CITRIS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Fellows Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Prototyping & Fabrication
Job Titles:
- Principle, Berkeley School of Public Health
Dan Gillette has spent his career mapping pathways between what technology and creativity allow and what real-world users appreciate. Since earning his master's degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on cognition and instructional design, Dan has developed technology products to assist individuals with autism, led the design of VR therapies for children with psychiatric disabilities, and more.
Dr. Maher Hakim has spent 25+ years launching tech startups, leading software product development, teaching, and building innovation ecosystems. He is currently the Chief Innovation Advisor at Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council, and a partner with 212.vc - a venture capital firm based in Istanbul. He has been a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University since 2012.
Janhavi is a second year studying Cognitive Science at UC Berkeley. She is from San Jose, CA. She currently works on outreach to faculty/student departments and creating collateral to help develop a consistent aesthetic for the Foundry, overall helping strengthen the CITRIS brand across web, print, data, and media.
Kira currently leads the CITRIS Foundry. Her background includes expertise in design thinking, grant writing, and clean energy technology. As the senior scientist at advanced materials start-up, and Cyclotron Road company Sepion Technologies, she tackled technical roadmapping and materials development for next-gen electric vehicle batteries. She earned her MSc. in Materials Science at Stanford University, where she studied non-hazardous thin-film solar cells, and was a design thinking lead for industry partners via the Stanford design school.
Mikhail Holst supports teams at the CITRIS Foundry Incubator and intra-UC connections. Mikhail's expertise lies in entrepreneurship at the intersection of technology and social impact. He brings a decade of experience working with and within early-stage companies in go-to-market strategy, business development, fundraising, partnerships, and communications. Previously he was the Senior Portfolio Manager at Singularity University Ventures, a startup ecosystem that funded, supported, and coached over 70 startups focused on global issues that raised over $1B in funding.
Sarah is an undergraduate Industrial Engineering & Operations Research student at the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. In addition to collaborating on CITRIS data projects, Sarah aims to build community among and facilitate the productivity of incubator cohorts by planning events and workshops for founders.
Job Titles:
- Fellows Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Foundry Fellows Program Coordinator
Thomas Azwell is an experienced scientist with a demonstrated history of working in higher education. He is skilled in corporate sustainability, remediation, agriculture, and oceanography. Thomas is a strong research professional with a Masters in Science Education and a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of California, Berkeley.