Jan
30
7:30 PM19:30

Reimagine Urban Housing: How to build for the next generation of SF residents?

  • 3092 16th Street San Francisco, CA, 94103 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS
 

San Francisco has long been known as one of the world's most expensive cities to live in. With limited real estate, zoning regulations, high construction cost and inflow of well-paid tech workers, SF's housing price keeps rising over the years. Can tech help more people afford to live in SF? How do we rethink the real estate development and operations process to create more affordable homes?

 
With 25 years’ experience in housing and community development, David began his career as a planner and project manager for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City. For nearly ten years, David headed several major pro…

With 25 years’ experience in housing and community development, David began his career as a planner and project manager for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City. For nearly ten years, David headed several major programs for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, including its 800-unit homeownership portfolio and 1,500-unit Inclusionary Housing Program.

In June 2013, David assumed the helm of the San Francisco Housing Development Corporation, a then 26-year old, community-based, nonprofit organization in San Francisco’s Bayview District. In the past six years, SFHDC completed over 800 newly constructed or renovated affordable units within five projects, and now has another 750 units in the production pipeline. Under Mr. Sobel’s leadership, SFHDC also expanded its resident services program from 30 households at one location to 825 households at six locations.

A passionate advocate for the provision of housing and economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income households, David has served on the board of several non-profit and civic organizations and was elected President of the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of New York State, a state-wide advocacy association comprised of more than 300 non-profit community development organizations

David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in architecture and a concentration in film from Columbia College in New York.

Dr. Rachel Brahinsky is an urban geographer and an associate professor at the University of San Francisco. She directs the Graduate Program in Urban & Public Affairs and is affiliated with the Politics Department. Her scholarship focuses on race…

Dr. Rachel Brahinsky is an urban geographer and an associate professor at the University of San Francisco. She directs the Graduate Program in Urban & Public Affairs and is affiliated with the Politics Department. Her scholarship focuses on race and justice in cities, particularly in California.

She is the co-author of the forthcoming book A People’s Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area (coming in Sept 2020). Her current research investigates the geography of race and real estate on the Bay Area, with a focus on the history of urban redevelopment, the primacy of property in Bay Area politics, and the role of urban-spatial change in shaping the human experience of the region.

 
 

This event is supported by Flatiron School

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Jan
29
7:30 PM19:30

Reimagine Transportation: How can shared mobility be a city's friend?

  • 3092 16th Street San Francisco, CA, 94103 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Rideshare, scooters, and other shared mobility have brought convenience to millions of users. However, many of these companies have been under heavy scrutiny from state and city regulators, from city level scooter bans to the AB-5 bill for ridershare companies. Where does shared mobility fit in as part of a city's transportation ecosystem in the future? How can mobility companies and policy makers come together to make that happen?

 
Warren Logan serves as the Policy Director of Mobility and Inter Agency Relations for the Mayor’s Office of Oakland. He is responsible for advancing the City’s vision for safe and sustainable transportation for all Oaklanders. Prior to the Mayor’s O…

Warren Logan serves as the Policy Director of Mobility and Inter Agency Relations for the Mayor’s Office of Oakland. He is responsible for advancing the City’s vision for safe and sustainable transportation for all Oaklanders. Prior to the Mayor’s Office, Warren worked as a senior planner for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. There he managed the agency’s emerging mobility practice researching how these services impact San Francisco’s long-range transportation goals, developing city and state policies and framing opportunities for public private partnerships. Before working at the Transportation Authority, Warren helped design complete streets projects in Oakland and Berkeley at Community Design + Architecture and helped manage the value priced parking and travel demand management program for the City of Berkeley's Transportation Division. Warren received his Masters in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning and his B.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy from Occidental College.

Euwyn Poon is a Singapore-born entrepreneur, lawyer, and investor. He founded Spin, the micro-mobility company based in San Francisco that was acquired by Ford in 2018, and is the founding partner of the venture capital firm Exponent. Euwyn graduate…

Euwyn Poon is a Singapore-born entrepreneur, lawyer, and investor. He founded Spin, the micro-mobility company based in San Francisco that was acquired by Ford in 2018, and is the founding partner of the venture capital firm Exponent. Euwyn graduated from Cornell University in 2004 at the age of 18 with a degree in Computer Science and Cornell Law School in 2007. After earning a J.D. from Cornell Law School, he practiced M&A and securities law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett from 2007 to 2009, then was funded by Y Combinator for his first startup.

