Net Impact is delighted to announce the winning teams of the 2025 Community Innovation Challenge, in collaboration with Cisco. Announced at Cisco’s Empower & Connect Summit on Monday, December 8th, the top three teams were awarded cash prizes following the judging process led by the four Cisco executives: Gretchen Sleeper, Scott McGregor, Christian Bigsby, and Shaina Tamburr.
The first-place winning team, DinéLink, led by Mahima Subramaniyan and Devangna Jadeja, Master of Global Management candidates from Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, took home the $10,000 grand prize for their proposal. Over the four weeks leading up to the final pitch event, they were mentored by Sean Cherry, a Cisco Public Sector Sales Account Executive with 17 years of experience leading sales strategy across all AT&T Public Sector accounts.
This global innovation challenge asked students to propose how to leverage Cisco’s portfolio of technologies and services to design a custom corporate social impact program for the global technology firm. The criteria were to drive meaningful community impact in a specific city or region and deliver business value for Cisco. Over 80 applications were submitted from 12 countries across Africa, Europe, the United States, and Asia.
A Winning Idea
The tailored social impact program designed for Cisco, DinéLink (pronounced din-ay, the name the Navajo people use for themselves, meaning "The People" in their Athabascan language), proposed a $12M connectivity and digital skills program in the Navajo Nation that addresses the region's deep digital divide. In concept, this initiative launches in five identified Western Agency Chapters within the Navajo Nation by establishing solar-powered connectivity hubs at chapter houses, schools, clinics, and libraries, using Cisco technology, with the goal of eventually expanding to provide last-mile connections to households. Additionally, Cisco Networking Academy pathways would train groups of learners so that, over time, operations can transition from Cisco-led to Navajo-led. Developed with partners such as the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, the program is designed so that network ownership would remain with Navajo Nation entities, ensuring digital sovereignty, expanding opportunities within the community, and establishing Cisco as a trusted long-term partner.
"The students from the Net Impact chapters showed us what it looks like when the next generation of leaders refuse to accept the world as it is and instead imagine it as it should be,” said Scott McGregor, Director of Community Enablement at Cisco. “Their ability to grasp and then apply Cisco’s technologies to real community challenges was very impressive."
"We congratulate the team from Thunderbird School of Global Management on their first-place win. Their clear-eyed approach to balancing both community impact and business value was unmatched,” said Net Impact CEO Karen Johns. “Their win also clearly demonstrates what happens when students are equipped with a business education from Thunderbird and the opportunities provided by being in a Net Impact Chapter during their graduate experience. We can't wait to see what impact these leaders make in their careers and look forward to continuing to support their impact journey."
Meet the Team behind DinéLink
Team members Mahima Subramaniyan and Devangna Jadega are both business trained professionals who are committed to working in sustainability. Mahima, a Financial Analyst, just completed the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) Sustainability Excellence Associate (SEA) certificate, and looks forward to using her skills to support effective sustainability work within organizations. Devangna, who serves as a Net Impact Chapter Leader at the Thunderbird Graduate Chapter, has a Data Science focus with her Masters, a background in Analytics and Business Intelligence, and just returned from a three-week internship in the UK practicing global consulting with Redcentric, an IT Services and Consulting firm.
“Designing this Social Impact Program and participating in the Community Innovation Challenge has been incredibly meaningful for both of us. We're deeply grateful to Net Impact and Cisco for creating a platform where ideas like ours can grow,” Mahima and Devangna reflected. “We want to give a special thank you to our Cisco Mentor, Sean Cherry, for his guidance, and to Ethan Tacheene, an ASU Student from Many Farms, Navajo Nation, for trusting us with his stories, which shaped our perspective and the direction of the program. The entire experience strengthened our commitment to community-centered innovation, and we hope this program becomes a meaningful step toward bridging the digital divide.”
[ Accessibility Text: DinéLink Presenting on stage at Cisco’s Empower & Connect Summit]
A 360 Impact Experience: Showcasing Cisco’s Commitment to Social Impact
Cisco’s Community Enablement Team proudly led the charge in sponsoring and creating a truly impactful event that brought to life Cisco’s commitment to social impact, both internally and externally. The Empower and Connect Summit was a testament to how Cisco’s core value—making an impact—unites their students, employees, community nonprofits, and Cisco partners.
The full-day summit was designed to bridge Cisco’s impact goals into one powerful experience. The Top 5 student teams were invited to present their Challenge solutions in the morning, demonstrating their innovative thinking and passion for creating change. In the afternoon, the event celebrated the breadth of Cisco’s Social Impact partnerships by featuring local nonprofit organizations such as The Women’s Center of Wake County, Oak City Cares, Open Table Ministry, Urban Ministries of Wake County, and Urban Ministries of Durham. Each organization highlighted how collaborative efforts with Cisco are making a tangible difference in Raleigh-Durham communities.
The Empower and Connect team ensured that social impact was woven throughout every aspect of the day. Lunch was catered by Operation BBQ Relief, a nonprofit that provides food to communities in need, further reinforcing the event’s mission of giving back. Attendees—including the finalist teams, Cisco employees, and partners—also had the opportunity to actively support local nonprofits by packing essential supply bags for the unhoused and engaging with nonprofit leaders at interactive booths.
To inspire the next generation of changemakers, Cisco’s Early Talent Recruitment team hosted a special session for the student finalists, offering insights into career opportunities at Cisco and the company’s ongoing dedication to social impact.
By bringing together students, employees, nonprofits, and partners, Cisco’s Community Enablement Team created an experience that truly reflected Cisco’s commitment to putting impact at the heart of everything they do.
Above: Cisco's Community Enablement team, Mentors, and Recruitment teams taking a photo alongside the 5 finalist teams.
Below: Student Finalists getting a tour of Cisco’s NERV Truck.
Meet the 2nd Place Winners - HealthHorizons
Led by Priya Rao, Grace Chen, and Julia Kuang, high school friends who all attend different universities but reconnected to form a team for the Challenge, won the $5,000 second-place prize for their proposal, HealthHorizons. Priya Rao from the University of Connecticut, Julia Kuang from Wellesley University, and Grace Chen from Swarthmore College designed HealthHorizons to address the lack of healthcare access in Greene County, Alabama. The region is known as a “broadband dead zone" where only 50-55% have internet, 27% live in poverty, and chronic disease rates are among the nation's highest. The $300,000 program would deploy Cisco networking infrastructure, Webex-enabled telebooths at community hubs, and hospital telehealth systems to bridge connectivity gaps. Leveraging 65% federal Rural Health Care discounts, the initiative aims to train local staff, integrate electronic medical records, and enable remote consultations for this medically underserved, predominantly African-American community.
Meet the 3rd Place Winners - OncoALERT
Led by Dr. Jayanti Kumari and Sweta Pandey from Translational Health Science and Technology Institute in India, OncoAlert combines AI-powered oral cancer screening devices with Cisco's networking infrastructure to deliver remote diagnostics in rural India. The system would enable village health workers to conduct $5, 3-minute screenings and then connect patients instantly via secure video with distant oncology specialists, addressing the critical gap between early detection and access to expert care.
Net Impact and Cisco congratulate all of the Top 5 Finalist teams who participated in the Challenge, and look forward to supporting future programs that build awareness and skills to drive impact through business practices in the future. For more information about our active programs, visit netimpact.org/programs.