Kate Casolaro MBA Full-time
2013
casolaro@umich.edu 		Chief Management Officer
Never far from a jewelry plier or a glue stick, Kate is a crafty entrepreneur who is
passionate about harnessing creativity and collaboration to conquer business
challenges. Her dual loves of talking and making things led to a career in PR and
a part time jewelry design business. Born and raised in the Northeast, Kate moved
to the Bay Area in 2009 and fell in love with the food and the local flavor. She loves
vegetarian cooking, decorating, yoga, color-coding and accessorizing.
Calvina Cheng MBA Full-time
2013
calvinac@umich.edu 		VP of Communications
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Calvina decided to venture out to Michigan for two years to see if she can survive the brutal winters! Calvina comes from a management consulting background and is interested in exploring the art and design world to foster more creative juices in everything she does.
Andrew Kaplan MBA Full-time
2013
ajkaplan@umich.edu 		VP of External Affairs
Andrew is passionate about the ability of great design to confer story, idea, and identity to brands and products. His background includes a rewarding early career at a San Francisco digital media agency, where he guided clients on how to leverage online video in their marketing campaigns. Though reared in the traditions of sales, marketing and strategic partnerships, he also enjoys filming and editing his own videos. Andrew periodically makes heads explode with his illustrious prowess on guitar.
Adam Levin MBA Full-time
2013
aslevin@umich.edu 		VP of External Programming
Adam was born in Chicago, raised in Texas, went to school out East, and then
finally found his home in California. He is a serious San Francisco foodie but one
whose favorite food is a hamburger. With a background in marketing in the
wine industry and a hobby interest in urban planning, Adam is fascinated by the
role design can play in the development of a product or experience as well as a
person's relationship with it.
Profile Photo Nina Maturu MBA Full-time
2013
nmaturu@umich.edu 		VP of Social Programming
Profile Photo Sabrina Sullivan MBA Full-time
2014
sabsull@umich.edu 		Chief Programming Officer
Sonja Williams MBA Full-time
2013
sonjawill@gmail.com 		Chief Community Officer
Sonja is exploring her way through the business world with a BFA in Graphic Design and an intuitive understanding of how people tick. Chicago tough with Bay Area idealism, Sonja plays with the dichotomies in her personality and upbringing; Sonja is here to make you
laugh and here to make friends. But she is also here to play devil's advocate and to
ask "Why?" Forever curious about what's next, Sonja is looking for the places where design, business, and sustainability intersect.
Kevin Wong MBA Full-time
2013
wongkh@umich.edu 		VP of Development
When not practicing yoga or searching for delicious baked goods, Kevin enjoys
thinking about brand partnerships, infographics, global citizenship, and corporate philanthropy. Kevin, a travel fanatic, previously took time off from his management consulting career in San Francisco to backpack around the world, where he learned to drive on the other side of the road in South Africa, spent $7 a scone in Norway, and found amazing hair product in Japan. Now he spends his time
exploring ways to apply design thinking to his daily life, one post-it at a time.
Grant Hughes MBA Full-time
2013
ghugh@umich.edu 		Chief Academic Officer
A small town literary bohemian with an international traveling bug, Grant has a penchant for exploring creative problem-solving approaches. Most recently from Los Angeles, Grant inspired young minds in his classroom by rethinking the traditional teaching approach and by shooting short films. Grant enjoys making the mundane fascinating and cannot help but geek out on the design of sustainability. Subversive sustainability in product design is what is going to make fringe innovations go mainstream--Grant plans to help design a few of these solutions.
Patrick Lord MBA Full-time
2013
plord@umich.edu 		Director of Finance and Fundraising
Patrick gets excited developing creative marketing and information architecture strategies, as well as grappling with complex challenges and ambiguity, for client facing projects. A native Los Angeleno, he studied sociology and had an early career in the film industry building sets in the art department; he then exercised his left brain in the real estate management and finance field, ending up in New York. Seeking innovative organizations, Patrick worked with various social enterprises and entrepreneurs in the clean technology and luxury goods sector with overseas operations. He also launched his own distribution and marketing business before starting his MBA/MS. Patrick’s passion is serving as the bridge between creative and business-minded people through empathetic design thinking to deliver global sustainable solutions. He has been accused of collecting vintage furnishings and ice-climbing glaciers.