In this episode, we speak with ab banks, a leader at Oxford Tract Farms. ab works with the Berkeley Food Institute and on the ground with Berkeley Student Farms. An Oakland native, ab banks serves as garden lead for People’s Programs in West Oakland, grows food and ensures produce goes from the urban garden into the hands of under-resourced community members. ab was the first member to join People’s Programs. The People’s Garden was created to advance food autonomy for Black people in ab’s hometown and increase access to healthy food – including hot-meal deliveries for unhoused neighbors every Sunday and family grocery deliveries twice a month. With ab serving as garden lead, stewarding the land and harvesting crops, in 2022, the program distributed more than 800 pounds of produce to families and unhoused neighbors in West Oakland.

ab’s farming work is intertwined with wellness for people and the planet. In addition to leading the People’s Garden, ab started the (Free) Community Health Clinic, which opened in 2021 to address needs identified during weekly food delivery. ab is also the Agroecology and Wellness Coordinator at the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI). Here ab conducts participatory research on agroecology practices rooted in soil care and healing communities that have been generationally underestimated and silenced. BFI supports outreach, events, and academic opportunities at more than 10 urban gardens producing food and preserving native ecosystems. ab continues to learn, grow, and share their work in healing and meditation.

In 2022-2023, ab was a Just Leader Fellow with the Cooperative Food Empowerment Collective. Their work is aimed at a cooperative food economy powered by the visionary leadership of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous People of Color.

Episode Quotes:

Power of Listening

When you’re interacting with a lot of different people with a lot of different backgrounds, especially backgrounds that you aren’t familiar with, there will be a lot of listening involved. That is a key part of being a leader.

Community Resource 

In the beginning of me coming to Oxford Tract and Berkeley Food Institute I had numerous conversations with different stakeholders like students, community members, and people we serve. All of the ideas that I have about the future are definitely linked to those initial conversations I had and ongoing conversations. So again listening to what people need from Oxford Tract. It boils down to my goal of being a resource for community members and the students. 

Show Links:

• From the Field: The Vibrant Student Community at UC Berkeley’s Oxford Tract Farm
• BFI News: BFI’s ab banks Wins 2023 Maxwell/Hanrahan Award in Food

On this episode of the Here@Haas podcast, we sit down with Ana Carolina “Caro” Mexia, Co-Founding Partner at Nido Ventures and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Caro blends her roots in computer science and product leadership with an MBA from Stanford to spot and support the next generation of transformative B2B technologies.

Nido Ventures was founded to bridge the technology gap between Silicon Valley and Mexico's foundational industries. What began as an angel syndicate has evolved into a pre-seed fund backing B2B startups at the intersection of U.S. technical innovation, Mexico’s industrial strengths, and the region’s growing nearshoring opportunities.

In this conversation, Caro joins Haas MBA student Taylor Dahlgren as they dive into how venture capitalists identify and evaluate the qualities that inspire confidence in founders and dig into what great leadership looks like from an investor’s perspective.

*Here@Haas Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On The "Healthy Delusion" of Founders

We have to find founders that have a healthy dose of delusion, but that are also rooted in the reality of the operation of what has to be built... We are always looking for the kind of leadership that that particular industry needs.

On Team Dynamics and Red Flags

One common pitfall is founders that have a team that they don't respect. If they don't respect the rest of the team, it becomes a one-man show. If I were to have tried to do everything myself, I would have died. You have to be able to trust.

Advice for MBAs: Keeping Your Authenticity 

I lost a little bit of what I would say was my essence during the MBA. Be truthful to yourself of what it is that you want to get, because you can end up becoming more lost than finding things.

Show Links:

• Caro’s LinkedIn

On this episode of the Here@Haas podcast, meet Dave Alberga, a former Army officer and successful founder, CEO, and investor who sits on several boards. 

Dave has assisted in the launch of numerous start-up organizations and in their growth into large companies, including leading The Active Network from pre-revenue to $480M in annual sales, and a $1B exit for investors. Prior to Active, Dave served as the COO of the CitySearch cityguide business from just after startup to a successful IPO and investor exit. Dave currently serves as a Board Director of GovX, Firestorm Labs, and Trimark Associates, ( A Renewable Power Controls Company). Dave has independently invested in a number of additional private companies including Peloton, Semantic AI, The Rise Festival, and Lennd, among others.

Dave joins Haas MBA students Lee Kantowski and James Takami to discuss the leadership lessons he’s learned throughout his career and give advice on driving organizational culture, giving feedback to employees, and how to best utilize professional networks. 

Episode Quotes: 

Prioritizing People for Greater Organizational Success

"I'm suggesting that if you focus on the success of your employees, you're actually going to deliver more effectively to your shareholders than if you don't."

