It's Jess January at KS WELI

Jessica Vollman's family started the Jessica Vollman Foundation (JVF) to honor her legacy after her passing in 2020.

As a UT alumna, founder, and passionate leader for female entrepreneurs, Jess’ personal mission led to JVF’s: promoting career advancement for women globally through access to education, closing the skills gap, and job flexibility.

Honoring the legacy of Jessica, JVF has partnered with KS WELI to offer sponsorship opportunities to leaders that are a part of KS WELI’s FoundHER Program.

Throughout the month of January, we celebrate Jess January as our own tribute to Jessica Vollman.

We're thrilled to share the FoundHERs that have been selected to receive the JVF grant from each cohort.

January Spring 2024 FoundHERs

Lauren Heming of Hem Support Wear

Hem Support Wear is setting out to reimagine the pelvic floor support garment. Women deserve something better, and Hem Support Wear is on a mission to provide it.

Hem Support Wear is in the business of creating beautiful and thoughtful pelvic floor support garments for people with pelvic organ prolapse which is estimated to impact one third of women at some point in their lifetime including the founder, Lauren Fleming. Their products are designed with care to provide support and empowerment for women throughout various stages of life, including pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause. Beyond just garments, they are passionate about fostering a community that uplifts and supports women through connection, information, and resources.

Receiving this grant from JVF will allow Hem Support Wear to establish a strategic production partnership with two businesses and set a strong foundation from which to provide support garments that will make a positive impact on people’s lives.

Manasvi Perisetty of YouUnited

YouUnited’s mission is to spread access to education and spark passion in students worldwide to close the gap between education and aspiration, allowing students the opportunities to achieve regardless of background.

To further their mission, Manasvi and her team hope to launch a series of programs to support students both domestically and internationally including running a school supply drive to support students in Title I Austin schools, conducting virtual career-development workshops with students in the Satkama School in Hyderabad, India, legally register as a nonprofit and gain 501(c)(3) exemption status, and maintain their website.

January Spring 2023 FoundHER

Sophie Sanchez of STEM Muse

Sophie Sanchez founded STEM Muse, which strives to increase the recruitment, retention, and, ultimately, the success of women in STEM careers by connecting women in higher education with women who are more advanced in their careers.

January 2022 FoundHER

Emily Silver of fruitleathernyc

Emily Silver created fruitleathernyc which offers vegan leather bracelets made from a material called AppleSkin. The bracelets are durable and high-quality, with an extremely low impact on the environment. fruitleathernyc bracelets are vibrant, colorful, and loud.

Jess January FoundHER Panel

Join us on Tuesday, January 23 at the Kendra Scott Center to hear from three Jessica Vollman Foundation (JVF) grantees, Manasvi Perisetty, Lauren Fleming, and Sophie Sanchez during a JVF-sponsored FoundHER Panel. You’ll learn about how their own personal experiences influenced each FoundHER to launch a business and how this ties back to the JVF’s mission.