John Kennedy awarded $100,000 Fellowship to transform classroom air with affordable, DIY air purifiers

GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC (OSV), an investment firm that empowers creators, has awarded an O'Shaughnessy Fellowship to John Kennedy, a founder, investor and education leader based in North Carolina.

Kennedy will scale the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation's Clean Air K12 initiative, which provides schools with grants, support and resources for do-it-yourself (DIY) air purifiers known as Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes. He will pursue the initiative's first district-wide implementation, which will take place in the Greater Houston area.

Poorly ventilated elementary schools can significantly affect students' health and cognitive performance. The Corsi-Rosenthal Box is a powerful, DIY air purifier that users can build for $60. It is easy to construct, with instructions available on Corsi-Rosenthal's website. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency testing has demonstrated that, after running for one hour, the box is 99.4% effective in removing infectious aerosols in a typical room.

OSV's founder and CEO, Jim O'Shaughnessy, commented, "The Corsi-Rosenthal Box is a simple, affordable solution to classroom air quality problems. We're excited to support John and the Corsi-Rosenthal team in rolling out this innovation as widely as possible."

"Nobody gets to choose the air they breathe. At Clean Air K12, we believe that schools deserve better indoor air, and that we can transform classrooms through DIY air purifiers," said Kennedy. "The O'Shaughnessy Fellowship is a transformative opportunity for us to grow our classroom-level grant program and, for the first time, pursue system and district-level partnerships. We're honored to be a vehicle for change and offer students and educators a fresh breath of air."

About John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a director at the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation and leads the Clean Air K12 initiative. Previously, he founded and served as CEO of Mesa Cloud, a graduation tracking platform acquired by Panorama Education in 2023. Kennedy was a high school student when he founded Mesa Cloud in 2017. He currently leads AI Solutions for Panorama Education, is an angel investor and sits on the investment committee of a southeastern family office. Kennedy graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he was an Innovation Scholar.

About the Fellowship Program

The O'Shaughnessy Fellowships program, launched in 2023, discovers and empowers the world's boldest creatives, builders and researchers. Fellows receive a $100,000 grant and access to OSV's network of founders, investors and experts.

OSV will award 12 Fellowships in 2025. Applicants will also be considered for the O'Shaughnessy Grants program, which provides 20 additional $10,000 grants to promising innovators.

Kennedy is the second Fellow of 2025. More information about previous Fellows is available on OSV's website.

Applications for the Fellowships remain open until and including April 30, 2025. Individuals interested in applying can do so via OSV's website.

About O'Shaughnessy Ventures

OSV is a creative investment firm that empowers and inspires creators to bring their ideas to life. Founded by Jim O'Shaughnessy, a pioneer in quantitative investing, founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, and author of four books on investing, OSV aims to provide financial support and to partner in growing the next life-changing creative ideas.

OSV combines Jim's deeply rooted interest in all things art, science, investing and tech with his long-held desire to establish scenarios designed to help promising creators and their inspiring ideas succeed, regardless of age, location, job history or level of education. For more information, visit OSV's website.

Media Contact:
Ena Gong
O'Shaughnessy Ventures LLC
(917) 355-7420
389540@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE O'Shaughnessy Ventures