Everything starts with shared values
We were born in Costa Rica. We even went to high school together. After several years and different career paths, we came together in the Bay Area. We want to use the trust we have in each other and our shared values to give back and share the opportunities we’ve had.
ANDRÉS MORA - aerospace robotics engineer
Dr. Andrés Mora received his Masters and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Tohoku University at the Space Robotics Laboratory. Andrés is currently working at the Astrobee Facilities at the Intelligent Systems Department of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. He has extensive experience in the implementation of mobile robot solutions to real world problems: design and implementation of robots and instrumentation for extreme environments such as hot springs, volcanoes and sub-glacial lakes; studied the simultaneous control and monitoring of multiple mobile robots from a single operator enabling the operator perform these tasks in an actual shopping mall; development of a search-and-rescue team of robots remotely controlled through the use of JAXA's ETS-VIII satellite and the automatic control of Langmuir probes which take measurements of density, temperature and force of the flow of plasma within the VASIMR (Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket) at the ASPL (Advanced Space Propulsion Laboratory) Johnson Space Center, NASA. Andrés has part of start-up development programs such as the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps and have been involved in the early stages of mobile robot based start-ups. Andrés loves animals, scuba diving, playing the saxophone, and 3pm Costa Rican coffee.
eva salas - marine biologist, researcher and educator
Dr. Eva Salas has a Masters degree in Biology from the Universidad de Costa Rica, and a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is specialized in reef fish ecology and population genetics of marine organisms. Eva was recently hired by the consulting company FishBio, in order to connect this organization with Costa Rica. She is developing a strategic plan for FishBio to support monitoring, conservation, and education activities on fish in the Osa Conservation Area, especially in the Térraba-Sierpe region. Eva is looking for new ways to benefit local communities using applied science. Her interests are citizen science, connecting people with nature and the oceans, guided field courses, fish, corals, diving, and mountain biking.
harold sequeira - Medical devices & operations enthusiast
Harold Sequeira received his degree as an Industrial Engineer from the Universidad de Costa Rica and for more than 16 years has worked in the world of medical devices development and manufacturing. As a faithful believer in continuous improvement, Harold keeps himself updated and continues to learn about subjects of his interest, some examples are: Certified Manager of Quality / Organizational Excellence by the American Society for Quality, Project Management for Continuous Innovation by Stanford University, Smart Manufacturing by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Supply Chain Executive and Internal Quality Auditor by Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, 2D/3D modeling and programming by Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje. He has led numerous technology transfer projects from USA to Costa Rica generating hundreds of jobs in his native Costa Rica and annually contributing with millions of dollars in exports to the life sciences sector, the industry with the highest economic growth today. Harold is also passionate about international business and logistics, in his spare time he acts as President for Proveedora Dinámica S.A., a family entrepreneurship that he started a decade ago. Harold now lives in Santa Clara, California (the heart of the Silicon Valley) with his wife and two kids; he enjoys empirical cooking, scuba diving, snowboarding and creative parenting.
luis rosero - ux engineer
Luis Rosero is a veteran UX Engineer currently working on sharing the magic of Google Cloud with the world. Before starting at Google, Luis crafted digital experiences for brands such as Stanford University, the Al Jazeera network, Royal Museums Greenwich, Jamie Oliver, and many more. He has a Masters degree in Telecommunication from Michigan State University as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Universidad de Costa Rica. Born and raised in San Pedro, Costa Rica, Luis now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife and two kids. He is obsessed with finding the world’s best pizza, beers, books, and board games.
sofía brenes - software engineer
Dr. Sofía Brenes works as a Software Engineer with the Google News team, developing infrastructure systems that help compile, classify, and analyze news articles from thousands of publishers worldwide. Sofía has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, and a Master’s and PhD in Computer Science from Indiana University, Bloomington. She has worked at Google for 8 years, and previously worked at research institutes in Indiana University and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, Florida. Sofía is passionate about teaching programming skills to young people and also about animal cognition, as she also holds a degree in dog training.