The Leader’s Job in a Growth Organization

"I viewed my job as number one raising money, number two trying to do my best to paint a target for people and for the organization. And number three, which is the thing I spent more time on than any of the other two, was actually spending one-on-one time with as many people in the organization as I possibly could to understand how they define success for themselves."

Creating a Difficult-to-Replicate Work Environment

"It was my job as the CEO to make finding a better option really, really difficult. That was my job. To create an environment that was going to be very hard for people to replicate elsewhere in the form of professional development, satisfaction, feeling mission-driven, compensation..."

Transparency and Accountability in Performance Feedback

"The reality is if I always felt like if I'm delivering news in a formal performance review that I hadn't given informally multiple times before, that was on me. That was my screw-up... There should be no surprises in a performance review ever."

Show Links:

• David Alberga LinkedIn Profile

In the Leading People class at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, students step beyond the classroom to interview leaders who inspire them.

Working in teams, they record in-depth conversations and transform them into compelling podcast episodes. Each episode features a different leader, sharing real stories, challenges, and insights on what leadership truly means—guided by the fresh perspectives and thoughtful questions of Haas students.

Real leaders. Real stories. A new generation asking the questions.

Listen to the Leading People series on the Here@Haas Podcast. Subscribe and don’t miss an episode.

In this episode of Here@Haas, Michele and Vance kick off a new faculty series with one of Haas’ most celebrated educators: Distinguished Teaching Fellow Greg LaBlanc. Known for his dynamic classes on strategy, game theory, and behavioral finance, and for his influential podcast, unSILOed, Greg shares how an early Montessori education shaped his interdisciplinary curiosity, the unconventional academic path that led him to Berkeley, and why he believes the future belongs to those who can integrate ideas across fields.

Together, they explore innovation, entrepreneurship, competitive moats in the AI era, the role of proprietary data, and why enduring success often requires “fixing things before they break.” Greg also discusses character as life’s true project, the importance of long-term learning, and the deep alumni connections that enrich his life far beyond the classroom.

This episode offers insights for anyone considering strategy, disruption, and building a meaningful career in a rapidly changing world.

Episode Quotes:

If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway!

 I see Haas as ambassadors for this vision. We go out into the world and populate these companies with this unique view of the importance of innovation, the importance of rethinking. I mean, why is questioning the status quo the first of our defining principles? It's because if you don't question the status quo, status quo will crush you. And so one of the things that I always like to say is an implicit slogan of Haasies is if it ain't broke, fix it anyway. It is gonna be broke if you don't do anything. And so being capable of anticipating the future, of being open to being wrong, being open to continuous reinvention, that's what I love about being here. 

On what he is most proud of in his life

​​ It has nothing to do with worldly accomplishments. It has to do with character development. So, not to say that I've got this wonderful, great character. I mean, there's tons of room for improvement, but I think at the end of the day, the only thing that you have control over in your life is your character: the way you act, the way you think, the way you behave, the way you treat other people, and your approach to the world.

On playing the long game

There are people who just think they have forever to do stuff, and then there are other folks who think that they have to do everything right away. And so I would say play the long game. Understand that you might live fairly long period of time and, you know, you might not. Right? And so, learn like you're gonna live forever, really focus on learning without any necessarily obvious reason to think that what you're learning is gonna be immediately valuable. You'll find that things that you learn at one point in your life turn out to be much valuable later in life, oftentimes in unexpected ways. So, focus on learning with a long-term perspective.

Why good MBAs are good generalists

To be a good generalist is to have this very active mental switchboard that sends you off in all sorts of directions, makes connections that other people don't see, thinks analogously, and sometimes metaphorically, right?  Scientists often think in very linear, very structured ways. Start with small building blocks, work up to more sophisticated things. I think the superpower of a good MBA is that you don't limit yourself to that way of thinking, but that you have all these combinations, these neural combinations that send you in different directions.

Show Links

• Greg LaBlanc – LinkedIn
• unSILOed Podcast

In this episode of Here@Haas, we sit down with the remarkable Jeep Kline — Haas lecturer, founder and managing partner of Raise Well Ventures, and former World Bank economist whose career spans deep-tech venture capital, global economic development, and transformative leadership. Jeep shares her journey from growing up in Bangkok during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, to advising ministers of finance in emerging markets, to becoming a Silicon Valley VC and founder of multiple funds. She also discusses the origins of the Haas Impact Fund, the rapidly changing job market shaped by AI, and what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur or investor in today’s environment. Her story is one of purpose, grit, and redefining what impact really means.

