IDEAS » Our Team

Our Team

Ansaf Kareem, Co-Founder ansaf@ripplingideas.org	Ansaf Kareem is the co-founder of IDEAS and graduated from Stanford University where he majored in Political Science and Economics. During a term at Oxford University, he studied energy economics and middle east politics, and also participated in a Stanford Overseas Seminar at Cambridge University studying the Bloomsbury Group. Ansaf’s past work experiences include working for one of the largest renewable energy law firms in the US, a clean-tech start-up in the Silicon Valley, a non-profit working on democracy issues in the US, and an academic research position at the Hoover Institution examining the role of emerging information technologies in mobilizing political efforts and citizen voice. Ansaf was also selected to serve as a Fellow at the Interfaith Youth Core and co-founded Stanford F.A.I.T.H. At Stanford, he served in various leadership positions with the Muslim Student Awareness Network, Stanford Journal of International Relations, Board of Directors of the Stanford Alumni Association, and as President of the Class of 2010. He wrote his senior honors thesis with the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), based on field research conducted in Pakistan during the summer of 2009. His other interests include politics, basketball, traveling, and hanging out with friends. Ansaf has been accepted for deferred admission to Harvard Business School, and will begin his graduate studies in Fall of 2012.
Eugene Nho, Co-Founder eugene@ripplingideas.org	Eugene Nho is the co-founder of IDEAS and graduated from Stanford University where he majored in Economics and minoring in Environmental Engineering with a focus on climate change and energy policy. He wrote an honors thesis on how carbon offsets can be utilized to fund social entrepreneurial projects in developing countries, and attended COP15 in Copenhagen last December to conduct research and to represent IDEAS and the U.S. youth. His past work experiences include founding the Asian branch of a pioneering carbon offset firm in the U.S., working on a climate change project at McKinsey & Company during a summer internship, researching how geography affects ethnic conflicts in Africa for Professor James Fearon, and walking backwards around the campus to give public tours. Outside of IDEAS, Eugene has been extensively involved with the student government as the Deputy Chair of the Senate, a member of the Executive Cabinet and a representative to the Freshman Council, and has served in various leadership roles in the Board on Judicial Affairs, Stanford Association for International Development and FACE AIDS. Born and raised in Daejeon, South Korea, Eugene is also very passionate about China and has channeled his interest into learning Mandarin, traveling around China and teaching English at rural villages. He has played scrum half for Stanford Rugby since freshman year, and enjoys outdoor activities like running, snowboarding and hiking. Eugene will be returning to McKinsey after a post-graduation backpacking adventure with his friends.
Raffi Mardirosian, Co-Founder, CFO raffi@ripplingideas.org	Raffi Mardirosian is a co-founder of IDEAS and graduated from Stanford University majoring in Public Policy and Economics. Raffi is learning Arabic, and studied in Doha and Dubai on a Stanford Overseas Seminar entitled “Project Finance, Urban Development, and Construction in the Middle East.” He attended Stanford in Washington last spring and worked at the U.S. Treasury. Other work experience includes monetary policy research at the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai, India, high-energy astrophysics research at the Yerevan Physics Institute in Yerevan, Armenia, and infrastructure investment banking at BNP Paribas in New York, NY. He also served as a research assistant to Professors Stephen Stedman in CISAC and Ryan Orr in CRGP (Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects). At Stanford, Raffi had been active in the Stanford Blyth Fund, the Stanford Political Union, Stanford in Government, the ASSU Nominations Commission, and the Stanford Board of Trustees. He enjoys playing squash, sailing, hiking, camping, traveling and spontaneous adventures. Raffi will be attending Harvard Business School two years post-graduation.
Noemi Walzebuck, Conference Director noemi@ripplingideas.org	Noemi is a freshman majoring in international relations and maybe history too. She loves tennis and soccer, baking brownies, traveling, and talking about current events. She would like to go into either academia or non-profit consulting.
Elizabeth Lee, Marketing elizabeth@ripplingideas.org	Elizabeth is a junior majoring in Architectural Design at Stanford. Given the rigorous yet wonderful major program, she thoroughly enjoys both engineering/science and studio art/design classes. Since having studied and worked abroad in Japan through Bing Overseas Stanford Program, she became a fan of study abroad and plans to experience dynamics of culture in other countries. Her past work experiences include working as an intern at an architectural firm called SANAA in Tokyo, teaching fine arts to East Palo Alto high school students, and translating corporate bylaws from Korean to English. She has been working in a marketing team for IDEAS mainly as a designer, producing marketing materials distributed within campus, off campus, and also internationally. Knowing how much of an impact a sustainable design can have on environment, she plans to incorporate sustainability as a core theme and not as a result of a bandwagon effect during her career. In her free time, she travels, plays frisbee, badminton, and basketball, and seeks delicious food.
Chiara Essig, Marketing chiara@ripplingideas.org	Chiara Essig is a sophomore majoring in Atmosphere and Energy. Growing up in three continents, she has developed a strong interest in global issues, particularly relating to sustainability and energy efficiency. She also loves to study climate and energy policy, and hopes to pursue a career in that field. Her other interests include: singing, dancing, cooking and traveling.
Nicolas Chapa, Social Mediamilagrochapa@gmail.com	Nicolas Milagro Chapa is the director of IDEAS mobile and currently attends the University of California Los Angeles where he is majoring in English with a specialization in Poetry. During a recent sabbatical in the Bay Area he co-produced events with the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab, and served as a junior researcher with the Institute for the Future. Nick’s past work experiences include working for a marketing consulting firm led by Keith Ferrazzi, a sales-consulting firm based out of Los Angeles, and serving on the UCLA Communications Board overseeing all aspects of UCLA media. Nicolas was recently selected as a career prep fellow in Management Leadership for Tomorrow and founded NetPlay. At UCLA, he serves in various leadership positions with the Undergraduate Business Society, the Undergraduate Students Association Council, is the architect behind the UCLA Business Council, and founder of Midnight Futbol. His other interests include sustainable development, design thinking as a framework to tackle any issue, beisbol, and the honing of creativity in all arenas.
Indrajit Das, Chapter Relations indrajit@ripplingideas.org	Indrajit Das is a graduate student majoring in Geophysics with a focus on looking at the feasibility of carbon dioxide storage in reservoirs. He did his undergrad from Indian Institute of Technology in India and has a practical understanding of the difficulties associated with employing sustainable solutions in countries like India, hence he currently assists with the Indian Chapters. He also has a strong background on the dynamics of climate change and the effect of anthropogenic activities. His other interests are martial arts, cooking, painting ,music, photography and traveling . He is also the Financial officer of Stanford Club Sports and has played a major part in organizing national events at Stanford.
Allen Li, Chapter Relations allen@ripplingideas.org	Xiaowei Li is currently a master student at Stanford University and holds a bachelor degree in International Relations from Peking University. He is interested in IDEAS’s work because he thinks it is the ideal platform to link future global leaders in the field of environment and renewable energy by equipping them with the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial spirits.