The newly established Lori Holland Initiative for Women awarded its first scholarships this spring, part of its mission to elevate opportunities for DePaul women and their allies to advance in the fields of finance and investment management.

The multi-pronged initiative is funded by a generous gift honoring the late DePaul alumna Lorraine “Lori” Holland (BUS ’84) made by her husband, Robert A. Holland. Lori Holland was a first-generation business college graduate who rose to become managing director of investment management firm Neuberger Berman and serve as chair of DePaul’s Board of Trustees.

Students Nicole Juszczy, Molly Ball, Diego Villasenor and Faria Mobashar were awarded Lori Holland Memorial Scholarships and Grace Haucke, Julia Zuzinski, and Desna Shah received Lori Holland Scholarships for Emerging Leaders. Haucke, Zuzinski and Desna serve as president, treasurer and corporate relations chair, respectively, for Females in Finance (FIF), a student organization at the Driehaus College of Business.

“This initiative provides us with a platform to network, learn from industry leaders, and support each other in our journey towards becoming finance professionals,” Haucke says. “It reminds us that gender should never be a barrier to success, and that we have the power to break through glass ceilings and achieve our goals. Together, we are reshaping the landscape of finance and creating a more inclusive and diverse industry for future generations.”

The awardees were introduced at a summit of students and business leaders in finance hosted by the Holland initiative and FIF at the Union League Club on May 17.

In addition to scholarships, the initiative provides DePaul women students and alumni in finance access to career resources, workshops, group mentorships and other support services. In January 2024, DePaul will begin taking applications for another phase of the initiative, the Holland Scholars Program, which will offer a cohort of women undergraduates career education, experiential learning, mentorships and networking opportunities in investment management. The Lori Holland Initiative for Women is managed by the DePaul Career Center in collaboration with the Department of Finance & Real Estate at the Driehaus College of Business.

Visual Feeder receives first investment from Halperin Emerging Company Fund

DePaul University made its first investment of $100,000 from the new Halperin Emerging Company Fund in Visual Feeder, an experiential media company co-founded by a Driehaus College of Business alumna. Yaxi Yang (BUS ’14) and her brother Eddie Yang co-founded Visual Feeder, which produces immersive activations and transforms vacant storefront windows into dynamic displays to create vibrant and engaging streetscapes, providing businesses with a new platform to engage audiences.

Yaxi Yang says the seed money is a full-circle moment for her. “It highlights the power of the DePaul community and their commitment to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and changemakers,” she says. “This investment marks a valuable addition to our latest seed round, enabling us to pursue ambitious growth and expansion plans. With these new funds, we’ll be investing in growing our team, focusing on specific areas of our business that will generate the highest returns and building a stronger foundation to achieve our 2023 goals.”

Founded in 2020, Visual Feeder’s mission is to create visual experiences through immersive activations. The company works with a diverse range of clients, including consumer brands, non-profit organizations, private institutions, and museums. The street-level window activations have gained significant traction through partnerships with leading real estate companies such as JLL, CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield to transform underutilized spaces into dynamic displays.

“We are proud to see our work helping to revitalize underutilized spaces in communities and providing a new platform for brand campaigns and artwork to be displayed,” Yang says. Visual Feeder’s displays are active on Chicago’s iconic Magnificent Mile, including the Hancock Building, and in Lincoln Park at 2380 N. Lincoln Ave, among many others. The company also collaborated with Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on an immersive photography exhibit of the Chicago region’s natural wonders.

Overseen by DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, the Halperin Fund focuses on investing in ventures that show potential for growth and job creation. “The fund gives DePaul the opportunity to invest in incredible new ventures that will help businesses thrive and further connect us to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chicago,” says Emily Doyle, director of emerging company programs at the Coleman center. “These investments will have a huge impact on our community and the potential returns will support the growth of future entrepreneurs for years to come. We are thrilled to invest in Visual Feeder as they continue to create beautiful and immersive digital experiences for brands and consumers.”

All potential investment deals are reviewed and approved by the Halperin Emerging Company Fund investment committee, chaired by alumnus John Crosson (MBA ’95), an angel investor. “Visual Feeder checked all the boxes, from a stellar startup team to building a creative solution to company traction,” he says. “The committee is proud to support Visual Feeder on its mission to create interactive experiences for the future of brand marketing.”

The Halperin Emerging Company Fund was launched in 2023 with a generous gift from the late attorney and DePaul Double Demon, Errol R. Halperin (BUS ’64, JD ’67), and his wife, Libby.

DePaul community members, including alumni, interested in applying to the Halperin Emerging Company Fund can complete an application online.

The Driehaus College of Business opened a new resource center in January that is infusing emerging technologies into student classwork and faculty research.

BETA Hub — short for Business Education in Technology and Analytics Hub — offers a collection of teaching and research resources that includes virtual reality headsets, a blog creators’ studio, a Neurobusiness Lab for conducting research based on eye-tracking and other neuroscience indicators, and a Big Data Analytics Computer Lab with tools for data and text analyses.

Housed on the 7th floor of the DePaul Center, the initiative is the brainchild of Associate Professor James Mourey, Associate Dean for Faculty Success Sue Fogel and the Driehaus Tomorrow Committee, a group of faculty and staff tasked with developing ideas that prepare DePaul’s business college for the future. This spring BETA Hub received nearly $100,000 in funding from DePaul’s Academic Growth and Innovation Fund to support its innovative teaching and learning activities.

“The BETA Hub is where technology meets business — a place for hands-on learning and the testing of transformational business solutions,” explains Mourey, who serves as the faculty director of BETA Hub. “Tech-savvy business graduates are in high demand. It is essential that we give our students the hands-on experiences necessary to make them the most attractive job candidates in the market.”

The initiative supports creativity in teaching and learning across the college, Mourey adds. “For example, instead of having students write a paper, faculty can ask students to create an original podcast to record over the 10-week quarter at the BETA Hub.”

BETA Hub also provides technology resources for faculty to advance their research. “To continue attracting the very best faculty, we need to provide innovative resources for faculty to pursue their research and obtain the publications necessary to be successful in their field. BETA Hub does that,” Mourey says, adding that the hub’s new monthly faculty research presentations also encourage interdisciplinary inquiry.

Mourey recently hosted a marketing strategy course in BETA Hub, where his students embraced using technology to study and develop strategies. “They were super eager to return to BETA Hub the next class session so they could work on their final group project in a fun, cool space full of technology resources,” he says.

“That’s what we want the BETA Hub to be: a space where students enjoy spending time, collaborating and learning, and it just so happens we can conduct research there, too.”