EVENT:
Following the success of the 2022 Hacking Student Success: Mental Health Innovation Challenge, the UCI ANTrepreneur Center is going bigger with this year’s Hacking Student Success: Sustainability Challenge (Sustainability Challenge). The Sustainability Challenge asks UCI students to form interdisciplinary teams and develop new business ideas that offer sustainable solutions for important environmental concerns. At the kickoff event, over one hundred students will hear from the keynote speakers, network, and join teams for the challenge. To learn more about the challenge, visit https://antrepreneur.uci.edu/sustainability

WHEN/WHERE:
Thursday, April 13, 2023 from 5- 8 p.m.
UCI ANTrepreneur Center
233 Pereira Drive
Irvine, CA 92697-5670

INFORMATION:
Media planning to attend should contact Ryan Foland at 949-943-4200 or rfoland@uci.edu. Attendance and parking are complimentary for media who RSVP in advance.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey are featured keynote speakers. Michael and Bonnie are serial entrepreneurs who are most famous for being the founders of Barefoot Wine, the largest wine brand in the world. They are also New York Times bestselling authors of The Barefoot Spirit, How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. They are international speakers and are advisors to startups and Fortune 500s alike. Their articles appear in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and The Business Journals, to name a few.

5:30 p.m.: Opening remarks from Tom Andriola, UCI Vice Chancellor of Data and Information Technology

5:40 p.m.: Keynote from Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey

BACKGROUND:
Michael and Bonnie are big supporters of conservation, sustainability and helping new businesses achieve their goals. Last summer, they spoke at Oxford on the demand for businesses that address, mitigate, and reverse climate change. Last fall, they spoke to Nanyang University students (out of Singapore) on the increasing demand for businesses that address concerns resulting from extreme weather. On April 13, Michael and Bonnie will travel to the University of California, Irvine, to deliver the keynote address at the kickoff for the UCI Sustainability Challenge. 

CONTACT:  Ryan Foland, director of the UCI ANTrepreneur Center, is available for media comments and interviews regarding the UCI Sustainability Challenge. Media inquiries should be directed to rfoland@uci.edu.

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