Belinda C

Belinda is a sophomore hailing from New York thinking of majoring in Science, Technology, and Society and/or Human Biology. She reads about and loves everything (really), came to Stanford partly because it started Silicon Valley, and has become interested in activism and alleviating global inequalities since getting here. Her goals for this this ASB class and trip are to: learn, have fun, and get to know you guys!

Catherine L

Hi everyone, my name is Catherine and I'm a sophomore majoring in Product Design (just declared!) and hoping to minor in East Asian Studies. I grew up in Los Altos Hills, right around here, but spent a year living in China during a gap year I took after graduating high school. I enjoy traveling,playing and listening to music, the beach, outdoor concerts, and watching food tv shows (and wishing I knew how to cook!) I'm so excited to get to know all of you and learn more about social entrepreneurship together!

Dania S

Dania is a Management Science and Engineering major with a Spanish Literature minor, class of 2010, and is from sunny San Diego. She is interested in and excited about furthering her knowledge of the techniques necessary for applying analytical modeling, decision analysis, and problem solving to social action projects. She enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, learning about different cultures, and the beach.

David K

David Kim is passionate about learning ways in which drastic postive change can be instigated by innovative processes. He currently is a core member of FUSION, Stanford's largest social-e group. His other passions include serving the Stanford community as a ministry team member through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and doing public service. He is currently studying to obtain a degree in Management Science and Engineering and hopes to work as a consultant in the for-profit and non-profit sector once he graduates.

Kalvin W (trip leader)

Kalvin is a Computer Science major, class of 2008, who grew up in Silicon Valley watching the bubble grow and pop. He enjoys activities involving social change, technology, and entrepreneurship, preferably all three. In past summers he has worked at ever-smaller Internet startups. Last year’s Social Entrepreneurship ASB shattered his preconceptions of nonprofit/social organizations as slow-moving and populated by profit-averse technophobes. He currently has 25,000 gumballs in his dorm room.

Leah K

Leah is excited to learn about how Bay Area entrepreneurs are creating social change and to get to know all of you! She is a prospective International Relations major, an occasional writer for the Stanford Daily, and an avid intramural volleyball player. Last summer, Leah interned at Girls For A Change, a Bay Area nonprofit that is empowering young women to create social change in their communities. She is interested in international development and social justice, and she enjoys Latin music, the New York Times, chocolate, and The Office. Leah is a San Jose native and a proud resident of Donner.

Michael H

I’m a sophomore. I’m interested in social innovation and social entrepreneurship. I would like to help put in place what Bill Drayton calls the “architecture” for the citizen sector. “Citizen sector” is Drayton’s term for the nonprofit sector. “Architecture” for the citizen sector refers to the support system that helps people found citizen organizations and helps citizen organizations to have an impact. Here are three examples of initiatives that are part of the architecture for the citizen sector:
1. Ashoka Venture Fund: provides financial services for social entrepreneurs in the form of grants in the early stage of their endeavors
2. Citizen Base Initiative: founded by Ashoka, helps nonprofits to get grass roots support.
3. Youth Ventures: founded by Ashoka, helps young people found socially beneficial ventures by providing them with seed funding, guidance, and access to a network of fellow Venturers.

Sean D

Sean Daneshgar is a Sophmore from Los Angeles. A prospective IR Major and Urban Studies Minor, Sean is interested in sustainable community building, third world development, peace in the middle east, social health and psychology, and helping to mobilize our generation to heal the world. Though his interests are varied and vast, Sean is first and foremost a classmate and friend. I hope to get to know each of you over the course of the next ten weeks. I hope we will form close bonds that strenghten our resolve and our power to make a difference.

Shazad M

Hi everyone my name is Shazad, I'm a sophomore and a prospective Symbolic Systems & History major from Dallas, TX. I'm interested in the role that entrepreneurship can play in social development, particularly within the context of developing countries. My other academic interests include foreign policy, philosophy, Central Asian politics, and computer science. I also enjoy reading, biking, listening to classical music, and the occasional game of chess.

Shelly N

Hello, friends. I'm a sophomore. I was born in Hangzhou, China, but grew up in southeastern Washington state (so, think of Seatte. Then imagine its opposite. There. You have just experienced my hometown). I'm about to declare my major in Product Design, but my other academic interests include studio art, earth systems, and psychology. I enjoy art, design, Life cereal, large bodies of water, and rainbows. After reading about movements in the design field towards sustainability and social change, I'm interested in just that -- applying design thinking to pressing issues, either by changing the way we behave, or introducing helpful new technology. And of course, I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you and having a rocking time in the bay area over spring break!

Sophia T (trip leader)

Sophia is a Science, Technology, and Society major, class of 2008. She is excited by opportunities combining technology, social entrepreneurship, gender, and leadership. Last summer she interned at the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2), a venture philanthropy donor circle funding some truly innovative local nonprofits. She will start conducting research with the Clayman Institute on Bay Area women entrepreneurs this winter.

Sophia's social entrepreneurship bookmarks

Susan C

Hometown: Boston

Year: 2010

Major: IR/CSRE

Interests: student activism, grassroots organizing, social enterprise

Hobbies: art, reading, writing, running, skiing, ice-skating, traveling, meeting new people, trying something new, burning cell phone minutes

Travis K (teaching assistant)

Hello everyone! My name is Travis Kiefer and I am a freshman and a prospective Symbolic Systems major. I have a passion for entrepreneurship, and if it was a major here, I would declare it in a heartbeat. My interest in entrepreneurship started in third grade when I began by selling candy for a profit on the bus (and then eating said profits...) Since then, I started a recycling program at my high school, took a year off before coming to Stanford to pursue a business (which failed miserably but I learned some valuable lessons), and have continued here at Stanford with my involvement both on the team and as a competitor for the Gumball Challenge. When I'm not fantasizing about future startups, I can be found reading, hanging out with friends, reading, playing with my computer, and reading.

Wes M

Hey y'all, my name is Wes and I'm a senior majoring in Symbolic Systems with a Mechanical Engineering minor. I hail from Weston, Massachusetts but grew up in the East Bay area. I chose to pursue this particular ASB program because I am very interested in learning more about technologically-oriented social ventures (such as Benetech) and strategies for ensuring an organization's fiscal sustainability. As I may have mentioned in the first class, I am a huge baseball fan (Oakland A's all the way, baby) and also enjoy skiing, bowling, classic rock and traveling. So yeah . . . if there's something I haven't covered, let me know!

Yin Yin W

I'm a freshmen from Louisville, KY, but raised in Florida. Currently, I'm undecided about my major, but am leaning towards bioengineering. I enjoy ice-skating, 1st season of Grey's Anatomy, cheesecake, reading non-required school books, and trying new things. I hope to get to know everyone better during ASB.