2026 North Carolina Spotlight Presenters announced!
Seven Social Entrepreneurs from this year’s North Carolina cohort will step into the spotlight on Wednesday, November 11 at the grand finale 2026 NC Showcase to share their inspiring stories.
We refer to them as “Spotlight Presenters” because they are at point in their journey where it would benefit them to have more time to tell their story in front of the live audience. Each presenter will take the stage for ~7 minutes.
cYAAG Technologies
National Student Athlete Wellness Initiative
Oak City Spice Blends
Porch and Parcel Studios
RAGFORM
The Human-Canine Alliance
The Liquid Gold Foundation
Who will win Crowd Favorite?
Will one of them win North Carolina’s 2026 Crowd Favorite? Watch their 60-second videos, then cast your votes to help decide the winner!
1. cYAAG Technologies
An AI-powered engagement platform that helps corporations, educational institutions, nonprofits, and government agencies mobilize employees, students, alumni, volunteers, and citizens into meaningful social and environmental action.
Founder: Aruna Pingali
LinkedIn: cYAAG
Instagram: @cyaag_technologies
Facebook: cYAAGTechnologies
Website: cyaag.com
2. National Student Athlete Wellness Initiative
Our simple but powerful north star is the total wellness of student athletes. Our purpose is clear: to protect and cultivate the whole athlete. We reject the model that treats athletes as performance assets and replace it with systems that see them as full human beings. Every program, every partnership, every decision we make will be filtered through this lens. Athlete wellness is not one initiative among many; it is the foundation.
Founder: Julia Carter
3. Oak City Spice Blends
A North Carolina food company that creates handcrafted spice blends while preserving culinary history through education. We develop clean-label seasonings inspired by cuisines from around the world and pair them with recipes, cooking instruction, historical storytelling, and practical techniques that help people cook with confidence.
Founder: Michel McNeese
Instagram: @oakcityspiceblends
Facebook: oakcityspiceblends
Website: oakcityspiceblends.com
4. Porch and Parcel Studios
Porch and Parcel Studios* is a research, strategy, and implementation studio focused on equitable housing, community development, and neighborhood wealth-building. We work with nonprofits, local governments, mission-driven developers, and community organizations to turn community priorities into executable projects, stronger partnerships, and more durable development systems.
Founder: Desmond Dunn
5. RAGFORM
RAGFORM transforms discarded clothing into high-end architectural tiles for interior spaces. By diverting textiles from landfills and giving them a second life as durable surface materials, RAGFORM helps address one of the world's fastest-growing waste streams. We believe waste should be viewed as a valuable design resource, creating beautiful interiors while supporting a more circular economy.
Founder: Janna Johnson
Instagram: @rag.form
Website: rag-form.com
6. The Human-Canine Alliance
A patent-pending, AI-powered platform matching people with rescue dogs. But this is not a pet adoption site; it's a digital public health solution. We're built at the intersection of two crises: the loneliness epidemic and shelter dog euthanasia. By matching on compatibility rather than first impressions, we help adoptions actually stick—providing a pathway for people to develop a relationship that genuinely supports their health, and keeping more dogs out of the euthanasia pipeline.
Founder: Stacie King
LinkedIn: Human Canine Alliance
Instagram: @human.canine.alliance
Facebook: human.canine.alliance
YouTube: @human.canine.alliance
Website: humancaninealliance.com
7. The Liquid Gold Foundation
A nonprofit Social Enterprise that provides equitable access to donor breast milk for premature and medically fragile infants in the Carolinas. As the only Black woman-owned milk bank in the United States, this work is deeply personal to me — and it is long overdue. We use a sliding-scale pricing model and scholarship program so that cost is never the reason a baby doesn’t get what they need. Our NICU wholesale partnerships make donor milk affordable for hospitals serving underresourced communities.
Founder: Nezjma Smith
Instagram: @liquidgoldfoundation
Don’t miss the celebration!
These ventures are READY to share their stories—and you can have a front row seat at the grand finale on Wednesday, November 11 from 6-9pm at The Loading Dock — Beryl in Raleigh, NC!
This event is free and open to the public (bring a friend!)