Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 at the Hicks Student Center for Life after K. Kris Davidson, the owner of Kris Davidson Photography, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Kris Davidson

Business Owner at Kris Davidson Photography

Kris Davidson is originally from Sweden, having spent the first half of her childhood in the Scandinavian Arctic and the second half in Texas. As an immigrant, she gained a love for different cultures that fuels her ongoing work as a photographer. In her personal work, she investigates the nuanced question of what it means to become and be an American, with an eye to the role of reconstructive memory as it gives shape to individual identity in a larger American cultural landscape.

Before becoming a photographer full time, Kris worked as a marketing/branding professional for eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area on the corporate and agency sides, a great career incarnation that continually informs her work as a visual storyteller. Her specialties include travel/lifestyle, documentary and portraiture. She has collaborated with various editorial and commercial clients including National Geographic Traveler, Lonely Planet Traveller (UK), Kimpton Hotels, Ford, the Institute for Shipboard Education and many others. Kris is also a faculty member at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, teaching in the BFA and MFA programs.

Kris has a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Loyola University in New Orleans and a Master’s Degree of Fine Arts from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

She is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

• Roadblocks and Potholes: Surmounting Inevitable Challenges, 8:30 a.m. April 7
• Start-Up 101: From Dream to Successful Venture, 10 a.m. April 7
• Building a Company: How Founders Launch and Grow Companies, 10:45 a.m. April 7
• Serendipity: Making the Most of Unexpected Opportunities, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

• Bill Duane ’94, retired superintendent of well-being, Google
• Brad O’Neill ’93, CEO and co-founder, Depot Global Inc.
• Carolyn DeWitt ’04, president and executive director of Rock the Vote
• Drew Dumsch ’90, founder and president/CEO of The Ecology School
• Ed Hortelano ’83, global vice president of research and development at Loparex
• Esperanza Cantú ’11, project leader in the Data Planning and Evaluation Division at the Detroit Health Department
• Hilmon Sorey, managing director at ClozeLoop
• Janete Perez, co-founder at Present
• Lindsey Haswell, co-founder and executive VP at Depot Global Inc.
• Mike Soenen ’92, partner at Valor Equity Partners
• Timasha Woods ’07, global human resources business partner at Amgen

Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Janete Perez, the co-founder of Present, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Janete Perez

Co-Founder at Present

As a co-founder of Present, Janete Perez focuses on bringing Present to the masses and, overall, on the strategy for the company. She leads a team of rock star engineers and marketing mavens. Janete is passionate about creating spaces for women to connect, support each other and have impactful, meaningful conversations.

Before founding Present, Janete spent her career working at some of the world’s top technology companies. Most recently, she worked as a product manager for Messenger’s growth team at Facebook. Before Facebook, she was a senior product manager at Zynga, where she led teams across various verticals including analytics, machine learning and mobile. Janete also spent five years at Microsoft helping to advance projects within the Visual Studio team for Microsoft Expression.

Janete incorporates experiences in her career and applies the same dedication and motivation to her community involvement, volunteering and mentoring. She continues to help promote women’s right and advocates for diversity and inclusion in tech to drive innovation for our growing diverse communities. Janete is an active mentor for Sequoia’s Ascent program, which promotes inclusion of more women in the tech field. Janete also currently serves as co-lead for the Women’s March San Francisco Chapter, which is part of a national movement to unify and empower everyone who stands for human rights. She leads the technology and community programming committees and played a large part in organizing the second Women’s March “Hear Our Vote” this past January. During her free time, you’ll find Janete hiking, doing yoga and enjoying the outdoors. The most inspirational woman in her life? Her hard-working, single mother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when Janete was 3 years old.

Janete is a first-generation college student and earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Brown University. She is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

• Thriving as a Woman in the Workplace, 10 a.m. April 7
• Social Entrepreneurship: Finding Solutions to Community Problems, 10:45 a.m. April 7
• Serendipity: Making the Most of Unexpected Opportunities, 11:30 a.m. April 7
• Charting Your Course: How to Make the Most of the Career Summit, 1:30 p.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

• Bill Duane ’94, retired superintendent of well-being, Google
• Brad O’Neill ’93, CEO and co-founder, Depot Global Inc.
• Carolyn DeWitt ’04, president and executive director of Rock the Vote
• Drew Dumsch ’90, founder and president/CEO of The Ecology School
• Ed Hortelano ’83, global vice president of research and development at Loparex
• Esperanza Cantú ’11, project leader in the Data Planning and Evaluation Division at the Detroit Health Department
• Hilmon Sorey, managing director at ClozeLoop
• Kris Davidson, business owner, Kris Davidson Photography
• Lindsey Haswell, co-founder and executive VP at Depot Global Inc.
• Mike Soenen ’92, partner at Valor Equity Partners
• Timasha Woods ’07, global human resources business partner at Amgen

Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Walk-ins will be accepted if space becomes available.

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. All students are welcome, regardless of their major, and are encouraged to attend. David Rust, a former director of operations strategy at Lyft, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

David Rust

Former Director of Operations Strategy, Lyft

David Rust is an experienced operator who has helped scale some of the fastest-growing marketplace businesses, including Lyft. David joined Lyft in February 2013 as the 25th employee and helped drive the company’s growth nationally to an $11 billion-plus valuation.

Early in his four-year tenure at the company, David launched Lyft’s first markets and helped write the playbook for national expansion. David then went on to launch Lyft’s internal strategy team and drove key initiatives including Lyft’s self-driving car pilots and partnership with General Motors.

Prior to Lyft, David led marketing and city expansion for one of the early pioneers in the car-sharing industry, Wheelz.

David graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and enjoys making time to invest in his side passions, whether they be playing salsa music or backpacking in the California outdoors.

David is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

• Dinner and Opening Plenary, 6 p.m. April 6
• Mentoring Matters: What You Gain from Trusted Advisers, 10 a.m. April 7
• Social Entrepreneurship: Finding Solutions to Community Problems, 10:45 a.m. April 7
• Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

• Bill Duane ’94, retired superintendent of well-being, Google
• Brad O’Neill ’93, CEO and co-founder, Depot Global Inc.
• Carolyn DeWitt ’04, president and executive director of Rock the Vote
• Drew Dumsch ’90, founder and president/CEO of The Ecology School
• Ed Hortelano ’83, global vice president of research and development at Loparex
• Esperanza Cantú ’11, project leader in the Data Planning and Evaluation Division at the Detroit Health Department
• Hilmon Sorey, managing director at ClozeLoop
• Janete Perez, co-founder at Present
• Kris Davidson, business owner, Kris Davidson Photography
• Lindsey Haswell, co-founder and executive VP at Depot Global Inc.
• Mike Soenen ’92, partner at Valor Equity Partners
• Om Malik, partner at True Ventures
• Timasha Woods ’07, global human resources business partner at Amgen