# Ashdeep S. > Social Innovation and Climate Equity | Designer, Engineer, Strategist, Educator | Stanford & UC Berkeley Engineering Location: Oakland, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/ashdeep I am a stubborn generalist innovating products and programs at the intersection of technology innovation, climate action, social change, and poverty alleviation for underserved and vulnerable communities globally. I believe every individual should have access to basic resources and a good quality of life. I operate through the interdisciplinary lenses of engineering, design, strategy, and education towards this mission. My work in social sector spans a range of products and services across climate tech, agriculture, education, healthcare, clean energy, WASH, and women's health in over 8 countries. More detail below: I am the Head of Product at Riffle Ventures, a climate tech venture studio developing global climate innovation ecosystems and embedding environmental justice into climate tech startups, and a Design and Engineering Consultant at Kheyti, an Indian ag-tech social enterprise developing climate adaptation technologies for smallholder farmers in India. I am a Strategy Consultant for Engineering for Change and American Society of Mechanical Engineers, providing tailored support for social entrepreneurs and hardware innovation in Asia, Africa, and the Americas through ASME’s incubator and accelerator programs. I lecture graduate-level classes at University of California, Berkeley on technology innovation for climate action and social good, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I serve on the Board of Terreform ONE, an ecological architecture nonprofit. I hold degrees in Development Engineering from UC Berkeley and Engineering: Product Design from Stanford. I have been a National Science Foundation Digital Transformation of Development Fellow, Milken Innovation Center Global Fellow, and MovingWorlds Global Social Impact Fellow. ## Work Experience ### Senior Program Associate @ India Energy & Climate Center (IECC) Jan 2026 – Present Leading the development and launch of IECC's First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Climate Tech Accelerator, a new initiative focused on accelerating climate tech deployment in India. The role includes systems engineering, techno-economic analyses, energy systems modeling, policy-technology integration, and stakeholder-centered design, while translating interdisciplinary engineering analysis into actionable project frameworks that address real-world constraints in emerging-market energy systems ### Strategy Consultant @ The Lemelson Foundation Jan 2026 – Present Supporting the development of Lemelson's new India Strategy ### Engineering Education and Partnerships Lead @ Skill Up for Earth Jan 2026 – Present Developing and delivering the Certificate Program in Climate Solutions and Strategies in partnership with The Environmental Change Institute at The University of Oxford. ### Design and Engineering Consultant @ Kheyti Jan 2020 – Present | India Kheyti's mission is to democratize access to climate resilient technologies for smallholder farmers in India. We provide products and services to increase climate resiliency and farmer incomes, while protecting farmers from extreme heat and reducing water usage through our greenhouses and drip irrigation systems. We currently work with 7000 farmers across 8 states in India. I support the design, prototyping, testing and piloting of Kheyti's affordable and accessible Greenhouse-In-A-Box for farmers. This includes: • Developing and implementing our Innovation and R&D Strategy across product and agronomy verticals • Leading the R&D team's efforts towards increasing access to and reducing cost of current greenhouses for farmers (was responsible for team that decreased cost of greenhouse by 70%) • Designing and leading design thinking & HCD workshops; facilitating ideation & co-creation sessions with local teams and global experts • Redesigning the greenhouse for increased DIYability to allow farmers to independently install (reduced installation time from 3 days and 8 individuals, to 2 days and 2 individuals) • Working with the Agronomy team to optimize the greenhouses for user needs and crop requirements while keeping in mind technical specifications, materials and manufacturing processes ### Lecturer @ University of California, Berkeley Jan 2024 – Present | Berkeley, CA Instructor for an interdisciplinary, graduate-level course DEVENGC200: 'Design, Evaluate, and Scale Development Technologies', within the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley. The course is focused on innovating and implementing technology-based products, services, and strategies for social change and sustainable development in underserved communities around the world. The course is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Students engage with hand-on, project-based learning by working with global nonprofits and social enterprises on a specific project for the class. Students work in cross-disciplinary and international teams, including MBA students, Masters students, and Ph.D. students. The course is developed for students who want to apply their expertise and skills to address critical societal challenges, and develop their knowledge in international development, product development, sustainable design, impact investment, strategic