ELAHEH DEMIRCHELIE
With over a decade of experience, as a young award-winning architecture designer and a creative director, Elaheh's design practice in San Francisco has been focused on developing ideas around design, technology and sustainability.  Her academic research focused extensively on sustainable design and environmental strategies in the built environment. The same principles of social and environmental responsibility exist in the ethos of her projects, while collaborating with like-minded clients, contractors and stakeholders. Elaheh served as Chief Creative Officer for the award-winning Mark Cavegnero Associates in San Francisco prior to opening her own company.
Elaheh believes in the power of design as an instigator for change. As part of her personal investment to continually support education, she has served as faculty and invited juror of architecture in multiple collegiate settings, in pursuit of innovative pedagogies, specifically those applied to the beginning design students. 
She is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and a member of the American Institute of Architects and Urban Land Institute. Elaheh received a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in architecture from Georgia Institute of Technology.
KRISTEN MITCHELL, Ph.D.

Sailing for six weeks across the North Pacific Gyre, Kristen witnessed the impact of consumer lifestyles on our  oceans. After spending weeks with the crew counting thousands of tiny bits of plastic, she knew she wanted to find creative ways to lessen our environmental impact. Kristen focuses on the most sensitive environmental issues facing our planet. She has translated her scientific systems thinking background into policy work in Congress and as a senior advisor at USDA as a part of the Obama administration. Her work spans across  researching plastics in the oceans, water sustainability, to advising on policies for agricultural research, and creating environmental educational tools. Dr. Mitchell earned her PhD in Isotope Biogeochemistry from Utrecht University after earning a Master’s of Science in System Earth Modeling. She also holds a Master’s of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Marine Chemistry at Eckerd College.  

SARAH SHEN

Sarah focuses on topics around business and economy in sustainability. She brings a finance focused background to the platform including her experience in public accounting at Ernst & Young and banking as a vice president at J.P. Morgan.

She received her MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.A in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

 
 
BABAK SHAFEI, Ph.D.
Babak is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the water, energy and environmental sectors. Skilled in computational science and engineering, environmental engineering, and sustainability, he focuses on topics related to technology and sustainability. 
Babak recieved his Ph.D. focused in Environmental Science/Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Babak is the founder of Aqua NRG, which was recently awarded $1,000,000 Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research (DOE-SBIR) Phase II grant.