In Memoriam

Pava LaPere

Pava Marie LaPere was a 5'2" giant who will forever be
the Chief Ecosystem Officer of EcoMap Technologies.
This page is dedicated in her loving memory.

About Pava: Childhood

Growing up, Pava split her time between Pflugerville, Texas and Westerly, Rhode Island before spending most of her teenage years in Tucson, Arizona. Even as a child, her mind moved at a mile a minute and it would constantly lead her in (and out) of trouble. One thing was clear to her parents at a very early age - Pava was a natural born leader.Pava got into her dream school, Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of following a path towards being a doctor. However, she quickly discovered two things:

One, she didn’t like blood.
‍
Two, she was meant to make an impact at scale.

About Pava: Hopkins

During her four years at Johns Hopkins, Pava became the de facto entrepreneurial ecosystem builder on campus. Along with Anthony Garay and Brooke Stephanian, she founded the non-profit TCO Labs (standing for The Crazy Ones) in order to spur more entrepreneurial activity among the student body. It was wildly successful in building a grassroots student movement that eventually paved the way for an official university entrepreneurial center named FastForward U.

As an upperclassman, Pava founded another non-profit named Innov8MD with a goal to connect the various university entrepreneurial ecosystems across Maryland - culminating in the Baltimore & Beyond conference which showcased over 60 student ventures across 12 different universities.

The final venture she founded while at Johns Hopkins ended up being her life’s work - EcoMap Technologies.

About Pava: Early Career

After graduating in 2019, Pava split her time working as a contractor with FastForward U in order to build a two-track accelerator program for student ventures while laying the groundwork for EcoMap. She spent years at Hopkins being the go-to source of knowledge about funding opportunities, accelerator programs, and other support systems that entrepreneurs in Baltimore would find valuable.

Based on the knowledge she had accumulated about the key organizations and resources within the city, she built the EcoMap MVP later that year in order to help make information about Baltimore’s entrepreneurial ecosystem more accessible.

And then 2020 happened.

Digital access to up-to-date information became essential, and the free MVP Pava had built started to turn into paying customers.

About Pava: EcoMap

Over the next 3 years, Pava juggled growing EcoMap as a venture-backed startup, philanthropic endeavors within Baltimore, ecosystem building thought leadership, mentoring younger (and often, older) budding entrepreneurs, and being there for her team, friends, and community when they were in need. To this day, we’re not quite sure how she did it all.
‍
At the time of her passing, EcoMap employed over 30 people, mapped over 70 unique ecosystems, raised over $7 million in venture funding, and proudly planted its flag as a champion of Baltimore’s burgeoning ‘Equitech’ ecosystem. She racked up accolade after accolade, from the hyperlocal to the global scale. But she was proudest of the one title she was able to bestow upon herself - Co-Founder/CEO of EcoMap Technologies.
We at the EcoMap team carry a piece of Pava with us each and every day as we continue to pursue her vision of a more equitable world united by access to information.
Rest easy, Pav.

About Pava:
Childhood

Growing up, Pava split her time between Pflugerville, Texas and Westerly, Rhode Island before spending most of her teenage years in Tucson, Arizona. Even as a child, her mind moved at a mile a minute and it would constantly lead her in (and out) of trouble.
One thing was clear to her parents at a very early age - Pava was a natural born leader.
Pava got into her dream school, Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of following a path towards being a doctor. However, she quickly discovered two things:
One, she didn’t like blood.
Two, she was meant to make an impact at scale.

About Pava: Hopkins

During her four years at Johns Hopkins, Pava became the de facto entrepreneurial ecosystem builder on campus. Along with Anthony Garay and Brooke Stephanian, she founded the non-profit TCO Labs (standing for The Crazy Ones) in order to spur more entrepreneurial activity among the student body. It was wildly successful in building a grassroots student movement that eventually paved the way for an official university entrepreneurial center named FastForward U. As an upperclassman, Pava founded another non-profit named Innov8MD with a goal to connect the various university entrepreneurial ecosystems across Maryland - culminating in the Baltimore & Beyond conference which showcased over 60 student ventures across 12 different universities.

The final venture she founded while at Johns Hopkins ended up being her life’s work - EcoMap Technologies.

About Pava: Early Career

After graduating in 2019, Pava split her time working as a contractor with FastForward U in order to build a two-track accelerator program for student ventures while laying the groundwork for EcoMap. She spent years at Hopkins being the go-to source of knowledge about funding opportunities, accelerator programs, and other support systems that entrepreneurs in Baltimore would find valuable. Based on the knowledge she had accumulated about the key organizations and resources within the city, she built the EcoMap MVP later that year in order to help make information about Baltimore’s entrepreneurial ecosystem more accessible.

And then 2020 happened.

Digital access to up-to-date information became essential, and the free MVP Pava had built started to turn into paying customers.

