CITRIS Foundry | Team

CITRIS Foundry is the University of California accelerator for founders building deep technology startups. We bring extensive experience at the leading edge of university-driven innovation and entrepreneurship to guide startups and institutional partners in bridging the gap from lab to market.

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Team

MEET THE CITRIS FOUNDRY TEAM

We are dedicated to helping you build the next transformational innovation.

INNOVATION HUB

Maher Hakim

Executive Director

Maher’s experience was accumulated over the past 25+ years from launching and building tech startups, leading products at public software companies, teaching at universities, to 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 was the Managing Director of Qatar Science and Technology Park from 2016 – 2018 and has been a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University since 2012.

Kira Gardner

Program Director, Incubator Lead

Kira currently leads the CITRIS Foundry Innovation Incubator. 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.

Dan Gillette

Team Coach & Advisor

Dan works at the intersection of design and culture, with a special focus on public health, disability, civic life, education, and aging. Dan currently is a senior research scientist and co-director of Tech for Social Good at the Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute at UC Berkeley. In addition to his work at CITRIS, Dan is a principal investigator at the Public Health Institute, and continues to work in industry as a product, experience, and curriculum designer.

Jing Ge

Innovation Week Lead

Jing (Jane) Ge is the innovation and partnership manager at CITRIS. She brings experience in venture capital as well as academic research to support CITRIS Health partnerships, including a commercialization collaboration with China. Ge also works on incubating and accelerating UC Berkeley’s university research technology startups into the marketplace in clean technology, healthcare, biotechnology, AI, and semiconductors, among other areas.

Thomas Azwell

Head of Sustainability & Environmental Innovation

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.

STUDENT ASSOCIATES

Madhuri Gujje

Brand Strategy

Madhuri is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Political Economy with a concentration in Global Poverty and Development. She is currently overseeing Brand Strategy and External Marketing at CITRIS Foundry. Madhuri has experience in international development, corporate social responsbility, and human-centered design. After graduating in 2020, Madhuri plans to focus on innovation that positively impacts human rights and global peace.

Cassidy Hardin

Data Analytics

Cassidy Hardin is a third year studying Data Science at UC Berkeley. She was born in Colorado, and grew up in the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Cassidy is overseeing Data Operations for the CITRIS Foundry. She believes in diversity and inclusion, and is working to develop opportunities to support diversity within STEM and entrepreneurship opportunities for underrepresented populations.

Pranav Penmetcha

Internal Communications

Pranav is a third year studying Data Science and Economics at UC Berkeley. Pranav grew up in New Jersey and he currently works on internal communications for the CITRIS Foundry. Pranav’s goal is to connect people and teams to opportunities.

Janhavi Pillai

Design & Media

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.

Nithya Rajakumar

Research & Operations

Nithya Rajakumar is a fourth year studying Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, and has lived in the Bay Area all her life. She currently works on research and operations for CITRIS Foundry. Her focus is on programming and events for CITRIS Foundry’s cohorts, and helping all the teams with any resources they may need. She is hoping to take her experiences at CITRIS Foundry into her future careers in research and development.