Episode Quotes:

On navigating your career with purpose:

“ I like to tell people that the most important thing that you have to have (is) purpose—why you do what you do. And it has to fit your broad principle and your belief. Because in the journey that you're gonna see in the next 20 years, it's gonna be up and down. Things are gonna change way more rapidly than my generation. And without purpose, it's gonna hurt—it's gonna hurt you, it's gonna hurt your mentality, but with purpose, you're gonna allow yourself to fail along the way because, you know, it's just a learning. You get up and do it again. You are gonna figure out. So, having a purpose of why you do what you do, you will allow yourself to fail and also succeed.”

On what truly makes a startup succeed:

“ It is the quality of the management team. That is by far the most important. Mostly, things are gonna change, especially today, as you mentioned, because of AI, that is going to create a rapid change in our society and technology development, and so on. And all of these are gonna come back to the founders. How do they adjust? How do they pivot? How do founders actually handle that? There's gonna be a bunch of things that they're gonna have to solve. How do they think about the industry? Where do they think an industry is going next, and how do they adjust the business, the management team, and themselves to take advantage of the industry and the new technology? That is the most important thing, more so than the technology itself.”

On long-term success and risk-taking:

“If I could tell my younger self, I would tell myself not to worry about how people perceive me. You don't have to care about that. You play a long game, and you try to hit your ground running, take risks, and it's okay to fail. You get up, you pivot, you learn from it, and you do it again. And I guarantee you, no matter how long it takes, you know this is a probability, right? When you fail enough, you will also succeed enough. It's just a rule. And I just want us to think about the long game instead of the short-term KPI and how society and your friends, or like peer pressure, that a lot of you probably go through. Don't worry about any of that.”

Show Links:

• Jeep Kline LinkedIn Profile
• Raisewell Ventures – Jeep’s deep-tech impact venture fund
• Haas Impact Fund – The experiential VC course & student-led fund at Berkeley Haas

In this inspiring episode, Vance and Michele sit down with Ravi Malhotra, a second-year MBA student in the EW program at Haas and Corporate Controller at HeartBeam. From his humble beginnings in India to leading finance operations in Silicon Valley, Ravi shares his remarkable journey of grit, purpose, and continuous learning.

Ravi dives deep into what sparked his passion for accounting, why he pursued a Chartered Accountancy path before joining EY, and how his decision to prioritize family led him to make a courageous leap from Big Four to industry. Now at the helm of financial operations in a cutting-edge medical device company, he talks about leading through collaboration, building systems from scratch, and supporting FDA-cleared innovations that allow patients to take hospital-quality ECG readings from the comfort of home.

Beyond his day job, Ravi also shares what drove him to pursue an MBA at Haas, his approach to time management while balancing school, work, and family, and how he finds purpose in mentorship and helping others succeed. This episode is a masterclass in servant leadership, resilience, and lifelong learning.

Episode Quotes

On leaving the Big Four after 14 years

 That was another juncture when I thought about, you know, to leave or not leave because that's crucial to decide in terms of a career move. It was a hard decision for me as an individual, and I decided to move only for the good reason, for the sake of my family. I wanna see my kids grow in front of my eyes. Money will come by no matter what, but I think time was very precious to spend with family, give them the appropriate time.

On why he pursued an MBA

You know, I keep on doing the long-term goals in my career. In school, I had a goal to become a CA. I became a CA, and then the Big Four was the goal. Did that. Doing that same long-term goal strategy really helped in keeping me on my toes and grounded. And then I thought, okay, now I’m a corporate controller, what do I need to do next? I talked to my mentors, I did the research, and what I learned is that having an MBA will help. Definitely, you'll have an edge in terms of the other peers who have the skillset and sit at the table for the same position that you're trying to pursue.

On using the tools from Haas to lead and support others

Right now, I’m focusing on finance-driven classes and the core classes. Once that is done, I feel like I will have all the good tools. Now, it's upon me as a human being to make sure that I use those tools in my future journey, working towards my career goals. When does that career goal come by? That’s hard to predict, to be honest. What is in my control is to make sure that I do a good job in leading the people I'm leading and providing support to my teams so that they feel good about working with me as an individual and as a support system. That will be a big achievement if I keep on doing that. 

On staying motivated and pursuing your dreams

When you do see a dream and you have goals in life, nobody can stop you from achieving that. Only you can do that. And if you decide to support you, no matter what people can do around you, you'll get it. Yes, there'll be some hiccups, there'll be some problems, but if you don't give up, you'll get it. Just stay motivated and keep going. 