planning for impact, social innovation, social entrepreneurship, technology for social change, and poverty alleviation, amongst others. ### Jr. Board Member @ Terreform ONE Jan 2022 – Present | New York, New York, United States ### Social Innovation Strategist @ Terreform ONE Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Brooklyn, New York, United States Terreform ONE is a nonprofit sustainability and urban design research group, and operates as an interdisciplinary lab of specialists advancing the practice of socio-ecological design. The group cultivates resilience through research and innovations in building, transportation, infrastructure, water, food, waste treatment, air quality, and energy, and an exploration of impact on future urban generations and local biodiversity. My role: • Spearheading strategy development to build out social innovation hubs at universities through stakeholder interviews, community assessment, systems mapping, ideation sessions, etc. • Developing TOC roadmaps to build out methods of engagement and activities at the Hub, and expand their impact to their communities and the world • Facilitating co-creation sessions with university students, faculty and staff to solidify the core values and goals of their work ### Head of Product @ Riffle Ventures Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 Riffle Ventures is a climate tech venture studio building climate innovation ecosystems in vulnerable populations globally, rooted in environmental justice, and with a focus on Asia, Africa, and The Americas. My work is focused on Climate Equity, Climate Innovation, and Venture Development. - Climate Equity: designing and delivering climate equity and environmental justice workshops for climate tech entrepreneurs - Climate Venture Development: leading and implementing product roadmaps and climate action strategies for climate tech ventures, rooted in equitable and inclusive technology innovations ### Strategy Consultant @ Engineering for Change, LLC Jan 2023 – Jan 2025 My work is focused on building strategy to strengthen innovation ecosystems for social entrepreneurs in India, Kenya, and USA, with a focus on hardware technologies, and sustainable development. I also support ongoing work with The American Society of Mechanical Engineer's Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) in India and Kenya. ISHOW is a global accelerator for hardware-led ventures focused on social innovation and sustainable development. Through the ISHOW accelerator, ASME and E4C provides the support, resources, guidance, and training innovators need to successfully scale hardware-led social innovations to market and into the hands of the people who need them. My work is focused on: - Executing the program-related research and partner success strategy for the Engineering for Sustainable Development (ESD) group under ASME and E4C - Research supporting ecosystem strengthening work for hardware-led social ventures In India, Kenya, and USA (i.e. funded by The Lemelson Foundation) - Establish research plan and format for roundtable discussions with key stakeholders in ESD and social innovation landscape for each region - Facilitate ecosystem roundtables in India and Kenya, and analyze roundtable research to identify key conclusions and propose modifications for future roundtables. - In collaboration with the ASME India Foundation, advancing collaboration and sponsorship strategies for the ESD portfolio and partner success in India ### Senior Expert Fellow @ Engineering for Change, LLC Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 Engineering for Change’s (E4C) mission is to prepare, educate and activate the international technical workforce to improve the quality of life of people and the planet. E4C cultivates change agents by providing resources, platforms, and access to expertise to accelerate the development of solutions and infuse engineering into sustainable development. Supporting the design and development of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and E4C’s programs including the Impact projects and the ASME ISHOW program: - Building a graduated/tiered strategy to expand the ISHOW program ecosystem and architecture to support social ventures, particularly investment ready ventures, including opportunities to build capacity for companies (i.e.skills, knowledge, network) - Participating in interviews of ISHOW alumni as part of the longitudinal study, assessing insights gathered and integrating into current reporting and future programs - Support in developing the ISHOW ClimateTech sub-portfolio including potential strategic partnerships with universities, government entities, industry partners and impact investors, to increase expansion opportunities for ISHOW cohorts. ### Chair, Women in Design - San Francisco Chapter @ Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Jan 2023 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area Women in Design SF is a community of women and gender-diverse designers in the Bay Area, focused on connecting and mentoring folks across design professions. We organize monthly meetups, mentorship programs, portfolio reviews, happy hours, topic-specific events and workshops, amongst a range of other programs and activities. ### Vice Chair, NYC Chapter @ Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | Greater New York City Area ### Graduate Student