Dmitry Shevelenko is the Co-Founder and President of Tortoise, an automated vehicle repositioning service for micromobility operators. Before founding Tortoise, Dmitry was an adviser to leading mobility and future of work startups — Skip, SpotHero, …

Dmitry Shevelenko is the Co-Founder and President of Tortoise, an automated vehicle repositioning service for micromobility operators. Before founding Tortoise, Dmitry was an adviser to leading mobility and future of work startups — Skip, SpotHero, Cargo, Superpedestrian, Remix, Payfare, and Codi. Prior to his advisory work, he took a 4-year ride at Uber as Director of Business Development where he initiated the company’s expansion into new mobility, including leading the JUMP partnership/acquisition and Uber Transit. Dmitry spent time at Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pulse News earlier in his career. He is a graduate of Columbia University and lives in San Francisco with his wife and two daughters.

 
Rachel Swan covers transportation for The Chronicle. She joined the paper in 2015 and has also reported on politics in Oakland and San Francisco. Previously, Rachel held staff positions at the SF Weekly and the East Bay Express, where she covered te…

Rachel Swan covers transportation for The Chronicle. She joined the paper in 2015 and has also reported on politics in Oakland and San Francisco.
Previously, Rachel held staff positions at the SF Weekly and the East Bay Express, where she covered technology, law and the arts. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley.

 

This event is supported by Flatiron School

 
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Jan
28
7:30 PM19:30

Reimagine Social Innovation: How can Tech be a force of good for cities?

Silicon Valley has been known for creating technologies and products that have a positive impact on people worldwide, yet SF also has its own host of problems as an urban city, from inequality, homelessness, to safety and congestion. How can we also be a leader in making a positive impact locally? What are ways that startups and local government can collaborate to solve some of SF's toughest problems?

 
Phil is a board member and executive team member at ShelterTech, which is solving the biggest technology challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness. Their initiatives include Shelter Connect (free wifi in shelters and SROs), AskDarcel.org (…

Phil is a board member and executive team member at ShelterTech, which is solving the biggest technology challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness. Their initiatives include Shelter Connect (free wifi in shelters and SROs), AskDarcel.org (an up-to-date directory of social services like food and housing), and Casey (a case management chatbot). Phil is also the GM of Special Projects at Springboard and co-hosts Flow Radio. His experience also includes building new products for Fortune 500 brands like PepsiCo and Proctor & Gamble, developing innovative ad units for game developers like Konami and Supercell.

Jay Nath is the Executive Director of City Innovate, a San Francisco based organization that helps government address challenges through emerging technologies. Nath currently leads the Startup in Residence program, an on-premises incubator at City H…

Jay Nath is the Executive Director of City Innovate, a San Francisco based organization that helps government address challenges through emerging technologies. Nath currently leads the Startup in Residence program, an on-premises incubator at City Hall, where entrepreneurs work with government officials to create new commercial products. Nath became San Francisco’s first Chief Innovation Officer where he served for more than a decade. Prior to public service, Nath was VP of Product for SquareTrade (acquired by Allstate) and was a senior consultant at PwC.

With over 25 years of industry experience, Travis brings a broad and diverse background to the Nordsense team. A serial entrepreneur and engineer, he has been involved with both cutting edge technology startups and Fortune 500 companies to bring the…

With over 25 years of industry experience, Travis brings a broad and diverse background to the Nordsense team. A serial entrepreneur and engineer, he has been involved with both cutting edge technology startups and Fortune 500 companies to bring the best available solutions to market. Travis’ ability to work closely with all types of businesses and align their needs to the correct solution will allow Nordsense to expand within the US.

 

This event is supported by Flatiron School

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Jan
27
7:30 PM19:30

Reimagine Financial Access: How to make our financial system inclusive to all

The financial system we have today is not designed for everyone. A disproportionate number of minorities, immigrants, elderlies, disabled people and low-income households are invisible to banks and credit institutions. Lack of access to basic financial services such as lending, saving and building credit perpetuates the underprivileged groups in our society. How do we use technology to help more people be part of our financial system? We have four speakers across fintech and non-profit sectors that can help answer these questions and allows us to reimagine a financial system for all.

