Dave Zobel, Board Vice President, is a Cal Tech Alumni and a science writer. He describes himself as: “Half-bithead, half-executive, half-writer, half-wit: Possessing that rare ability to get down in the trenches with the researchers and the coders (being one myself), defend them to upper management and clients, and explain what they do to the outside world.” Zobel was the developer of the first Science Kits that changed the focus of T4T materials from use in Art alone to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) education. He joined the Board in 2011. He is coordinator of External Events for T4T.

Dr. Marcella Klein Williams has hopscotched across the entire system of public education from preschool to university in a multitude of roles spanning teacher, director, president and chief. Her career has focused on STEAM teaching and learning. She has been called a thought leader, innovator, mentor, facilitator, and systems thinker. She always answers if called teacher.

Francisco Arechiga has eight years’ experience related to U.S. and China cross-border business and cultural exchange and is involved in tri-sector projects in arts and culture, civic engagement, education and economic development in Los Angeles. Previously, he worked for four years in the department of public education at the Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming and is fluent in Mandarin.

Malik Ducard recently joined as the Chief Content Officer of Pinterest.

Prior to joining Pinterest, Malik was VP of Content Partnerships at YouTube, where he oversaw business development efforts for the platform’s Learning, Social Impact, Family, Film & TV partnership areas. Prior to joining YouTube, he served as senior vice president of digital distribution for the Americas at Paramount Pictures and oversaw distribution of content to digital platforms.

Prior to Paramount, Malik led Lionsgate's Home Entertainment Acquisitions group, executive produced a stand-up comedy series for Showtime, led MGM's Home Entertainment's Acquisitions and Business Development division, and drove several successful new business pitches at Young & Rubicam Advertising in New York.

A native of the Bronx, Malik earned his B.A. degree from Columbia University and his MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management. He currently serves on the Los Angeles Mayor's Council on Technology and Innovation, is on the board of the Digital Diversity Network, and is Board President of Two Bit Circus Foundation, a non-profit organization that brings STEAM education to youth throughout LA.

Malik is also author of "Henry's Big Win"​, winner of the Jessie Redmon Fauset Award for Best Children's Book. 🙂

Nirvan is an LA based filmmaker, creative consultant, speaker, entrepreneur, and founder of Imagination.org. Nirvan began teaching himself animation while studying philosophy at New College. He went on to earn an MFA in Experimental Animation from CalArts. Nirvan’s animated short films have screened in festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards. In 2001, Nirvan began an ongoing collaborative experiment called The 1 Second Film, which became among the first crowdfunded films. In 2012, Nirvan directed Caine’s Arcade, an 11-minute short film that became a viral phenomenon, receiving over 8 million views and sparking a global movement of cardboard creativity in kids around the world. Nirvan has received the Dan Eldon Creative Activist Award and the Innovation in Action award. Nirvan is a partner at Interconnected, consults with companies and non-profits, serves on the board of CicLAvia, and tries to keep up with his garden and email.

Scott counsels leaders of social enterprises in developing social impact strategies, growing organizational capacity, and creating projects, programs, and partnerships that achieve measurable results.

Scott founded Beyond Advisers to work with social innovators, nonprofits, philanthropists, governments, and private sector leaders to design and build their organizations and initiatives for impact. He teaches and lectures on the role of lawyers in social innovation, advises law schools in developing social impact clinical practices, and consults with law firms to develop social impact practice groups. Crain’s Chicago Business called the class he teaches one of “the coolest classes for law students.”

Prior to starting Beyond Advisers, Scott served as General Counsel for the Clinton Foundation. During a decade of service to the Clinton Foundation, Scott established, grew, and led the legal team that supported a global operating charity with over 2,000 staff and volunteers working in 36 countries on more than a dozen initiatives. Scott led the team of in-house professionals and outside firms that created the organizational and operational structures that supported the Clinton Foundation’s board, enterprise systems, and program teams during their most prolonged and intensive period of growth.

In supporting the program work of the Clinton Foundation’s initiatives, Scott counseled dynamic leaders and teams in developing partnerships designed to spur social and economic change around the world. These partnerships spanned the areas of global health, climate change, international development, commercial agriculture, supply chain innovation, childhood obesity, small business mentoring, post-disaster relief, globally-focused conferences, and museum and special event operations.

