SES Team

Hector (Tito) Armstrong earned his BA in History from Princeton University, and will receive his MBA from Stanford University in June 2003. Prior to business school, Hector worked at The Boston Consulting Group as an Associate in the Boston Office. Before this, he worked at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in Paris, France as an Associate in Global Operations for Latin America and as an Analyst in Mergers and Acquisitions for the investment bank Bankers Trust in New York.

Steve is a first year graduate student in the Product Design Program at Stanford University. He experienced the need for affordable, safe, and sustainable lighting first hand in the Mongolian countryside, where he spent a month volunteering on the Baldan Baraivan temple restoration project. As founder and president of the design firm Terrascope, Steve is also no stranger to the startup environment. He looks forward to applying his Masters degree to sustainable development technologies upon graduation in 2004.

Scott Cannon is jointly pursuing a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering with a focus on audio signal processing. He is Managing Director of Innovative Student Information Services (ISIS), a project focused on creative solutions for event information at Stanford. Scott also served as Co-Chairman (2001-2003) of AES Student Endeavors between the 50 AES collegiate chapters worldwide, and planned international conferences in Munich and Los Angeles. Scott has worked in venture capital, focusing on distributed power generation and nanotechnology, and has spent time developing electronic systems in Nashville recording studios. In the mid 90's he founded and operated a highly-successful recording studio in his hometown. Scott loves the science of sound, and is keen on any opportunity to showcase the arts at Stanford. He is also passionate about using technology to empower everyone to achieve more enjoyable lives.

Tom will graduate with an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business in June 2003. Tom is currently also pursuing a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Stanford's School of Engineering and expects to complete this degree in December of 2005. Before coming to Stanford, Tom worked for the New Business Development group of Capital One, focusing primarily on e-commerce related initiatives for the company. After two years in Capital One's Boston office, Tom transfered to the U.K. subsidiary and remained there for another year before coming to Stanford. Prior to Capital One, Tom worked for Mercer Management Consulting where he worked on projects ranging from wireless networking to auto manufacturing. Tom attended Dartmouth College and graduated in 1996 with a B.A. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Biophysical Chemistry. Tom currently lives in Palo Alto with his wife, Sarah. When not focused on projects like Light Up the World, Tom enjoys traveling and cooking.

Alan has a B.S. Mechanical Engineering, MIT, minor in Architecture, with a concentration in Visual Arts and is currently working on his M.S. M.E., Product Design, Stanford. Before coming to school, Alan worked in Silicon Valley for 3 years jumping from one tech startup to another, building experience in everything from multimedia (web/graphic design) to QA to CAD to project management. He trains in Aikido as often as he can, enjoys traveling, and has a major soft spot for comic books, video games, and Japanese pop culture.

Dave will complete his MBA and MS in Engineering in December 2003. He will also earn a Public Management Program certificate in Public Policy (Environment) from the Graduate School of Business, and has been emphasizing Product Design and Product Development on the engineering side. Dave's course projects have involved work with corporate partners including Herman Miller, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, HP, Target and BMW. Dave interned with Sun Microsystems in the area of Product Marketing during the summer of 2002. Before coming to Stanford, Dave worked for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in an R&D setting, studying manufacturing systems. He also served in the US Navy after completing his undergraduate degree in Engineering at the University of Michigan. Dave is married with one child, and enjoys running, cooking Indian food, and watching independent film.

Maria is a first-year MBA student. Prior to business school, she worked in investment banking in London for three and a half years for JP Morgan, doing bond origination for Northern European issuers, and credit and ratings advisory for the Debt Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions teams. She later joined Moody's Investor Service, where she worked as a credit analyst in the Power and Energy sectors. This summer she will shift from finance into management consulting, working for McKinsey in Madrid. A Spanish national, Maria has a joint degree in Business and Law from ICADE (Madrid). As an undergraduate, Maria obtained an Erasmus scholarship from the European Commission to study a semester in Belgium, at the Universite Catholique de Louvain. She also obtained a grant from the Spanish International Cooperation Agency to work as a teaching assistant in Argentina. At Stanford, Maria is involved in the Board Fellows program, working with the Board of the French-American International School in San Francisco. She has also participated in the study trip to Costa Rica, focused in sustainable development, and is a member of the Public Management Program and the Global Management Program. Maria loves traveling, and has backpacked in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Cuba. Maria speaks Spanish, English, and French.