‍

‍

About Pava: EcoMap

Over the next 3 years, Pava juggled growing EcoMap as a venture-backed startup, philanthropic endeavors within Baltimore, ecosystem building thought leadership, mentoring younger (and often, older) budding entrepreneurs, and being there for her team, friends, and community when they were in need.

To this day, we’re not quite sure how she did it all. At the time of her passing, EcoMap employed over 30 people, mapped over 70 unique ecosystems, raised over $7 million in venture funding, and proudly planted its flag as a champion of Baltimore’s burgeoning ‘Equitech’ ecosystem. She racked up accolade after accolade, from the hyperlocal to the global scale. But she was proudest of the one title she was able to bestow upon herself - Co-Founder/CEO of EcoMap Technologies. We at the EcoMap team carry a piece of Pava with us each and every day as we continue to pursue her vision of a more equitable world united by access to information.

Rest easy, Pav.
‍

About Pava:
Childhood

Growing up, Pava split her time between Pflugerville, Texas and Westerly, Rhode Island before spending most of her teenage years in Tucson, Arizona. Even as a child, her mind moved at a mile a minute and it would constantly lead her in (and out) of trouble.
One thing was clear to her parents at a very early age - Pava was a natural born leader.
Pava got into her dream school, Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of following a path towards being a doctor. However, she quickly discovered two things:

One, she didn’t like blood.

Two, she was meant to make an impact at scale.

About Pava:
Childhood

Growing up, Pava split her time between Pflugerville, Texas and Westerly, Rhode Island before spending most of her teenage years in Tucson, Arizona. Even as a child, her mind moved at a mile a minute and it would constantly lead her in (and out) of trouble.
One thing was clear to her parents at a very early age - Pava was a natural born leader.
Pava got into her dream school, Johns Hopkins University, with the intention of following a path towards being a doctor. However, she quickly discovered two things:
One, she didn’t like blood.
Two, she was meant to make an impact at scale.

About Pava:
Hopkins

During her four years at Johns Hopkins, Pava became the de facto entrepreneurial ecosystem builder on campus. Along with Anthony Garay and Brooke Stephanian, she founded the non-profit TCO Labs (standing for The Crazy Ones) in order to spur more entrepreneurial activity among the student body. It was wildly successful in building a grassroots student movement that eventually paved the way for an official university entrepreneurial center named FastForward U.

As an upperclassman, Pava founded another non-profit named Innov8MD with a goal to connect the various university entrepreneurial ecosystems across Maryland - culminating in the Baltimore & Beyond conference which showcased over 60 student ventures across 12 different universities.

The final venture she founded while at Johns Hopkins ended up being her life’s work - EcoMap Technologies.

About Pava:
Early Career

About Pava:
EcoMap

Over the next 3 years, Pava juggled growing EcoMap as a venture-backed startup, philanthropic endeavors within Baltimore, ecosystem building thought leadership, mentoring younger (and often, older) budding entrepreneurs, and being there for her team, friends, and community when they were in need.

To this day, we’re not quite sure how she did it all. At the time of her passing, EcoMap employed over 30 people, mapped over 70 unique ecosystems, raised over $7 million in venture funding, and proudly planted its flag as a champion of Baltimore’s burgeoning ‘Equitech’ ecosystem. She racked up accolade after accolade, from the hyperlocal to the global scale. But she was proudest of the one title she was able to bestow upon herself - Co-Founder/CEO of EcoMap Technologies. We at the EcoMap team carry a piece of Pava with us each and every day as we continue to pursue her vision of a more equitable world united by access to information.

Rest easy, Pav.
‍

Watch Her TED Talk

An Introductory Guide to Ecosystem-Led Development

Learn about ecosystems and discover how to create solution systems for successful development initiatives

Download PDF

The Real Reason Why Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Matters

Pava's perspective on the importance of university entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Read Now

The Words I Never Said,
to a Woman Who’s Now Dead

An essay about a teacher who had a profound impact on Pava's outlook on life.

Read Now

Her Legacy

Carry On Her Vision

Pava LaPere, our beloved Chief Ecosystem Officer, was a visionary beyond her years and centered her work around wanting to make the world a better place. Her mission was not only to make every ecosystem accessible, but also to make a genuine impact in the ecosystems that she inevitably became a part of. She cared so deeply about every ecosystem she visited, and felt so empowered by watching people emulate the same love she has for her home ecosystems in their own.

While no one can ever replace our beloved 5’2” giant, we are more committed than every to continue her vision and to empower our community to do the same. Learn more about the P.L.A.C.E. Builder Fellowship here and how you can carry on Pava’s vision.

EcoMap PLACE Builder Fellowship

The EcoMap PLACE Builder Fellowship was developed in honor of our forever Chief Ecosystem Officer - Pava LaPere - and the values that she embodied so well.

Learn More

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