As a corporate attorney prior to his time with the Clinton Foundation, and as a graduate of the first program in the U.S. to offer a master’s degree in public service, Scott has advised new endeavors and established enterprises working to change the world. From programs working with sweet potato growers in the Mississippi Delta and cashew farmers in India to private sector startups and nonprofit spinoffs, Scott’s work has equipped him with deep knowledge of legal, program, and organizational operations.

With his background in public service, law, and communications, Scott is motivated by the possibility and promise that bold ideas can be transformed into action to change lives and communities in new, specific, and measurable ways. He spends some of the best parts of his days being inspired by his wife, two kids, and rescue dogs, including Miss Tommie, who is blind, deaf, and awesome!

Currently a graduate student at UBC Faculty of Forestry based in Vancouver. I research and write about forest therapy, wellness and build collaborations with organizations that focus on environmental monitoring. My newsletter “More Trees Please” explores science, technology, politics, art, and therapy and how they are all connected through forest spaces. The Interest Driven Life project explores how we can revolve our lives around our interests instead of fitting them into our ever decreasing spare time. I’m a passionate advocate for the more-than-human world and support efforts to protect ecosystems and species that are under threat.

As founder and CEO of KitHub, I developed STEAM education programs that focus on hands-on learning and environmental monitoring in formal and informal learning spaces. I co-founded the Los Angeles Makerspace, a nonprofit partnered with the LA Public Library in over 70 branches to facilitate hands-on workshops for kids in robotics, coding, e-textiles, and stop-motion animation. I co-founded the interest-driven learning startup Connected Camps and held the role of Technology Director for the Digital Media Learning Research Hub at UC Irvine.

I’ve been a regular columnist for Forbes and have spoken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Archer School for Girls, The White House, Caltech, SXSW, OSCON, MozFest, IFFF, Imagination Foundation, Rhizome, on topics ranging from women in tech, STEAM, DIY and following passions and interests.

Joe’s leadership has been instrumental in building Thinkwell’s reputation as a company that deals masterfully with many of the world’s most cherished brands and intellectual properties. Whether he’s addressing the concerns of Warner Bros. and the author of Harry Potter or those of cultural institutions like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Joe advocates for the priorities and values of Thinkwell’s clients as they strategically expand.

Liz Heller is a tech and media innovator, entrepreneur, investor, and producer.

With a career in cultural creation, global brand marketing, and social good, Liz is a digital alchemist working at the nexus of tech, culture, brand, community, and purpose.

Recognized by USA Today as the “godmother” of the women’s cyber movement in Hollywood, Liz’s award-winning career spans technology, entertainment, film, and music.

She’s architected growth and engagement for clients such as TOMS, Product(RED), and early-stage startups and projects such as Tim Kring’s Conspiracy For Good. She has brought her brand marketing and strategic visioning to companies and organizations ranging from Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Pepsi, Coca-Cola to the LA Tech Council and LA Clean Energy Incubator.

Her music career includes leadership roles at MCA, Island Records and as an EVP of Capitol Records, at the time when music, audio and the Internet converged. She oversaw artist development and shaped industry-first issues for multimedia content around monetization, legal protections, and strategic partnerships with tech and entertainment companies.

Her producing credits include the feature film The Basketball Diaries, TV and concert films including New Orleans Live! and the soundtrack for Good Will Hunting.

Liz is currently a managing partner at memBrain where she leads teams in marketing innovation and creative, strategic advisory, and incubates and invests in early-stage startups and products.

Liz is a life-long connector of people, who is proud to call a global constellation of change agents and industry leaders her friends. Committed to manifesting positive impact, Liz is a sought after keynote speaker, and moderator and produces and co-hosts weekly private and public industry webinars and conversation series around the world.

Dr. Dijanna Figueroa has made a career of exploring the mysteries of the deep. She was featured in James Cameron’s documentary Aliens of the Deep, which follows Cameron and NASA scientists as they explore the some of the deepest parts of the ocean and learn about the unique life forms that inhabit those spaces. Recently, Figueroa has become an advocate for STEAM education—adding art and design to the science, technology, engineering, and math equation. She’s spent more than two decades teaching STEAM to grades K–8 in the greater Los Angeles area, formerly served as global director of the Muse School National Geographic Society’s Green STEAM program and has advisory roles with many STEM/STEAM nonprofits. She was recently featured on MTV’s Women Crush Wednesdays Women in STEM series. If that isn’t enough, Figueroa is the director of the Lucas Scholars STEM program, a community based social justice and equity program designed to engage young people in science, engineering, design, and art. She loves the ocean, art, and exploration and is committed to making science, technology, art, engineering, math, and music accessible to all people.