Kevin is a first year PhD student in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford. Prior to entering the School of Earth Sciences, Kevin completed a masters in mechanical engineering at Stanford. In 1998 he graduated from Dartmouth College with degrees in physics and astronomy. Between undergraduate and graduate studies Kevin worked at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. His primary research goals involve the search for life in the solar system. In particular, he is focusing on the prospects for life within a subsurface ocean on Jupiter's second moon, Europa. While much of his research time is spent looking for life elsewhere, Kevin dedicates much of his life to helping improve the conditions for life on Earth. To this end, Kevin and several friends and colleagues started Cosmos Education in 1999. The mission of this organization is to improve science and technology education around the globe. More specifically, the organization focuses on the role of science and technology in health, the environment, and sustainable development. To date the organization has reached more than 12,000 students in six different African countries. Along with education, Kevin also tries to make a difference by putting some of his engineering skills to use with the hope a facilitating leapfrogs in development that will aid with ethical and effective globalization.

Mark graduated from Cambridge University in 1998, gaining a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering. During his degree, Mark had worked for Ford Motor Company for 18 months and 3 months at Union Bank of Switzerland. Upon graduation Mark moved to Nottingham to work for Capital One as an analyst in their Marketing and Analysis team. The fast growing financial services company based in Richmond, VA provided a great deal of early responsibility. As a Business Analyst, Mark helped to launch a new credit card business and as a Senior B.A. Mark was responsible for all Internet Marketing. Mark will return to Nottingham, England in July 2003 with his fiancee Andrea who he will marry in January 2004 in Ireland.

Matt Jackson is a second year student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Before graduate school, Matt worked for JP Morgan as an investment banker, focusing on debt capital markets, and at a startup internet company where he was in charge of service design. Matt holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Finance from the University of Colorado.

BinBin is a sophomore at Stanford University pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a minor in Human Biology. She was involved in CEE 45Q, the undergraduate portion of the LED lighting project. Interested in international healthcare and development, BinBin is the director of Nepal Clinical Internship, a student organization that strives to both raise awareness of the health disparities that exists globally and provides an opportunity for students to engage in patient interaction in a developing country.

After graduating with a degree in computer sciences from Boston University, Darren worked for a database marketing and consulting firm. After progressing through the corporate ranks and ending up in Project and Client management, Darren decided it was time to gain a broader understanding of business management and applied to Stanford University. Upon acceptance in Stanford, he quit his job and began working for a small family foundation as its Director. As such, he was responsible for re-organizing the foundation, and focused its mission on environmental, educational, self-esteem building, and women's issues. Last summer Darren worked for a real estate partnership, helping them discover whether they could make a profit off the conservation of land and for a small, mission-driven toy company in their marketing department. Darren's interest in travel has led him on "study trips" to Brazil, Germany, Spain, and most recently while at the GSB, Australia and Costa Rica. His short time working for a foundation and at the GSB has helped him realize that it is possible to run a business and make a difference in the world. Based on this "discovery" Darren has been attempting to utilize all the resources at his means to gain a better understanding of his place in the world, what he can do to change the world, and how he can inspire others to do the same. Darren hopes to iterate on this discovery a few more times before eventually running his own business. Darren resides in Palo Alto, CA with his wife, and five cats: Unkle Kaitea, Denzel Washington, Michael Jackson (MJ), Don King (DKPA), and Tiger Woods (Mr. Woods).

Thuy is a first-year in the Joint Program in Design between the Mechanical Engineering and Art Departments. Since receiving her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1997, she continued to gain practical skills by working for a financial software consulting firm, a strategy consulting boutique, and a private (still thriving!) technology-based internet startup. She is excited to utilize her past experiences to further her interests in design, which include sustainable design and appropriate technologies. In her spare time she enjoys reading, creating, being outside, and exploring.

Michelle is a first year Masters student in Product Design. She enjoys combining the technical aspects of engineering with the creative process of product development. After graduating with her undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford, she spent three years in the toy industry where she was deeply involved in developing toys from initial concept through detailed design, manufacturing, and sales. This year she returned to Stanford to broaden her experience in design and has enjoyed being a part of the SES team and the process of developing an innovative new LED light.

Sally is a second-year masters student in Mechanical Engineering. As an engineer, she has been concentrating in smart product design (using electronics and microprocessors to control mechanical systems), mechanical design and machining, and design for developing countries. She was on the Stanford sailing team as an undergraduate, and she loves to travel, to listen to music, to create things. She's really excited about the SES project! It's exciting as a design project, as a social endeavor, as a teamwork experience, and as a window into the world of social entrepreneurship.

