Back-to-back: UW-Whitewater’s Enactus chapter wins second straight national title

Back-to-back: UW-Whitewater's Enactus chapter wins second straight national title

April 23, 2026

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Enactus chapter continued to show the nation the strength of its purpose of using business for good, earning its second straight national championship on April 18 at the Enactus United States 2026 National Exposition in Denver, Colorado.

The Warhawks will represent the U.S. at the Enactus World Cup, set for Nov. 16-19 in São Paulo, Brazil.

"Our entire presentation team was sitting in the same row when they were announcing the finalists, and we all had a death grip on each other's hands," said Enactus team member Bailey Quinn, a marketing major from St. Charles, Illinois. "They announced the final name, and when it hit 'University of Wis-,' our entire chapter - the entire team - was on their feet."

UW-Whitewater's Enactus chapter poses for a photo at the Enactus United States 2026 National Exposition with the Denver skyline in the background. (Submitted photo)

RenewTowns evolves into entrepreneurial model

UW-Whitewater was honored for its work on RenewTowns, a project designed to activate and accelerate the launch of small businesses and sustain their success in local communities. To date, Enactus students and advisors have worked with five Wisconsin towns - Cambridge, Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, South Milwaukee, and Whitewater.

Each project included a competition element. Entrepreneurs who won each contest were awarded one year of free storefront rent.

Enactus advisor Choton Basu (back to camera) presents on RenewTowns to a group of entrepreneurs, residents, and city officials in South Milwaukee as Enactus students look on from the audience. (Submitted photo)

As part of the RenewTowns process, Enactus met with local leaders in each of the towns to gain their support of the project, launched campaigns to attract aspiring entrepreneurs, engaged the communities through social media, email outreach, and voting, assembled panels of local judges to evaluate feedback and select winners, and empowered communities to run programs independently, providing them with guidance, tools, and connections to execute new campaigns.

The team refers to the RenewTowns model as E3 - Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Engine. More entrepreneurs benefitted from the program this year because of the foundation established by UW-Whitewater's Enactus chapter - Cambridge earned a $182,000 grant to run its own competition independently using the RenewTowns model.

"Last year's presentation (at the competition) was primarily about our city pitch competition … our presentation this year expanded on this concept and focused on the ripple effect of our work," said Lily Dove, a marketing major from Jackson. "We revitalized communities by activating entrepreneurs through our E3 model by engaging the municipalities, landlords, and the community. Entrepreneurs were given guidance, connections, and funding to turn their dreams into reality, regardless of winning our competition."

Building trust for real community impact and learning

Over the past year, the team helped open 14 new businesses, generating an estimated $1.5 million in economic impact, according to an an economic modeling analysis.

Tattooed Tree Books and Chroma Art Studio in Fort Atkinson, both finalists in the 2025 Boost Fort Atkinson Storefront Pitch Competition supported by UW-Whitewater's Enactus Chapter, held their grand opening on April 11. It's the first bookstore in the city in nearly 10 years, and its location was previously a vacant storefront. (Submitted photo)

RenewTowns plans to expand across Wisconsin, potentially impacting hundreds of municipalities. Multiple organizations in the state are working closely with the team to bring the program to multiple towns. The bedrock of the initiative's growth is the trust it has instilled in the communities it has impacted to date.

"I think a huge part of it is having people with credibility come in and back us up," said Marina Neitzke, a business analytics and supply chain management major from Oshkosh. "We work very closely with Shauna Wessely, the Chamber of Commerce director from Fort Atkinson. She was also involved in our City Pitch (Space Race) competition in South Milwaukee, where she spoke to the city about how we've impacted her community and how they might relate to that experience. That really helps build trust both within the community and among ourselves."

To date, Enactus has assisted more than 40 businesses, and landlords have committed more than $1.2 million to property renovations. The team has helped new businesses incorporate Marblism, an AI-powered tool for business operations that provides agents to help business owners with marketing, sales, search engine optimization (SEO), customer relations, legal, and social media. It helps small business owners save time and reduce costs by automating routine tasks, allowing them to focus more on growing and managing their business.

UWW Enactus also worked to help six women launch businesses through its partner ProChapina in Antigua, Guatemala, providing microloans and entrepreneurial training. They were able to introduce the Yang-Ward Foundation to ProChapina for the microloans.

Team members are grateful for the access to the competition and the mentorship of university faculty and staff.

"It's more than just a classroom, with the faculty, with the support, with the guidance through all the professors I've had," said James Drucker, a finance major from Madison. "They give me opportunities to go out there and learn, not just from a textbook."

The student group - which is housed in the College of Business and Economics and is open to all students in all majors - is advised by Choton Basu, professor of information technology and business education, Leah Feor, assistant professor of management, and Michael Wessely, outreach program manager in Graduate Studies and Continuing Education. UW-Whitewater Enactus Business Advisory Board members Shauna Wessely and Mike Warmuth also provided guidance, insights, and funding for the project.

Twenty members of the UW-Whitewater Enactus team, including Preem Nutnicha, third from the left in the front row, an international student from Thailand majoring in international business, travelled to Thailand on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025 to represent the United States at the Enactus World Cup. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)

Last May, Enactus claimed the national championship after completing initial phases of the RenewTowns project and represented Team USA in Thailand. In 2021, the chapter earned its first U.S. title for its work with Combat Blindness International (CBI) and its partners in India to train young women to serve as vision screeners.