Matthew Biel, MD, MSc
Matthew Biel pursues work that targets the effects of adversity and stress on children, aiming to reduce health disparities and improve access to mental health care for underserved populations.
Innovation Hub @Thrive Center
Welcome to the Innovation Hub @Thrive Center, a three-month fellowship program that helps startups and nonprofits focused on child and family health scale their impact, powered by the Thrive Center’s experts and connections. For the Fall 2025 cohort, we will be focused on supporting innovators in early childhood.
The Innovation Hub Fellowship is designed to support innovators with:
- Validating and proving their intervention model
- Developing their implementation strategies for scaling
- Honing their pitch to customers and partners
- Making introductions to key decision-makers in health systems, plans, payers, and government organizations.
Over 12 weeks, fellows embark on the Validation or Engagement Science Track, rapidly scaling their impact, powered by the Thrive network of relationships and collective knowledge. By the week 12 Solutions Fair, fellows walk away with clarity, connections, credibility, and confidence.
About the Program
The three-month fellowship consists of two tracks: validation or engagement science. Each of these tracks works through unique barriers your organization may face. Common concerns these tracks address include:
Validation Track | Engagement Science Track |
|---|---|
“We don’t have enough data.” | “We are trying to adapt to meet our families’ or implementation partners’ needs.” |
“We are unsure about how to analyze results.” or “We don’t have in-house research expertise (or time).” | “How do we get our intervention to people who need it?” |
“How do we know if our impact metrics are the right ones?” | “How can we maintain and scale what we are implementing?” |
“What if we don’t like what the data tells us?” | “What is the likelihood that families or implementation partners would adopt our organization’s intervention?” |
Where the Hub Helps:
- Clarity — Helping fellows develop and refine their strategic plans
- Credibility — Enhancing legitimacy with funders, partners, and investors
- Confidence — Giving fellows a (new or refined) structured way to analyze, plan, and talk about their work
- Connections — Providing access to researchers and experts who support impact measurement and implementation frameworks with aligned expertise
Who Should Join
The Innovation Hub Fellowship is committed to working alongside innovators who are building organizations across a range of fields: from mental health care and disability care to early childhood development. We strive to support innovators from historically underrepresented and underresourced backgrounds and create an inclusive program culture where differences are celebrated and leveraged to inform better design and business decisions. We strongly encourage women, people of color, LGBT individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply.
We are currently only accepting organizations that meet the following:
- An established business or non-profit
- A full-time CEO
- A product or service that is live with engaged kids and families
- Sufficient funding to maintain and scale your product for the next 12+ months
- Evidence or literature that supports the positive impact of your solution for kids and families
If you have questions about if you qualify, please email us at innovationhub@georgetown.edu
The Innovation Hub is lucky to work alongside the experts at the Thrive Center, who work at the forefront of their respective fields. The Thrive Center’s team includes over 40 dedicated researchers, clinicians, and educators.
Jason Lehmbeck
Jason Lehmbeck is a founder, advisor, investor and community builder in the mental and developmental care space.
Rachel Hanebutt
Rachel Hanebutt leads community-engaged research focused on digital wellbeing and mental health interventions for teens and families, bridging innovation in digital health with equity-driven, real-world impact.
More About Rachel Hanebutt
Lisa Hepburn
Lisa Hepburn is a public health policy researcher specializing in helping organizations design implementation and outcome measurement strategies that showcase the impact of their programs.
Kinsley Cuen
Kinsley Cuen is passionate about fostering innovation and community, with a strong focus on equity and inclusivity.
Louise Langheier
Louise Langheier is the co-founder and CEO of Luminary Impact Fund and the co-founder and former CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a national nonprofit that provides health education led by youth for youth.
Marci Spector
Marci Spector is the co-founder and managing partner of Luminary Impact Fund.
Our Commitment to You
- In Service
- Inclusively Collaborative
- Commitment to Action
- Excellence
The Innovation Hub, in alignment with the Thrive Center, is committed to putting the above values at the forefront of everything we do. Through these values, we strive to give greater than we get – committing only the best to the communities we humbly collaborate with.
We aim to foster cura personalis or “care of the whole person” in each of our cohorts, rooted in Georgetown’s belief that we have “a profound care and responsibility for one another, attentive to each person’s circumstances and concerns and gifts”.
Selection
The Hub selects six organizations (for-profit and nonprofit) categorized as pilot data only, early distribution of a core model, scaling a core model, or redesigning or implementing a new model in a long-standing organization. These organizations should have solutions that are already delivering impact in the communities they serve and are ready to scale.
Opportunity Identification
Fellows will identify a track of interest: Validation or Engagement Science. Dedicated coaches and advisors from The Hub will work with chosen innovators to identify their biggest area of opportunity to focus on throughout the fellowship. We recognize that change is a constant for early organizations and can adjust the focus as needed.
Tailored Programming
Based on the selected track and identified objectives, your Hub Team will work alongside you, designing a personalized 12-week program to meet your key objectives. Across both tracks, priorities include building domain knowledge, connecting to experts within the Thrive Center and broader network, and building understanding of community measurement processes.
Continuous Support
From acceptance forward, we welcome you to the Innovation Hub community. We are here to celebrate and share your successes, and support you through challenges. Whether day 1 as a fellow or day 1000 as an alumnus, we cannot wait to build a community of innovators with you.