Show Links

• Learn more about HeartBeam’s innovative ECG technology
• Explore Berkeley Haas Executive MBA Program
• Visit the EW MBA Student Resources Website (EW Wire)
• Check out CalCPA – California Society of CPAs

In this episode of Here@Haas, we sit down with the multi-talented and dynamic Paramee Intarachumnum—Executive MBA student, Vice President of Social for her cohort, and co-founder of Invex, an investment platform bridging high-quality tech deals with Asian investors. From launching a mentoring startup to building a chicken farm school for underprivileged youth in Thailand, Paramee shares her remarkable journey from advertising to innovation, from boardrooms to bars (yes, she owns four in Bangkok!).

We talk about her bold approach to leadership, her mission to democratize tech investment, and how she’s creating impact through collaboration, creativity, and going the extra mile. Whether you're curious about startups, social impact, or the vibrant energy of Southeast Asia's innovation scene—this episode is packed with inspiration.

*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On coming to the Bay Area

 I only considered the San Francisco Bay area because I want to be here as a person who is always passionate about tech. I know that tech will change the world, whether it's a software, a platform, or even deep technologies that a lot of scientists and a lot of entrepreneurs have been trying to build. I would love to be in a place where everything is happening. So yeah, that's why I decided to come to Haas. I think Haas has a really good track record of building entrepreneurs and scientists who build cool products.

On Doing Good With Real Intention

I would say, I think first, when you want to do things, I would suggest to have the really good intention in doing things. I mean, I was there with a really good energy. I was fired up. I was like, I'm going to do this. I'm going to change things. And they kind of bought it. So, I think people would love to help you if they see that you really want to make it happen. Collaboration is key. 

On Going the Extra Mile

One thing that I am really proud of in my life would be going the extra mile for everything I do. Because one, I would feel good about myself that I do my best in every opportunity that is handed to me and I will never regret. There's a lot of things that I failed, for example, the mentoring platform, but actually, I received some calls from users that they got a new investment. They got a new job. I'm proud of that, even though I failed. And then another good thing about going the extra mile: you might win. You will probably win. Because if people have a mindset of going the extra mile most of the time, going for the thing that you really want or really want to be, I think success would be higher, than people who are coming with just a typical mindset.

Show Links:

• Invex
• UC LAUNCH
• RISE
• Breakthrough Energy

In this episode, hosts Vance and Michele welcome Lucia Casella, an engineer turned MBA student at Berkeley Haas, to discuss her experiences in the Evening Weekend MBA (EWMBA) program. As a member of the LUX 2026 cohort and the VP of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, Belonging (DEIJB), and Mental Health Awareness (MHA), Lucia shares insights into balancing a career, academics, and leadership roles.

She dives into what drew her to Haas, her experience in the Flex program, and how she stays organized amid the challenges of an MBA. Lucia also reflects on the importance of community, mental health initiatives, and the role of women in leadership. Plus, we get a peek into her love for reading, her favorite classes, and her vision for the future. If you're considering an MBA, especially as a remote or working professional, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways!

*Here@Haas Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

On Ladies Who Lux Channel as a Lifesaver

Coming from engineering, there's not a lot of women in leadership. Depending on what industry you're in, there's not even a lot of women that you're working with. And I just really like connecting women who are in those similar fields and just chatting about that common experience. And kind of realizing we don't have to pretend to be men or fake-watch sports to have meaningful conversations about business. We can just be ourselves and connect about all that good stuff.

How an MBA Helps Engineers Bridge the Gap Between Tech and Business

For engineers, I think our education was very focused on the science of it all. I think a lot of engineers could benefit by gaining some more people skills, communication, and understanding how the business runs because if you don't understand the context that you're operating within, like, you can be the best engineer, but it needs to make sense for what the business is doing. So, if you have any interest whatsoever in figuring that kind of stuff out, certainly getting an MBA is a great way of doing that.

Show Links:

• Berkeley Haas Evening & Weekend MBA Program
• Diversity Symposium

In this episode of Here at Haas, hosts Vance and Michele welcome Claudia Viña Vazquez, a second-year full-time MBA student at Berkeley Haas and the former president of the MBA Association. Originally from Spain, Claudia shares her journey from studying in Europe to pursuing an MBA in the U.S., how she adapted to life in the Bay Area, and why she ultimately chose Haas—even though it wasn’t her first choice.

As a leader, Claudia reflects on her time as MBA Association president, emphasizing the importance of team collaboration, fostering a strong student community, and the behind-the-scenes work that makes student-led initiatives thrive. She also delves into how her MBA experience has helped her reconnect with personal passions like reading, running, and learning about diverse cultures—most recently, her deep dive into Hasidic Jewish traditions.

Beyond leadership and personal interests, Claudia discusses the classes that had the biggest impact on her—such as Conflict Lab, where she learned how to navigate high-stakes conversations, and Systems Change for a Small Planet, which challenged her to rethink her career path. She also shares why she’s choosing to return to consulting post-MBA, how she balances gratitude with ambition, and her long-term considerations about staying in the U.S. or moving back to Europe.

