of Bucknell’s athletic ties was evident at Club Ralley’s IRL event held on campus on May 3.
Around 40 individuals participated in a pickleball tournament on the four community courts; other attendees came to watch and show support.
The event was sponsored by Selkirk and supported by LMNT and Waterboy. The brands all sent products for Club Ralley to give out at the event.
The giveaway included a pickleball paddle, two paddle bags, and $100 in gift cards. Attendees also received samples of electrolyte drink mixes.
Now, the Club Ralley team is focused on app development. The plan is to have a beta up and running this summer. If you are interested in testing the Club Ralley app, visit https://www.clubralley.com/ralley-app
Alumni should keep an eye on Club Ralley’s social media for another special event on campus this fall.
Omuhle Ndhlovu wants to bring real change to her hometown in Zimbabwe. With a B.S. in Chemical Engineering under her belt and having recently won BizPitch, Omuhle hopes to build a youth employment incubator – Ikusasa.
In Bulawayo, seven out of ten young people are experiencing unemployment, pushing many into street vending. Ultimately, this contributes to the 170,000 tons of food waste generated annually in the city. Omuhle asked,
What if we could take what is being wasted and turn it into opportunity?
Ikusasa converts an urban waste burden into a youth-led agricultural production system by recruiting and training young people in practical skills, including waste collection, feed processing, poultry production, and basic enterprise operations. Graduates form teams that collect organic waste from the markets and run units that process that waste into animal feed. The feed goes on to power two revenue pathways: poultry units and feed sales.
Standout Seniors
Lyric Abdul-Rasheed
Founder & CEO of Lyric’s Lip Candy LLC
Campus Shop Employee
Second Place in BizPitch 2025
Yahel Amsili
Innovation Award in BizPitch 2023
Madeline Barber
Sustainable Office Supply
Jessica Benattar
Co-Founder of ForcedOut
Third Place in BizPitch 2026
Graham Billington
Founder of Privacy TL;DR
Web Development Consultant
Ben Buxbaum
Co-founder of Campus Swap
PGCEI Independent Study
Sadie Condon
Campus Shop Employee
Claire Hayes
Design-Build-Launch Intern
Inventor
Elizabeth Malley
Founder of Therma I.V.
First Place in BizPitch 2025
Anna Ottman
Fan Favorite in BizPitch 2026
Innovation Award in BizPitch 2023
Abby Platt
Co-founder of Club Ralley
PGCEI Independent Study
Third Place in BizPitch 2026
Farhaj Shahid
Co-founder of Faazil
PGCEI Student Ambassador
Caroline Sheridan
PGCEI Student Ambassador
Mark Ticknor
Founder of Animal Insights
Micro-Internship with Genomics Media Group
David Whelan
Founder
Stantt & Five Stems
Matt Hornbuckle ’07
A few years after graduating from Bucknell in 2007, Matt Hornbuckle co-founded Stantt, a men’s apparel company that built a new approach to getting a perfect fit by analyzing body scan data. Stantt’s DataFit® algorithm factors in consumers’ t-shirt size, height, weight, waist size, and suit size or body type to determine a perfect fit from more than 150 unique size options. In January 2025, Matt left his roles as Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Stant, but he continues to serve on the company’s board.
Now, Matt is building something new in the healthier-for-you food space. Five Stems is an organic plant-based protein powder that includes two full servings of fruits and vegetables and zero artificial ingredients, with 20 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per serving. Through a partnership with City Harvest, every bag of Five Stems purchased provides a day’s worth of nutritious meals to someone in need.
Lisa Hagerman is the co-founder & CEO of CarbonAGX. The company was founded in 2022 with the goal of enabling ranchers to easily verify their rotational grazing practices required for third-party certifications, such as from the National Audubon Society and the American Grassfed Association.
The verification process allows ranchers to achieve premium grass-fed/grass-finished beef while also contributing to the production of healthy soil and nutrient-dense food for consumers.
Lisa is excited to connect with Bucknellians who are interested in regenerative agriculture. She can be reached at lisa@carbonagx.com.
CarbonAGX built a rotational grazing app. The app is by Minnesota’s Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed, one of the leading grass-fed beef aggregators in the nation. Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed practices regenerative agriculture, producing 100% grass-fed beef while building fertile soils, biodiversity, clean water, and lasting carbon storage.
Leveraging her experience and expertise, Lisa is authoring an article for Oxford Analytica. The piece will cover the convergence of tighter cattle supply cycles, long cow-calf biological lead times, as well as rising consumer scrutiny of labels and nutrition in the United States, which is reshaping demand toward higher-quality, traceable grassfed beef products.
Lisa Spodak recognized the community built around a humble cooking club that originated in her NYC apartment. In an effort to maintain connections and prioritize safety during the pandemic, Lisa transformed the club into a delivery meal prep service that offers delicious, nutritious meals delivered fresh in refrigerated trucks to doorsteps across the city every other week.
Spring Sprints
Bucknellians spanning various industries spoke at the PGCEI’s Spring Sprints events throughout the semester. Check out the impressive individuals we welcomed ➡️
BizPitch
Six teams pitched to a panel of three alumni judges on April 13. Read more about the participants and their ventures here.
Centers Summit
In April, the Perricelli-Gegnas Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Dominguez Center for Data Science hosted the second annual Bucknell University Centers Summit in Denver, Colo. Read more on the Centers Summit here.
The App MakerSpace
The Perricelli-Gegnas Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, in partnership with the Dominguez Center for Data Science and faculty gurus, is excited to announce a new, interdisciplinary endeavor coming to campus this fall.
The App MakerSpace will launch in September, transforming Taylor Hall 210 into a workshop space that provides the infrastructure, expertise, and support that student entrepreneurs need to transform their ideas into tangible, market-ready applications.
Find more information about the App MakerSpace here.
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Network
The PGCEI is creating a network to match Bucknellian business owners seeking an exit with aspiring entrepreneurs. Our goal is to connect young Bucknellians, who bring fresh leadership and innovation, with established, well-regarded companies. Owners open to seller-financing create a feasible pathway for young entrepreneurs to acquire and grow established enterprises.
Are you an alumnus interested in creating a pathway for the next generation of business leaders? We have a list of alumni interested in joining the Entrepreneurship through Acquisition Network, but we are seeking individuals to lead this effort. Send us an email at pgcei@bucknell.edu if you are interested in this opportunity.
Events
June 19, 2026 | Demo Day for the (Med)Tech Entrepreneurship Program
September 18-19 | Grand Opening of the App MakerSpace | Taylor Hall 210, refreshments provided.
September 21-25, 2026 | Innovator-in-Residence | Jordan Rice
September 22, 2026 | Fall Founders Speaker Series | Jordan Rice | noon, Taylor Hall 210, lunch provided.
Get Involved
🧾Mentor students and young alumni
🏬List your company in the Alumni Marketplace Directory
💻 Email pgcei@bucknell.edu for more information on Design-Build-Launch and
Micro-Internships and the Entrepreneurship through Acquisiton Networks.
Support
Your support makes this work possible. Please consider making a gift that will enhances opportunities for students to pursue their passions.
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Contact
Erin Jablonski
Director
erin.jablonski@bucknell.edu
Julie Guinn-Bailey
Administrative Coordinator
julie.guinn-bailey@bucknell.edu
Anna Wiest
Communications Manager
anna.wiest@bucknell.edu
Abby Gulden-Luthi
Liaison, Strategic Philanthropy Programs
afgulden@bucknell.edu