Ashley is a first year MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Most recently, she was a Research Manager at Institute for the Future, where she focused on emerging technologies and consumer trends that held potential to dramatically impact clients' businesses over a 5-10 year horizon. Technology work included wireless sensors, distributed printing, and low-power, flexible displays. Consumer work included purchasing trend analysis, and household demographics studies. Previously, Ashley worked with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Sutter Hill Ventures on business plan development and market analysis in wireless technologies and held business development and strategic planning positions at eCircles.com. In addition, Ashley worked in the Technology Group at Robertson Stephens, working on deals including eBay, TicketMaster-CitySearch, and Priceline.com. Ashley graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and International Studies.

Mark is a second year MBA student at Stanford. Mark has undergraduate and masters degrees in Manufacturing Engineering from Cambridge University. He attended high school in Dundee in Scotland. Prior to reaching Stanford, Mark spent a year helping to build a software business that develops applications for wireless operator in Europe. His role spanned management of new product development through to sales and implementation. Mark also spent two years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in London and Palo Alto helping clients in Software and Financial Services to develop growth strategies. Mark also spent a total of 18 months working for Ford Motor Company in both plant operations and product development roles in the UK. During the past summer, Mark interned with Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division in London and undertook project work with a group of venture capitalists in Palo Alto.

Mark's professional interests and passions are in new developments in manufacturing and in commercializing new technologies. Mark is also committed to returning to an entrepreneurial role sometime soon.

Mark's community interests and involvement include working with StartUp, and East Palo Alto based organization that assists local entrepreneurs in building their own businesses. Mark has worked as a volunteer advisor and mentor for StartUp entrepreneurs for the past 18 months. Mark also spends time each week as a volunteer at Coastano Elementary School in East Palo Alto, as part of the I Have a Dream Program.

Elliot is a second year Master's student in the Joint Program in Design. He also holds a BS in Product Design from Stanford. Before returning to school, Elliot worked in the product development field for about four years, working for several small design consultancies in the Bay Area and in Minneapolis, MN. He has enjoyed working in all phases of the product development cycle, from initial concept generation and design, through prototyping and manufacturing. Most of his experience has been in the areas of consumer electronics, medical devices and toys, but his interests lie primarily in the areas of sustainability, appropriate technology, and assistive technology. Outside of work and school, Elliot enjoys hiking, backpacking, and camping, traveling, painting and photography.

Cory is currently a second-year grad student in the Joint Program in Design through the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Art Department. He studied mechanical engineering as an undergrad at Notre Dame, and spent several years as a project engineer for a medical device company in Indiana. While there he was involved in the development of bio-resorbable implants for arthroscopic sports medicine procedures. While at Stanford, he has continued to focus on manufacturing and design and is currently a teaching assistant for the student machine shop. He is eagerly anticipating graduating this June and taking the opportunity to travel during the summer.

Matt is a second year MBA at Stanford Business School. He completed an undergraduate degree in Physics from Manchester University (UK) in 1996 and worked for an Oxford-based science and engineering company, AEA Technology (AEAT), for 5 years before coming to Stanford on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2001. During his time with AEA Technology, Matt was involved with bringing new technology to market. His role included managing the commercialization of AEAT's Lithium-ion battery business, culminating in a Joint Venture with 2 Japanese companies to manufacture Lithium-ion batteries for niche markets, as well as introducing a new product development process throughout the 4,000 person organization.

During the past summer, Matt interned as a management consultant at the London office of McKinsey & Company and plans to return to consulting in London in October 2004. In the meantime, Matt will spend 9 months working for the Center of Social Innovation (CSI) at Stanford Business School, both assisting with non-profit executive education and outreach programs as well as writing business school cases on the non-profit sector.

Matt is actively involved with the Public Management Program at the business school and has helped CSI to launch their new social sector journal, the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Outside the business school, he enjoys travel and playing sports, especially soccer, tennis and field hockey.

Ginger Turner is a first year master's student in Management Science and Engineering. Her undergraduate degree in Economics is also from Stanford. She has focused primarily on microeconomic development, particularly household and firm survey analysis, and is currently working with recent U.S. surveys to determine why businesses choose to adopt environmentally-friendly programs such as Energy Star.

In the fall of 2002, Ginger co-founded the start-up publishing company Gossamer Books, now with offices in Palo Alto and New Delhi, as senior editor. In July 2003, Gossamer is set to release Treasures of America's Past, a new series of educational comic books about American heroes for kids in grades 4 to 8. On the side, Ginger is also a playwright, whose one-act comedies have appeared in Texas, California, and off-Broadway in New York City.