To wrap up, Claudia offers heartfelt advice for incoming MBA students: embrace the uncertainty, focus on personal growth as much as career success, and remember that an MBA is about more than just landing the perfect job—it’s about becoming the person you want to be.

*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Why Systems Change for a Small Planet Was One of Her Most Impactful Classes

It was really impactful for me because it made me reflect a lot about my career choices. It brought me multiple career crises in one semester. It made me reflect what are my values in life. It made me reflect on who I am as a person and if my current career is aligned with that or not. And it made me reflect a lot on how that nurturing part of me or this caring part of me, this worrying about people and individuals, how can I incorporate that into my career in the future and how to incorporate that while going back to consulting.

On Leadership and Teamwork

 The role of a president is, in my opinion, should be “a back-office” job. It should be someone who is there to support the team and lead the team. Maybe one or two times, have individual initiatives. What I'm most proud of is how well the team performed and how we managed to create a well-oiled machine. So, every single initiative that we wanted to do was there, but every single initiative that we've done, for me, is 85%, 90%, the vice presidents that were handling that initiative and 10% how we were able to manage as a team.

On Finding the Right MBA Culture

Haas was not my first option. So coming here, I was with a bittersweet feeling. As someone who is really a high achiever, not getting into your first option is never a good feeling. After two weeks at Haas, I understood why I was at Haas. I cannot be more grateful that I ended up at Haas. The culture is right for me, the people that surround me are the right people for me, the type of events that we do are right for me. All of this is right for me.

Advice to new students

 This is probably really bad advice, but don't focus too much on career. It is so easy to come into the MBA and just be like, I need to get the job. I'm going to focus on career. There is so much more growth that you can do in the MBA. There's not only career growth. There is so much more development that we can do as humans that maybe it will end up in a changing career that we didn't even think that we needed or that we wanted. Embrace the chaos. Embrace the trying to figure out what you want. I know it's really scary. 

Take care of yourself and focus also on the personal part of you and your mental health. Don't let it deprive you. I don't truly believe in what everybody says, like in the MBA, you cannot balance them all. I truly think you can. One thing that I learned in consulting that I applied to everything in my life that I think everybody should apply is the 80-20 approach. There's like 20 percent of things that bring 80 percent of the impact. Focus on that 20%. Don't go to every event. Go to the 20% of the events that are going to bring you the most joy. Don't apply to 100% of the jobs. Apply to the 20% of the jobs that either you have the most chances or you will like the most. Just focus on 20%.

Show Links:

• LinkedIn Profile
• Conflict Lab
• Systems Change for a Small Planet

H@H Ep 79: Xan Wood, current FTMBA student at the Haas School of Business talks to hosts Ameya Purandare and Marissa Maliwanag about tech, venture capital, private equity, and much more. In this episode, we explore the Berkeley entrepreneurship ecosystem, the need for a venture fund dedicated to Berkeley Entrepreneurs, the formation of Courtyard Ventures Fund 2, and many other things.

On Courtyard Ventures:

"Courtyard is a fund run by MBAs and Berkeley students to invest in startups from Berkeley. The genesis of that is that students are very close to companies. We are in the ecosystem. We are able to meet with people and also know Berkeley itself… It’s not just MBA, the undergraduate level, Ph.D. level there are amazing companies coming out of Berkeley"

On the entrepreneurial spirit in Berkeley:

"Berkeley is a hotbed of innovation. You can tell just by walking around the Berkeley campus, it’s a huge amount of entrepreneurship and general people trying to do different things. If you just look at the kinds of developments happening in this area of the world, like nuclear fusion or other things … It highlights that there’s just a huge amount of stuff happening here." 

On the need for a dedicated venture fund for Berkeley:

"I read a report by a Stanford professor on the number of unicorns created by Haas MBAs. I think we’ve got 1.4 in a thousand vs Harvard’s 1.6. Berkeley as a public school is relatively siloed, the budget of Berkely per student is $65000 per year vs $235000 at Harvard and $400000 at Stanford. So as students in this ecosystem, we can really play a role to create a lubricant and help generate and push the startups forward."

H@H: AtB Ep 7 – In this episode, Nate Pola, Director of Programming @ Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator and Defi Governance and Stakeholder Incentives Researcher talks to Paul Bryzek about his love for teaching, his interest in crypto, and how it culminated in him revamping the edX courses as the director of programming for Blockchain at Berkeley B@B. Nate and Paul further discuss all things blockchain from basics such as the unspent transaction output (UTXO) model, algorithmic stablecoins, and various macroeconomic principles which are used to design them to the recent Terra Luna collapse which shook the crypto ecosystem.

