On Friday, September 19, members of the University of Notre Dame and South Bend communities gathered to celebrate the legacy of Amy Hirsh Guarino by recognizing a local venture that best embodies the ideals of the University and reflects Amy's values of hard work, helping others, innovation, and community service.

Amy, a 1983 graduate of Notre Dame and later an IDEA Center Advisory Council member, left behind a remarkable legacy of people-centered connection and empowerment. While pursuing a successful career in the tech industry, where she helped build customer bases and secure funding for early-stage companies, she dedicated herself to mentoring others. Driven by her passion for helping people, from recent graduates to seasoned CEOs, Amy leveraged her deep connections within the global Notre Dame network to create positive outcomes for hundreds of individuals and businesses.

“Amy lived Father Sorin’s mission to be a force for good in the world; both in pursuit of her own projects towards this end, and in supporting other Domers seeking to do so,” said Tim Connors, Notre Dame alumnus, friend of Amy’s, and founder and managing partner of PivotNorth Capital. “The work showcased at this gathering in honor of Amy signifies what is possible when the Notre Dame family comes together to solve the challenges facing the marginalized today.”

The Amy Hirsh Guarino Tech Endowment for Excellence Award was established after her passing in 2023 to inspire Amy’s passion for helping others in future generations of entrepreneurs. The award is bestowed on a venture fulfilling the mission of Father Sorin, Notre Dame’s founder, to be a force for good by significantly impacting the three principles of Catholic Social Teaching: The Vulnerable Family, The Planet, or The Catholic Church.

This year’s award was presented to Runwayz, an online platform designed to connect the 1.5 million high school students who graduate each year without set plans for the future with potential employers. Runwayz, founded by Mike Haarlander ‘99, utilizes artificial intelligence to provide tailored career guidance to job seekers. The platform also connects users to employers with open positions, empowering them to apply quickly and seamlessly with just a few clicks.

Runwayz’s leveraging of AI-enabled systems to drive change in the job market, especially for young job seekers, as well as the venture’s demonstrated ability to design, prove, and scale their platform, set the platform apart as a compelling “Force for Good.”

“Runwayz sits at the intersection of social good and financial opportunity, both tremendously important to our economy and society,” said Phil Calandra, Notre Dame alumnus and friend of Amy’s, who served on the judging panel that selected Runwayz as the winner.

"American businesses, large and small, local, regional and national, need more talent to fill production and other jobs that do not require a college degree,” Calandra continued. By linking employers with job-seeking high school seniors, right where they live—on their smart phones—the Runwayz app and business model have the potential to introduce a powerful new paradigm to secondary education, talent acquisition, and career development for young people in this country.”

The startup will receive $5,000 to support their efforts in leveraging technology to serve those seeking a purpose and livelihood through meaningful employment. Runwayz will also receive coaching from seasoned venture capitalists and founders in the Notre Dame network, as well as amplification of their venture to patrons of the Amy Hirsh Guarino Technology Endowment.

“What began three years ago with mentoring at the IDEA Center has evolved into building this platform that guides students toward meaningful careers. It’s very powerful to walk with a student as they discover what they want to be—and more so knowing they now have the tools to get there,” said Mike Haarlander, founder of Runwayz. “We are deeply grateful to Notre Dame, its alumni, and its students for giving their time, talents, and resources to help us become a true force for good.”

The event, which was hosted at the Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub in downtown South Bend, also featured competitive pitches from Azam Health, DoorBlockade, and Routora, three ventures co-founded by Notre Dame students or alumni. Although not selected for the Amy Award, these ventures had the opportunity to pitch in front of more than sixty audience members, including local and national business leaders, fund managers, and Notre Dame faculty.

Nancy Economou, last year’s Amy Award recipient, shared an update on the progress her venture Watts of Love has made in tackling energy poverty through innovative solar lighting solutions with the funds received and connections made over the past year. Economou also served as a judge for this year’s awards, alongside Dave Hemler of iNDustry Labs, and Notre Dame alumni Phil Calandra, Tim Connors, Caroline Gash, and Gary Gigot.

The awards portion of the event concluded with the presentation of the Amplifier Award, which was given to Ellen Dutton, assistant teaching professor in the ESTEEM Graduate Program, in recognition of her support of Economou and Watts of Love. The Amplifier Award honors the passion Amy had for lifting up the work of others to amplify their impact.

“This Amplify Award will go on my desk, so I can see it every day and ask myself: who can I help today? Who will that remind me of? Dutton said. “It will remind me of Amy, and I am honored to carry her pledge forward.”

About the IDEA Center

The IDEA Center, which is part of Notre Dame Research, is the University of Notre Dame’s collaborative innovation hub dedicated to expanding the technological and societal impact of the University’s innovations. We do this by nurturing and facilitating the movement of the best ideas of faculty, staff, and students from discovery to commercial application. The Center provides the necessary space, services, and expertise for idea development, commercialization, business formation, prototyping, entrepreneurial education, and student entrepreneurial efforts. The Center is open to any University researcher and student with an idea they want to commercialize.

Contact

Erin Fennessy / Writing Program Manager

Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame

efenness@nd.edu / +1 574-631-8183

research.nd.edu / @UNDResearch / linkedin.com/company/undresearch

About Notre Dame Research

The University of Notre Dame is a private research and teaching university inspired by its Catholic mission. Located in South Bend, Indiana, its researchers are advancing human understanding through research, scholarship, education, and creative endeavor in order to be a repository for knowledge and a powerful means for doing good in the world. For more information, please visit NDR's website or NDR's LinkedIn.

Originally published by Erin Fennessy at ideacenter.nd.edu on October 14, 2025.