Instructor @ University of California, Berkeley Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 | Berkeley, California, United States Co-teaching a course ‘Design, Evaluate, Scale Development Technologies’: https://classes.berkeley.edu/content/2023-fall-deveng-c200-001-lec-001 The course involves projects and case studies focused on sustainable development technologies for low-incomes settings globally, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This includes students working on projects with social impact partners such as global nonprofits and social enterprises, as well as projects associated with the Development Impact Labs (DIL): https://dil.berkeley.edu/ Student teams work with preliminary data to define the problem. They collect and analyze interview and survey data from potential users and begin to design a solution. Students explore how to use novel monitoring technologies and “big data” for product improvement and evaluation. The student teams will use the case studies (with improvements based on user feedback and data analysis) to develop a plan for scaling and evaluation with a rigorous controlled trial. In particular, I mentor students along the entire project timeline, and lead design thinking and prototyping instruction and guidance. ### Tech Lead Development Program Participant @ Autodesk Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Brooklyn, New York, United States Part of the first ever cohort of the Autodesk Foundation's Pilot of the Tech Lead Development Program. This six-month development program is designed to facilitate learning for the most in-demand nontechnical skills of the future—enabling the workforce of today and tomorrow to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world. Meet 22 individuals, nominated and recognized as emerging leaders across Autodesk industries leveraging technology to solve for innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges – climate change and social inequity. ### Lead Educator @ Newlab Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Brooklyn, New York, United States Lead Educator & Program Facilitator of 6-month, project-based STEAM, Design Thinking & Entrepreneurship Program for Brooklyn South public high school students. ### Global Social Impact Fellow @ MovingWorlds Institute Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 Selected into a global community of professional fellows, recognized for their contributions to social impact, as well as their outstanding potential to effectively lead across cultures, innovate, and create even more social impact in their lives and careers. Selected as one of 22 experienced professionals from around the world for a 6-month Global Fellowship Program working to further develop global leadership, shared-value, human-centered design thinking, and social enterprise know-how. The Fellows community works together to learn and share best-practices through case-based learning, exposure to thought-leaders, coaching & mentoring, and through highly skilled service projects. The MovingWorlds Institute partners with strategic corporations, impact investors, accelerators and foundations to design programmes that deliver world-changing outcomes and contribute towards the United Nations’ SDGs. Fellowship topics: CSR, Systems change and Systems Mapping, Behavioral Economics, Behavioral Insights for Social Impact, DE&I, Human-centered Design, Impact Investment, Impact Measurement and Evaluation, Cross-cultural Leadership, Cross-sector Collaboration, Social Entrepreneurship ### Industrial & UX Designer @ Fundamental Design Lab Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | United States ### Co-Founder and Lead Design Engineer @ Scopi Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 Scopi mission is to improve healthcare in low-resource settings by increasing access to low-cost, portable nasoendoscopes for communities in developing countries, thus enabling doctors to diagnose speech impediments in children. Scopi works closely with SmileTrain, an international children’s charity that provides 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children in 85+ countries. As the Mechanical Design Engineer and Product Design Lead I am spearheading the design and manufacturing of the nasoendoscope encasing and the UI/UX of the product. I am also reimagining the ways in which doctors and pediatric patients can use and interact with the device while maximizing for usability and affordability and refining the current hardware ie. connectors, housing, PCB components, etc. in relation to the goals of the procedure. ### Design Fellow for Design for Extreme Affordability @ Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford ( d.school ) Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 | Stanford, CA Worked with a multidisciplinary team on a DIY shelving design that allows smallholder farmers in Kenya to cure their onions thus extending the life of their crop, and allowing them to increase their incomes by selling the onion during the off-season. I worked on research, the core design as well as sketching, designing and developing the information manual that will help farmers build these stacking units. Stanford's Social E Lab fellowship is a continuation of the d.school's Design for Extreme Affordability program. The fellowship is designed to give students further funding and mentorship to design products and