Amy Hirsh Guarino Tech Endowment for Excellence Award
In honor of the IDEA’s Center advisory council member, alumna, and startup leader Amy Hirsh Guarino, this award is bestowed to a venture fulfilling Father Sorin's mission to be a force for good significantly impacting the three principles of Catholic Social Teaching: The Vulnerable Family, The Planet, or The Catholic Church.
RSVP for the 2025 Pitch and Reception to find out the next award recipient
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About Amy
Amy Hirsh Guarino, a 1983 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, was a longtime member of the IDEA Center's advisory council and chaired its Venture Builder's Committee. During her time at Notre Dame, Amy was a drummer and cymbalist in the marching band and was active in intramural sports.
After graduating, Amy began her career at IBM in California and later worked with various startups, earning a reputation for building customer bases and securing funding for early-stage companies. She was recognized by Forbes as one of the 40 Women to Watch Over 40 in 2017, among other accolades.
Amy also served as president of the San Francisco Notre Dame Club and founded the Notre Dame Tech Forum in 2001.
She had a deep passion for helping and connecting people. She assisted hundreds of individuals and leveraged the global Notre Dame network to create positive outcomes.
Amy passed away on Thursday, May 25, 2023.
Amy had a passion for helping and connecting people. Whether it was a CEO or founder seeking advice on building a channel sales team or a recent graduate looking for their first job, Guarino provided support for all, driven by the satisfaction of seeing businesses and individuals thrive. She helped hundreds and maximized the global Notre Dame network to create positive outcomes.
Amy Hirsh Guarino Tech Endowment for Excellence Award
The recipient of the annual Amy Hirsh Guarino Award will receive $5,000 to support their efforts in leveraging technology to address a grand challenge faced by one or more key areas of Catholic Social Teaching: the vulnerable family, the planet and the Catholic Church.
The award will go to the individual who best embodies the ideals of the University and reflects Amy's values of hard work, helping others, innovation, and community service.
Award
- $5,000 award prize
- Coaching from influential Notre Dame alumni venture capitalists and startup founders
- Amplification of your startup to the sphere of influence of the 100+ donors to the Amy Hirsh Guarino Technology Endowment
- Will present their idea on Friday, September 19, 2025 at Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub in downtown South Bend
2025 Award Pitch
Friday, September 19, 2025, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub
510 South Main Street
Suite 100
South Bend, IN 46601
RSVP here RSVP by September 5, 2025 by midnight. Space is limited!
2025 Ventures Participating
- Azam Health – AI-powered telehealth for underserved communities
- DoorBlockade – Intuitive emergency safety devices for interior spaces
- Routora – Route optimization tools tailored for government teams
- Runwayz – Career networking for high school, community college, and trade school students
Donate
Help be a Force for Good by supporting technology leaders addressing the challenges faced by one or more key areas of Catholic Social Teaching: the vulnerable family, the planet and the Catholic Church.