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

Kira Gardner

Director

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

Manager

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.

Thomas Azwell

X-Labs

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.

Maher Hakim

Program Advisor

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.

STUDENT ASSOCIATES

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

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.

Sarah Parkes

Research & Operations

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.