Pava LaPere

Pava Marie LaPere (January 21, 1997 - September 25, 2023) was a prominent technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies, a Baltimore-based company that uses machine learning to digitize business ecosystems. She gained recognition by being named to Forbes' prestigious 30 Under 30 list for her contributions to the local tech industry and social impact initiatives. LaPere was found dead on September 25th, the victim of an apparent homicide, at her apartment in Baltimore, Maryland.
==Early life and education==
Pava was born in Tucson, Arizona and went to high school at Catalina Foothills High School. She moved to Baltimore to attend the Johns Hopkins University as an undergraduate student from 2015 to 2019. After studying computer science for 3 years, LaPere completed her degree in sociology, hoping to "use entrepreneurship to solve inequalities in society". While at Johns Hopkins University, LaPere co-founded and served as the president of TCO Labs, a non-profit organization focused on fostering innovation at the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus. While at Hopkins, she also served as the director of The Hatchery, JHU's preliminary business incubator and precursor to Fast Forward U, the university's student hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, which LaPere also became a member of. As a student at JHU, LaPere co-founded Innov8MD, an annual conference showcasing student entrepreneurs from around the state of Maryland, which she chaired until October 2021. She would go on to graduate from Johns Hopkins in May of 2019 and began to pursue a degree in Entrepreneurship and Management also at Johns Hopkins.
==Entrepreneurship and Accolades==
Pava LaPere founded EcoMap Technologies on November 18, 2018. The company's stated mission is to delineate various ecosystems, ranging from college alumni networks to municipal governments. LaPere believed that "when ecosystems were invisible, they remained inefficient". Through her company, she sought to eliminate such barriers. EcoMap was named to Technical.ly's startup list in 2022. As of August 2023, EcoMap had raised a second seed round of $3.5 million, which would value the company at $7 million based on an initial seed round of $3.5 million in June of 2022. Based on her social impact work through Innov8MD and EcoMap Technologies, LaPere was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 List under the social impact category. Per her Forbes profile, EcoMap Technologies had approximately 30 employees and contractors at the time of her passing. In 2021, LaPere was also named to C-Suite Spotlight's "Top 100 Johns Hopkins Alumni in Technology of 2021" and MarylandInno's "25 Under 25" for her entrepreneurial ventures.
==Death==
On September 25, 2023, officers responded to a call for service at the Congress Hotel Apartment complex near the 300 block of West Franklin Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. Upon arriving, the officers found LaPere deceased with blunt force trauma to the head, according to Baltimore Police Detective Freddie Talbert. LaPere appeared to have lived in the same building that EcoMap operated out of. During a press conference on September 26th, the Baltimore Police Department's acting commissioner Richard Worley stated that a warrant was issued for one Jason Billingsley, 32 at the time of the warrant, for first-degree murder, assault, and reckless endangerment. Billingsley was a violent repeat offender who was granted parole 16 years early under the administration of former State Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
==Legacy==
LaPere is remembered as a bright entrepreneur in Baltimore, described as a compassionate visionary force by her close associates. EcoMap Technologies released a statement on September 26th, 2023 mourning her passing, emphasizing LaPere's leadership and commitment to equity and inclusivity. A vigil is scheduled in her remembrance at the south step of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon for September 27th. Pava is survived by her mother, father, and brother.
Category:1997 births
Category:People from Tucson, Arizona
Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni
Category:Entrepreneurs
Category:Founders
Category:Chief executive officers