Louisiana Innovation Receives Global Recognition as New Orleans Tech Founder Mariel Campbell Is Selected as a Top 10 Finalist in International Startup Competition

Mariel Campbell, founder and CEO of EFFECT CO., has emerged as the only finalist selected from the United States in Women in Tech® Global’s entrepreneurship program. She advances to pitch international investors in Paris and is a guest of the Women in Tech® Global Awards, held under the High Patronage of H.E. Emmanuel Macron, President of France.

New Orleans, LA, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Orleans native Mariel Campbell, founder and CEO of EFFECT CO., has been named one of the top ten finalists in Women in Tech® Global’s entrepreneurship program, emerging as the only finalist selected from the United States. Chosen from a highly competitive cohort of brilliant entrepreneurs, Campbell advances in this global competition to pitch her startup before international investors in Paris, France.

EFFECT CO. founder Mariel Campbell in the 2026 Steel Magnolias feature for New Orleans Magazine’s 60th edition. Photographer: Theresa Cassagne. Styling: Julia Stall. Clothing: SOSUSU Boutique. Hair: H2O Salon & Spa. Photo provided by New Orleans Magazine.

While tech giants have spent decades building vanity platforms created to capture attention, Mariel Campbell is developing a platform for impact. She is applying her extensive knowledge and experience in catastrophe management to create technology that benefits humanity and strengthens communities.

"I learned the concept of resilience by surviving what I never should have had to survive alone, and by watching people beg for help while the world moved too slowly or looked away completely," said Campbell. "EFFECT CO. was built from this understanding, from what I endured, from what I witnessed, and from the pieces no one came to pick up and abandoned."

Forged out of that resilience and endurance, the platform is being designed to bridge the divide between people and the institutions meant to serve them. It will amplify the voices of everyday people by turning their firsthand experiences into meaningful insight that leaders and institutions can use to identify urgent needs, deploy resources faster, and effect measurable change. Through EFFECT CO., Campbell is establishing a new standard for communication where the stories and experiences of everyday individuals are no longer ignored and become one of the most powerful forces for progress on Earth.

In recognition of her achievements as a finalist, Mariel Campbell is a guest of the distinguished Women in Tech® Global Awards. This highly respected event is being held at the Hôtel de Lassay, the official Residence of the President of the National Assembly, under the High Patronage of H.E. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France. The Women in Tech® Global Awards recognize the visionary leaders, founders, engineers, researchers, educators, and policymakers who are actively shaping the future of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

Women in Tech® Global is built on the foundational conviction that innovation flourishes when talent is met with equal opportunity, and its supporters include the French Republic, LA French Tech, UN Women, the World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance, the Tech Diplomacy Global Institute, Microsoft, Amazon, and various other prominent global tech leaders and institutions.

Women in Tech® Global’s Programme Director Nino Lortkipanidze wrote in the official notification Mariel Campbell received as a finalist, “Out of the whole cohort, your project was selected as one of only ten to pitch in Paris. This is a recognition of your work, your commitment and the potential of your venture.”

The international recognition of an entrepreneur and tech startup from the Greater New Orleans Area highlights the steady ascendancy and deep impact of Louisiana's innovative ecosystem. This incredible achievement brings immense distinction to Louisiana and the Gulf South, standing as a powerful testament to the exceptional creativity and visionary leadership rising from the Third Coast.

Receiving such an impactful statement of recognition from an influential organization like Women in Tech® Global honors not only Mariel Campbell as the founder of EFFECT CO., but also the extraordinary community of organizations and individuals that have provided guidance and opportunities throughout her career which have led to this incredible accomplishment. This supportive network includes Louisiana Economic Development, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, ModState, The Idea Village, New Orleans and Company, Startup Northshore, GNO Inc.’s Startup Nola, The Nieux Society, the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Allstate, New Orleans Magazine, Biz New Orleans, and many more.

EFFECT CO., a Louisiana startup building the platform for impact to turn lived experience into meaningful insight that drives change at scale.

About EFFECT CO.

EFFECT CO. is building the platform for impact. We turn lived experience into meaningful insight that reveals what matters, moves decision makers, and drives change at scale. EFFECT CO. is creating a world where no story disappears, no voice is wasted, and the human experience becomes one of the most powerful forces for progress on Earth. Founded by New Orleans native Mariel Campbell, EFFECT CO. did not emerge from a focus group session or due to market trends. Instead, it was the result of two life-long influences: first, growing up in the New Orleans metropolitan area where resilience is an inherent part of life, hospitality an expression of civic responsibility, and caring for others is not the exception but the rule of creating (and keeping) a community. Second, the combined experience of years spent helping individuals and families pick up the pieces following major catastrophes. While the inevitable trail of destruction left behind by a major disaster reveals both the damage left in its wake and the tracks of most running away from disaster, Mariel instead went into those communities. Being the catalyst for recovery and helping those affected find their inner strength to rebuild is both the embodiment of New Orleans resilience and a hallmark of the ethos its natives live by.

Press Inquiries

Mariel Campbell
contact@causeand.co
mariel@causeand.co
https://www.causeand.co/
+1 (504) 919-0188
5000 W. Esplanade Ave.
#327
Metairie, LA 70006