services that will change the lives of the world's poorest citizens, working with international partners on real world problems. I worked as a Design Fellow on Scopi (see above) designing an affordable and portable medical device for low resource areas in partnership with global nonprofit, Smiletrain. ### Product Designer for Design for Extreme Affordability @ Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford ( d.school ) Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Stanford, CA Stanford's Design for Extreme Affordability program is designed to give students the skills and resources to design products and services that will change the lives of the world's poorest citizens, working with international partners on real world problems. I was accepted into the program in January, and for the following 6 months worked with 3 other students and a Ghanaian firm, Burro, to design for Ghana's small-scale palm oil processors. Using human-centered design, I led the ideation, hands-on prototyping and manufacturing of the final solution, a DIY fireless cooker. I also spearheaded the graphic design for the info brochure/instruction manual to build the cooker. I catalyzed the team’s human-centered design research & d.thinking process towards a viable, desirable and feasible solution. https://extreme.stanford.edu/ ### Design Lead @ Voya Sol Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Menlo Park Design Lead of ready-to-assembly scalable solar energy systems for off-grid communities in Zimbabwe, in partnership with MIT • Spearheaded design and manufacturing of encasing and UI/UX of solar energy system, in charge of 3-person design team ### Product Designer and Interaction Designer @ Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Chennai Area, India Product & UI/UX Designer of iQuant® Fluorescence Immunoassay Analyzer (low-cost blood testing kit) for key markers (Vit. D, HbA1C, TSH etc.) for villages in India • Constructed and implemented UI/UX design for patented rapid blood-testing kit for rural areas of India • Redesigned the casing/body of the existing blood-testing device unit • Sketched and modeled prototypes for the next generation, more compact version of the testing kit ### Research Assistant @ Urban Surveys | Spatial Data for the Built Environment. Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates • Compiled application for Dubai Expo 2020 Innovation Impact Grant Program, that funds innovative innovative global projects based on their potential to generate real environmental and social value • Designed graphics for various aspects of the first stage of the online application • Proposed project: virtual, interactive 3D model of Dubai’s 50-year evolution using BIM and GIS data ### Volunteer Designer & Educator @ Dolma Foundation Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Nepal • Taught science, math, music and art lessons at Dhunche school (Kindergarten - 11th Grade students) • Organized hikes, meditation and workout sessions, cooking classes & extracurricular activities for kids • Spearheaded graphic design for monthly Dolma newsletters ### Camp Counselor @ Stanford Sierra Conference Center Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Sacramento, California Area • Organized and led enriching outdoor activities, hiking tours and water sports for children • Experienced waiting on tables and worked in the kitchen with food prep, cleaning and machinery • Cashiered at the gift shop & interacted daily with guests, catering to all levels of customer service ### Product Design Intern @ Chochoma Glass Studios Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates • Created physical prototypes for a variety of glass projects after meeting with clients • Learned basic hot glass techniques & glass blowing skills and assisted with workshops • Used Photoshop and Illustrator to design project proposals and illustrations ### Editorial Assistant @ ITP Media Group Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates • Conducted research and compiled data and graphics for upcoming design articles on their website • Revised and edited architectural articles for final publication and assisted with writing columns ### Design Intern @ IdeaSpice ~ U.S. Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Worked with clients on rebranding ideas and expansion projects and created business and design proposals for theme parks, company rebranding and hotel interiors. ### Design Intern @ Designwise India Private Limted Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | New Delhi Area, India • Sketched ideas and created prototypes for the company’s new line of décor products • Designed and spearheaded production of a product for their new line of products • Coordinated metallurgy processes and packaging methods in the main factory ### Student @ Emirates International School Jan 2009 – Jan 2015 ## Education ### Master's degree in Development Engineering University of California, Berkeley ### Bachelor of Science - BS in Product Design/Mechanical Engineering Stanford University ### High School Degree Emirates International School, Jumeirah, Dubai ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ashdeepseth - Portfolio: http://www.ashseth.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/ashdeep JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/ashdeep/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-25