Blockchain at Berkeley

B@B EdX Course: Blockchain Fundamentals 

UTXO model:

Algorithmic stablecoins:

Terra Luna:

Notable Episode Quotes:

Nate Pola on the UTXO transaction model:

"It's just like making a piggy bank. And first it starts by creating smaller denominations of this Bitcoin. And so it transfers that half of Bitcoin to the intended recipient from there, it then takes the. Little piggy bank is the transaction fee." 

Nate Pola on Algorithmic Stablecoins: 

"Algorithm ones are the ones that don't have a direct one-to-one backing per se. And they instead are backed by computer science."

Nate Pola on the Terra Luna Collapse: 

"Terra had a large reserve of Bitcoin in store. And so Terraform labs sold about 3 billion in Bitcoin just to buy Terra and try to prevent the stable coin from collapse. And so all this was done with the intention to pump the new Terra Luna ecosystem and provide more reserves and more liquidity and value in the protocol."

H@H: Ep 78 - Dr. Kurt Beyer, Haas lecturer specializing in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Navy veteran, and founder of the California Innovation Fund chats with host Paulina Lee on her last episode for Here@Haas (originally recorded in Spring 2022). Dr. Beyer shares his journey to Haas from flying planes to writing a book to his first start-up to teaching at Haas and everything in between. This episode is filled with great advice for business and life.

On failure

“Reinvent your notion of failure, because failure is so common when you're an entrepreneur.”

On understanding purpose

“This is the critical part of understanding your purpose.  Sometimes if we listen too much to the external world, where the external world is telling us, this is the best college to go to, this is the best job to work in. We can actually be pulled away from our purpose. So what your purpose is and what you're good at can be two different things.”

On what it means to be an entrepreneur

“It's a professional who loves change, who loves to innovate. And if sometimes they're the investors, sometimes they're the employee, and sometimes they're the co-founder. It's all being entrepreneurial.”

Resource Links

• California Innovation Fund 
• Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Dr. Kurt Beyer
• Dr. Kurt Beyer

H@H: AtB Ep 6 – On this episode, Nick Helgeson, MBA 2022 and Johnny Antos, MBA 2022 a senior developer at Prysm Group (a consulting firm specializing in the economics of emerging technologies, particularly in the blockchain space), chat with Paul Bryzek. They share how they stumbled into the crypto ecosystem, the Web3 speaker series they created on the Haas campus, and what’s in store for the future of WEB3. This episode was recorded during the Terra Luna stablecoin collapse and Nick and Johnny provide their expert crypto perspectives. Tune into this conversation to learn more about exciting topics like token economics (tokenomics), stablecoins, and how to evaluate projects in the Defi space.

This episode is particularly notable as it was recorded during the Terra Luna collapse on May 10^th, 2022. During that day the price of Luna fell from $17.52 to $1.07 and was noticeably falling during the interview itself.

WEB3 speaker series -Notion page

Stablecoins - Definition

Tokenomics - Definition

Terra Luna crash

Notables Episode Quotes:

Nick Helgeson on the motivation for starting the web3 speaker series:

“I wanted to help contribute in my own way. And so, I set out to build and deliver what's now UC Berkeley's first-ever web three course. It’s housed in the MBA, program, and MBA students can propose teaching or facilitating a one-credit class “

Johnny Antos On the difference between Web2 & Web3:

“The classic one is web2 was read, write, and interact. And now web three brings in read, write, interact still, but now you have verifiable ownership on a blockchain, which, you know, doesn't sound that game-changing maybe, but that, that opens up doors for interoperability and people actually owning their assets and moving it from one platform or one protocol to another.”

Nick Helgeson on Solana and the trilemma tradeoff:

“What's called the scalability, trilemma, and you're effectively trading off between, three things, on transaction throughput, the other one is decentralization. and then the third one is security. And so, in choosing a proof of history, consensus protocol, the Solana development team made a pretty conscious choice in optimizing for speed.”

H@H: AtB Ep 5 – Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) and Senior Product manager from Blockchain @ Berkeley James Dai chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek and shares his blockchain expertise as a seasoned blockchain developer. His diverse experiences and collaboration with The Berkeley Center for Responsible, Decentralized Intelligence (RDI), in collaboration with Professor Dawn Song, led him to identify the need for reliable content authenticity on the web, and has started his own project and is recruiting co-founders. If interested feel free to email James at jamesmdai@berkeley.edu

FakeNet AI – Detects synthetic (fake) media to protect users against attacks.

Automated Market Maker (AMM) – Definition

What is DAI? Description of MakerDAO and its cryptocurrency DAI.

