VIP Speaker Series
URBANST 131 - Very Impactful People (VIP) Speaker Series
The VIP Team runs the Very Impactful People: Social Innovation & the Social Entrepreneur bi-annual speaker series which offers students exclusive speaking events with some of the top global social entrepreneurs/ founders. The VIP team chooses the speaker lineup for the course, works directly with the entrepreneurs to organize the events and facilitates each class.
Current Speakers: Fall 2023
TAs: Melanie Quan, Lucy Loughridge
Week 1 (10/2)
Alex Brown, Alga Biosciences
Week 2 (10/9)
Kjell Clarysse, Forestbase
Week 3 (10/16)
Keenan Wyrobek, Zipline
Week 4 (10/23)
Anne Toba, Ripples
Week 5 (10/30)
Nadya Okamoto, August
Week 6 (11/6)
Maricel Saenz, Minus Coffee
Week 7 (11/13)
Tracy McCurty, Black Belt Justice Center
Week 8 (11/20)
No class. Thanksgiving break.
Week 9 (11/27)
Michelle Zhu, Huue
Past Speakers
Fall 2021
TAs: Sam Roberts & Savannah Ardrey
Troy Carter, Earthshot Labs
Sami Inkinen, Virta Health
Diego Saez Gil, Pachama
Tyler Huggins, Meati Foods
Joi Jackson-Morgan, 3rd Street Youth
Joe Makower, GreenBiz
Hannah Sieber, Artyc
Michael Charley, Sunski
Spring 2022
TAs: Kate Peña & Sohayla Eldeeb
Sal Khan, Khan Academy
Austen Allred, fka Lambda School
Cheryl Dorsey, Echoing Green
Lia Ellis, Sublime Systems
Rick Aubrey, HomeRise
John Boyd Jr., National Black Farmers Association
Paola Santana, GLASS
Becca Heller, International Refugee Assistance Project
Fall 2021
TAs: Kate Peña & Sohayla Eldeeb
Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat
Chris Anderson, TED Talks
Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
Marjorie Scholtz, Verbhouse
David Keith, Carbon Engineering
Raj Panjabi, Last Mile Health
Linda Rottenberg, Endeavor
Marc Koska, Apiject
Vineet Singal, CareMessage
James Kanoff, The Farmlink Project
Nicolas Pinkowski, Nitricity
Kimbery Schreiber, NeuroNav
Spring 2020
TAs: Lola McAllister & Grace Lu
Fall 2020
TAs: Lola McAllister & Grace Lu
Cherly Dorsey, Echoing Green
Keller Rinaudo, Zipline
Paul Rise, Fair Trade USA
Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
Durreen Shahnaz, IIX
Nididi Nwuneli, LEAP Africa
Marcos Igreja, Genecis
Wendy Kopp, Teach For America
Marcc Koska, Apiject
Spring 2019
Daniel Kish, Co-Founder & Executive Director, World Access for the Blind
Joanna StrobeR, Founder & CEO, Kurbo Health
Brian Hill, Founder & CEO, Edovo
Seth Goldman, Co-Founder & TeaEO Emeritus, Honest Tea
Daniela Fernandez, Founder, Sustainable Oceans Alliance
Leva Zand, Founder & Executive Director, ARTogether
Bart Myers, Founder & CEO , Countable & Countable Action
Rob Joyce, Founding Principle, Social Impact Designs
Jake Woods, Co-Founder & CEO, Team Rubicon
Spring 2018
Karen Tse, Founder & CEO, International Bridges to Justice
Adam Braun, Founder, Pencils for Promise
Melanie Edwards, Founder & CEO, Mobile Metrix
Sakena Yacoobi, Founder & Director, Afghan Institute of Learning
David Mikkelsen, Co–Founder, Refunite
Gregg Treinish, Founder, Adventure Scientists
Yuja Chang, Co–Founder, Aira
Ruth Shapiro, CEO, Center for Asian Philanthropy and Society
Ohad Elhelo, Founder & Executive Director, Our Generation Speaks
Aerica Banks, Founder, BEACON
Fall 2017
Pamela Hawley, Founder and CEO, UniversalGiving
Kola Masha, Founder and Managing Director, Babban Gona
Christa Gannon, Founder & CEO, Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY)
Anne Moses, Founder and President, IGNITE
Marcello Palizzi, Co-Founder, B LAB Europe
Nick Tilsen, Founder, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation
Doniece Sandoval, Founder and CEO, Lava Mae
Steve Davis, CEO, PATH
Lesley Marincola, Founder and CEO, Angaza Design
Lucy Bernholz, Senior Research Scholar, PACS & Director, Digital Civil Society Lab
Spring 2017
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Founder And President Of The Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen Foundation (LAAF)
Chris Ategeka, Founder And CEO Of Rides For Lives
Lucy Sanders, CEO And Co-Founder Of The National Center For Women & Information Technology (Ncwit)
Eren Bali, Serial Entrepreneur Who Co-Founded Udemy
Christopher Gray, Founder Of Scholly
Susan N. Herman, President Of The American Civil Liberties Union
Marc Freedman, Founder And CEO Of Encore.Org
Larry Kramer, President Of The William And Flora Hewlett Foundation And The Former Dean Of Stanford Law School
Vince Siciliano, President And CEO Of New Resource Bank
Ann Mei Chang, Executive Leader At The Intersection Of Innovation, Technology, And Global Development. Previously, Chief Innovation Officer And The First Executive Director Of The U.S. Global Development Lab At Usaid.
Fall 2016
James Bildner, CEO, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Xavier Helgesen, Co-Founder and CEO, Off Grid Electric
Zac Bookman, CEO, Opengov
Alexandra Bernadotte, Founder And CEO, Beyond 12
Jini Kim, Founder And CEO, Nuna Health
Matt Flannery, Co-Founder, Kiva; Founder And CEO, Branch.Co
Laura Stachel, Co-Founder And Exec. Director
We Care Solar And Saru Jayaraman, Co-Founder And Co-Director. Roc United.
2023-24 Team Leads
Lucy Loughridge
VIP Co Lead
Lucy Loughridge is a second-year student studying data science and creative writing. She loves the outdoors and, as a result, has a deep passion for climate activism and making a positive impact. She chose to be a part of SENSA because social entrepreneurship allows her to practice three of her favorite things: analytics, story-telling, and enacting social change.
Melanie Quan
VIP Co Lead
Melanie Quan is a junior studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Human Biology. She's passionate about using science and engineering to positively impact the world and joined SENSA in 2021 to explore social entrepreneurship as a means of creating positive change. She's excited to lead the VIP team and learn from conversations with founders tackling pressing global issues. She cares deeply about our oceans, public health, and water access.