Iona Students Collaborate with Sleepy Hollow and BCW’s Westchester Innovation Network (WIN) City Labs to Reimagine Visitor Experience
Rye Brook, N.Y. — Students from Iona University’s Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation recently recommended branding concepts to help the Village of Sleepy Hollow become a year-round destination as part of the Business Council of Westchester’s (BCW) Westchester Innovation Network (WIN) City Labs initiative.
Held before Mayor Marjorie Hsu, the presentation was the culmination of a semester-long Design Thinking project. Students from the Hynes Institute conducted extensive primary and secondary research to help the village bridge the gap between its world-famous seasonal identity and its potential as a year-round destination.
“This collaboration with the Business Council of Westchester allows our students to step beyond the classroom and apply their research to real-world problems,” said Aakash Sapru, assistant professor of Design Thinking & Innovation at the Hynes Institute. “The students’ goal was to identify the brand perception gap in Sleepy Hollow and propose solutions that improve discovery and navigation for everyone.”
The BCW WIN City Labs is a partnership designed to provide students with practical, community-engaged learning while offering municipalities expert-level consulting. The student team used design thinking, a non-linear process prioritizes empathy and observation to solve complex human needs.
The students’ primary research was comprehensive, involving 27 in-depth interviews and over 50 community surveys. Their findings highlighted several critical friction points for the village:
- Navigation & Wayfinding: Significant challenges in how visitors and residents move through the village.
- Safety & Parking: Concerns regarding pedestrian safety and the availability of parking during peak times.
- Seasonal Dependency: A heavy reliance on the Halloween season, leaving the village’s identity less defined during the rest of the year.
To address these issues, the students presented a series of prototypes for new signage and wayfinding systems designed to create a cohesive visual identity throughout the village.
“I am extremely impressed by the students’ scope and depth of design thinking analysis, and love the prototypes they developed so quickly. The Village of Sleepy Hollow very much appreciates the excellent work the Iona class accomplished!” said Mayor Hsu. “The Iona consultancy was perfectly timed with our Tourism Task Force’s recommendation presented just two days prior at our work session. Sleepy Hollow has prioritized better signage, wayfinding and is also working on social media branding and messaging. I loved the students’ ideas for gamification and mood boards! Thank you also to the BCW for making this collaboration possible. It is such a wonderful idea to bring fresh, young energy and ideas to local municipalities, and to expose students to how their local government serves them and their families.”
The meeting concluded with a roadmap for implementation. Action items include integrating the student-generated survey data into the village’s digital infrastructure and developing a programming calendar that highlights Sleepy Hollow’s unique assets in the spring and summer months.
“The BCW WIN City Labs’ immense value is bringing fresh sets of eyes to look at community issues and develop new ideas to address them,” said BCW President and CEO Marsha Gordon. “The students’ insightful recommendations give Sleepy Hollow useful concepts to consider as they plan their downtown’s future.”
The BCW WIN City Labs initiative continues to serve as a vital bridge in Westchester County, connecting the innovative spirit of students at Iona University with the practical needs of local governments to foster more resilient and engaged communities.
Sleepy Hollow is the ninth Westchester community to have participated in the City Labs initiative. The Iona students’ past analyses have ranged from downtown parking to economic development, placemaking and environmental awareness.
ABOUT THE HYNES INSTITUTE
The Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation was established in 2017 through a record-setting $15 million gift from James P. Hynes ’69, ’01H and Anne Marie Hynes. It is an interdisciplinary program that fosters the development of creativity, leadership and entrepreneurship skills critical for success in a global economy. The Hynes Institute offers two undergraduate majors – a Bachelor of Arts in Entrepreneurial Leadership and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship, as well as an advanced certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Located at the center of campus, the Hynes Institute is housed in a 3,800-square-foot, state-of-the-art coworking space offering a modern and sustainable home for creativity on campus and beyond. In addition, the Hynes Institute operates its GaelVentures Incubator at 748 North Avenue. Explore the Hynes Institute and get in touch to learn more today!
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of over 4,000 students and an alumni base of 55,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Nursing & Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2026, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 6 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review once again named Iona to its “Best Business Schools for 2025,” recognizing both its on-campus and online MBA programs. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.