 On Automated Market Makers (AMMs)

“That basically allows you to take a token and then convert it to different tokens. So, if I take an Ethereum, I can convert it to Dai or vice versa. This AMM is really just a way to decentralize what is existing today as a traditional market maker.”

 On the Problem with Misinformation today

“And so, I think we can all agree, misinformation is an issue today. How we're currently trying to solve it as rather algorithmic. Facebook, AI, created this deep fake detection challenge. And the best state of the art models can only accurately classify 65% correctly.”

 On Transparency of Legal Contracts on a Blockchain

“So, you could basically make it where all the contracts are put on the blockchain as well, along with all the transaction flow. And so, you can follow legal entities on a blockchain throughout. And then track all their transactions.”

H@H: AtB Ep 4 – Partner at NGC Ventures Andrea Chang chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek and shares her industry insights as a crypto VC. Andrea is a graduating full-time 2022 MBA originally from Taiwan who moved to California to attend Haas. She previously lived in Singapore and worked at Goldman Sachs doing equity research for a few years. Later she joined NGC Ventures, one of the largest institutional investors of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies and has been a key contributor to several leading blockchain projects.

On NGC Ventures

“NGC ventures we started in mid 2018. We were the early investor in multiple public blockchains, such as Solana, Avalanche, PolkaDot, to name a few. We are also active in many defi metaverse deals.”

On identifying Red Flags for startups

“Timeline, like seems focus too much on the token access strategy rather than product building. And second is that often times it needs to rely on the market secondary market condition, which is hard to predict for all of us.”

On Berkeley entrepreneurs raising rounds

“First is to be very clear about your product and solution and your vision as is the positioning of your product in the wider industry space. And I think second is that to make the best use of the Berkeley environment, especially the talents part. Because Berkeley has so many talents, in undergrads, graduates, and MBA.”

Taking the time to come to Haas and do an MBA can be an incredible opportunity for exploration and introspection, especially for those of us that are interested in sustainability and social impact. But the task of figuring out what you want to do next and how you want to make an impact can feel daunting at times.

With that in mind, we’ll be delving into the question: “how might we chart our path and discover our purpose” in this episode.

We are first accompanied by Professor Robert Strand, also known as “Mr. Nordic.” He is the Executive Director of the Nordic Center and the Center for Responsible Business at Haas and tells us about his career history, what motivated the major pivots in his journey, and finding inspiration in the Nordic region.

We then hear from Jenelle Harris, a Haas alum from the class of 2017. Jenelle is a Consulting Manager at Bridgespan, where she leads engagements with social impact organizations, and she is also a career coach here at Berkeley Haas, where she works with mission-driven leaders. We talk with Jenelle about how we can find purpose and meaning in our career search. 

Episode Quotes:

On work-life balance & boundaries (Jenelle)

51:56 - When I'm working with folks in the social sector, that's like one of the biggest things we're working through is, what does it look like to do this work and to do so in a way that is nourishing and doesn't leave us wiped out. And how do we both hold like the sacredness and importance of this big, important work we're doing and take care of herself and feel permission to do that too.

Some of the best advice Jenelle has received (Jenelle)

31:09 - Pay attention to those things that just continuously light you up and spark anger, because that's a clue as to where you are best positioned to be a service.

On always looking up to Berkeley (Robert)

09:32 - I can't tell you how grateful I am that I have this opportunity to be at the University of California, Berkeley. A place I've revered all my life, even as a little boy growing up in middle of nowhere in Wisconsin, I looked to the University of California, Berkeley, and it is just a beacon educational opportunity for all, for the many people. And I firmly believe that. And that's in the idea of, it's inequality of opportunity that at its core is really, you know, we can call that that's the American dream. And I think that the University of California, Berkeley is an American dream factory. 

Nordic vs. US ways of thinking about community (Robert)

24:37 - Here is where I fear that we in the United States of America have developed a “me, me, me” mindset. Hyper selfish, hyper-focused on myself. We need what I would call in a Nordic context which is still, you have individual responsibility. There is still an importance for me, but they've recognized that if they build systems for the we, each of us “me” will benefit.

Show Links:

• Robert Strand’s Faculty Profile
• Robert Strand on Coursera
• Robert Strand on Google Scholar
• Robert Strand on LinkedIn
• Robert Strand on Twitter
• Jenelle Harris on Linkedin
• Jenelle Harris’ Website

Once you have your MBS and certificate, how do you translate that knowledge into the working world and make some lasting change? Today we are joined by a couple of very special Haas MBA alumni that have developed their careers in sustainability with very different paths.

We will hear from Tracy Gray who is a Haas MBA alumni class of 2007. She is the Founder and Managing Partner at The 22 Fund, the Founder of non-profit We Are Enough focused on educating women on how to invest, and Lead Partner at Porfolia Green and Sustainability Fund. 