 
True Link is a financial services company that helps protect vulnerable individuals with a Visa® Prepaid Card and investment advisory services. Kai’s experience building data-driven financial products combined with his personal passion for financial…

True Link is a financial services company that helps protect vulnerable individuals with a Visa® Prepaid Card and investment advisory services. Kai’s experience building data-driven financial products combined with his personal passion for financial security in retirement drove him to launch True Link Financial. He is a frequent speaker on innovation and the venture process with deep relationships in Silicon Valley. Kai is also the founder of the Roosevelt Institution, a nonprofit that recently celebrated its tenth year and won a MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. He holds degrees from Colorado College and Stanford University, and was a member of the President's Working Group on Aging and Technology under President Obama.

Betsy McCormick has spent the majority of her career in financial inclusion. Her interest in the power of finance to do good was first developed at Kiva Microfunds, where she led Kiva's Central America strategy by building partnerships with microfin…

Betsy McCormick has spent the majority of her career in financial inclusion. Her interest in the power of finance to do good was first developed at Kiva Microfunds, where she led Kiva's Central America strategy by building partnerships with microfinance institutions across the region. Following business school, Betsy spent 2+ years as a McKinsey consultant, focusing on growth and operations for a variety of clients in the finance sector, including national banks, government lenders and payments companies. Today, she serves as the Head of Customer Success at Nova Credit, a technology company that provides international credit reports to financial institutions and property managers. In her role, Betsy is responsible for the growth of all customer relationships as well as oversees the support function.

Mission Asset Fund is a non-profit creating a fair financial marketplace for hardworking families. José A. Quiñonez is the Founder and CEO of Mission Asset Fund. Quiñonez is helping individuals overcome these challenges by linking rotating credit as…

Mission Asset Fund is a non-profit creating a fair financial marketplace for hardworking families. José A. Quiñonez is the Founder and CEO of Mission Asset Fund. Quiñonez is helping individuals overcome these challenges by linking rotating credit associations or lending circles, a traditional cultural practice from Latin America, Asia, and Africa, to the formal financial sector. Through the Mission Asset Fund (MAF), Quiñonez has created a mechanism for reporting individuals’ repayment of small, zero-interest loans to credit bureaus and other financial institutions. With Quiñonez and MAF providing the technology necessary to disperse and track loans (a significant hurdle for many nonprofits) and assisting in securing local partners and investors, 53 nonprofit providers in 17 states and the District of Columbia are now using this powerful model in their communities.

 
Anne Lufkin-Riaño is the regional manager for the Pacific and Mountain region for the Kiva US Program. Her initial interest in microfinance began as she helped street children from Colombia build nano-enterprises that would help promote self-suffici…

Anne Lufkin-Riaño is the regional manager for the Pacific and Mountain region for the Kiva US Program. Her initial interest in microfinance began as she helped street children from Colombia build nano-enterprises that would help promote self-sufficiency and break the cycle of poverty for the children as well as their families. More recently, her first-hand experience of entrepreneurship familiarized her with navigating the barriers faced by immigrant business owners face every day. Anne is passionate about solving financial exclusion for immigrant and refugee populations in the US. In addition to managing the Pacific and Mountain region, she spends her time at Kiva developing programs that support the most financially, linguistically and technologically excluded entrepreneurs. Anne has a BA from Michigan State University in bilingual education and an MBA from Georgetown University. She is fluent in Spanish and has a background in international development and has worked as consultant for Deloitte & Touche, the Inter-American Development Bank and USAid.

Amrit Pal is a Product Leader based in the Bay Area. Amrit led and started two products in billions of dollars in volume at Square, which became the fastest growing product in Square's history. Earlier, he led product at a fintech startup in sub-sah…

Amrit Pal is a Product Leader based in the Bay Area. Amrit led and started two products in billions of dollars in volume at Square, which became the fastest growing product in Square's history. Earlier, he led product at a fintech startup in sub-saharan Africa named Kopo Kopo, whose software powers the largest independent merchant network in the mobile money industry. Amrit has lived in Kenya, India, Seattle and San Francisco. Outside work, he is a fellow at a FinTech research institute at University of California.

 

This event is supported by Flatiron School

 
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