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JUABAR FOUNDING TEAM
OLIVIA NAVA
CEO
Olivia Nava is driven by her empathy to understand what drives people’s behaviors. She employs design-thinking methodology to creatively and collaboratively develop solutions to old systemic problems, such as health disparities, economic insecurity and climate change. Her work has led her through designing HIV programs in Mozambique and promoting food systems through healthcare philanthropy at Tides. Olivia has her BA in Classics from UCLA and MBA in Design Strategy from California College of the Arts.
SACHI DECOU
Director of Connectivity
Sachi is a designer, researcher and social entrepreneur with a focus on energy and transportation. She’s researched and designed solutions to urban transportation challenges through implementation of transportation curriculum for U.S. schools, the design and fabrication of interactive installations and the development of social programs which engage the public around urban design and sustainability.
RACHEL GANT
Design Director
Rachel is an Industrial Designer with a background in Architecture. She translates design intent into appropriately beautiful yet functional solutions which bring clarity not only to the direct users, but add conversation to the larger contexts at play. Also a founding partner of Yield Design Co, Rachel explores the intersection of design and business, focusing on creating thoughtful products in tune with logical and efficient manufacturing processes.
The original research for this project was undertaken in the California College of the Arts, MBA in Design Strategy – Social Ventures Class by Eric Persha, Anna Acquistapace and Olivia Nava. That research is now being continued and further elaborated by CCA students, Olivia Nava, DMBA Class of 2012; Rachel Gant, Industrial Design, Class of 2012 and Sachi DeCou, DMBA Class of 2012.
ANNA ACQUISTAPACE
Anna is a business and design strategist. She bridges business and design objectives using insights-driven strategy to guide the development of meaningful products and experiences. Blending curiosity, creative thinking and analysis, she discovers and leverages opportunity in the service of positive change.
ERIC PERSHA
Eric is a researcher and strategist, and the co-founder and CEO of Mosey (www.themosey.com). Eric’s passion lies in understanding and exploring the cultural context of how people interact with products and services in their daily lives. He mixed this passion with four months of travel over two summers in East Africa, and became immersed in the challenges of distributing solar solutions to populations without power in Tanzania. Prior to Mosey and Juabar, Eric worked as the Director of Digital Research and Strategy for Beyond, helping clients like Google, Hilton and Lenovo create ways to connect with their customers in a deeper, more meaningful way.
ADVISORS
STEVE DILLER
Steve Diller leads The Scansion Group. As a “temporal experience strategist,” Steve brings a unique perspective, rooted in the “time-based arts,” such as film and music, as well as anthropology and cognitive psychology, which makes it possible to optimize any offering in an era of rapid technological and social change. Prior to forming The Scansion Group, Steve was Senior Vice-President of Brand Strategy at Added Value, and before that was a Partner and Director of Innovation at Cheskin Added Value, a leading innovation firm. While at Cheskin he co-wrote Making Meaning with design leader Nathan Shedroff and then-Cheskin CEO Darrel Rhea. Before Cheskin, he owned a film production company and produced and directed several feature films.
RAFFI MINASIAN
Raffi Minasian is an award winning designer and manufacturer with expertise in Product and Transportation Design. Raffi has been a key member of multiple start-ups developing brand and product strategies with operational and design focus in manufacturing and fulfillment. Raffi is a pioneer professor for the DMBA graduate program at California College of the Arts where he teaches Innovation. He has lectured at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, San Jose State University, University of Washington and other notable colleges.
JASPAL SANDHU
Jaspal’s primary focus is on human-centered design for technology and service innovation for social impact globally. He is a co-founder of and partner at the Gobee Group. Through Gobee, he and his teams engage in systematic innovation with international non-profit organizations, governments, foundations, and technology corporations. His countries of work experience include the United States, India, Guatemala, Uganda, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Mexico, South Africa, Qatar, Japan, and Ghana. He has designed a globally unique graduate public health innovation course and teaches at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to Gobee, he worked with the Mongolian Ministry of Health to research the design of mobile health information systems as a Fulbright scholar in rural Mongolia. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He speaks Punjabi, Spanish, Mongolian, and English.