She tells us about her impressive career path that ranged from space engineer, band manager, mayoral advisor to finally entering the sustainability space, as well as her perspectives in the early stage impact investment.

We will also be joined by Evan Wiener. He is also a Haas MBA alumni class of 2014 and currently Head of Circular Economy at H&M with past experiences in Nike and Adidas. He tells us about his work in corporate sustainability.

Episode Quotes:

Privileges and Environmental Intersectionality and Venture Capital (Tracy)

13:21 - Especially in venture and private equity and climate investment. Once again, like crypto, like everything, they are not thinking intersectional or holistically about, you know, women and people of color experience the worst of these impacts more than anyone in the world yet we're not given the capital to come up with a solution.

We know the solutions because we experience it. So we've got, you know, privileged white guys who are telling us, here's how you're going to fix your problem. And it's not the way it should work. 

Different types of jobs in corporate sustainability (Evan)

35:52 -  Thinking that you want to work in the world of corporate sustainability is still so, so broad, right? I mean, you could be a specialist in an analytics department, you could work in supply chain. You could be building products, working in innovation. You could be a materials expert.

Circular economy (Evan)

45:17 -  Sustainability is often I think most effective when you break down silos. When you connect dots between supply chain, logistics, product, innovation, marketing, and circular economy allows companies to break those silos down.

It also allows companies to break down silos outside of their four walls. To think about how to collaborate on things like material innovation on supply chain disruptions, new manufacturing technology. Things that previously had been considered competitive, circular economy is saying, hey, we all need to solve these problems.

Show Links:

• Tracy Gray on LinkedIn
• The 22 Fund
• We Are Enough
• Evan Wiener on LinkedIn

H@H: AtB Ep 3 – Co-Founder of Two Grahams Capital, LLC Graham Bode, current Haas student soon to graduate, chats with hosts Paulina Lee and Paul Bryzek. Graham shares his Haas story, an entrepreneurial journey including quitting his cushy corporate job to pursue his own ventures full time. He initially was very skeptical of the entire space, but quickly became immersed with blockchain technology and its market dynamics. Graham is an expert at detecting inefficiencies in markets and capitalizing on them through automated arbitrage. He breaks down his strategies for dealing with the high risk and volatility in the crypto market by adhering to frameworks and fundamentals.

On his journey and why apply to Haas

“I ended up applying to Haas. It was the only business school I applied to with the intent to really delve deep on the blockchain side. So, for the two years prior to. Ultimately coming to Haas, I had fallen really deep down to the blockchain rabbit hole..”

On losing passwords to your wallet

“This is one of the costs of a system like this, a decentralized system that has no intermediaries means that the participant has Not just the right to retrieve their assets and to transact without any intermediaries. There's also a responsibility that comes with that.”

On the educational opportunities through B@B

“What I've learned is not to second guess what the signals are that the market's giving you. And one of those examples is NFTs.”

In this episode, we talk to two faculty members who are driving the effort to integrate sustainability and social impact topics into the curriculum at Haas through both the core curriculum and electives.

Dave Rochlin, the Executive Director of the Innovation, Creativity, and Design Practice at Berkeley Haas joins us first. He teaches a new applied innovation elective called Designing Tech for Good, recently featured in Haas News.

He shares why he created this class, the role business leaders play in shaping public policy, and his ideas for the future of sustainability at Haas.

We then sit down with Panos Patatoukas to hear more about how fundamental MBA classes like finance and accounting can transform the mindset of future leaders. Panos is an Associate Professor at Haas.

Episode Quotes:

Can accountants save the world? (Panos)

36:51 - ​If I can find ways to make it easier for great people to get finance and execute their vision, and come up with great technology, I think that will be a success for me, right? But it's going to be really, the question is how do we get these incredible people to innovate. And I think that's really the role of management.

Where do you see the US markets going in terms of disclosure? (Panos)

34:23 - I don't want to make predictions, but you know, the trend that I see is more convergence as opposed to divergence in the way we think, across the globe. And I think that's driven by investors. I think the investor base is globalized and investors demand I think more clarity in terms of the way companies are reporting their activities and in terms of the way they fund portfolios and to make decisions. 

What do you want students to take away from your course (Dave)

22:51 - How to be more creative around problem-solving. We do have some design thinking built into the course and some systems thinking. And so, suspending the idea that you can solve the problem right away and thinking much more creatively about possibilities is something that we definitely put into the course and make sure the projects consider.

Show Links:

• Dave Rochlin’s Faculty Profile 
• Dave Rochlin on LinkedIn
• Panos Patatoukas Faculty Profile
• Panos Patatoukas on LinkedIn
• Panos Patatoukas on Twitter