About Us
Team of Stanford Educator, Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs, MEP Graduates
PROGRAM TEAM
Raj Bhargava
MEP Founder
Raj teaches Meaningful Entrepreneurship online for high school students and for underrepresented high school students at Eastside College Preparatory School. He has taught Global Business Entrepreneurship, Design Thinking and Behavioral Science for high school students at Stanford Pre-Collegiate. He teaches a graduate level course at Stanford University that is titled: ‘Maximizing Personal Potential: Behavioral Science and Design Thinking Applied to Self’. Raj also teaches at the Stanford Continuing Studies a course titled: ‘Your Next Life Chapter: Achieve your Potential with Joy, Meaning and Creativity’.
Raj is a seasoned high-tech entrepreneur and executive in Silicon Valley. He also spends time mentoring social ventures. In 2015, he was appointed to the Stanford University Distinguished Careers Institute, granting him a one-year fellowship to study design thinking, leadership, and preventive healthcare. He was co-founder and Board Member of Jaspersoft, a leader in business intelligence software, which was acquired by TIBCO. Raj also served as Senior Vice President at Agile Software, which was acquired by Oracle, and as the CEO of TRADE Inc, an information business start-up.
Fellow, Distinguished Careers Institute, Stanford University, Stanford
M.B.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, State College
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi
Aatash Pestonjamasp
Aatash is from San Marcos, California. He enjoys biking, and learning about various fields, such as cars, aviation, and computers. He is currently studying Computer Engineering at UC San Diego, and hopes to pursue a meaningful career in engineering.
Alexander Poroy
Alex is from Encinitas, California. He is an avid car and boat enthusiast and loves playing tennis. He currently is studying Economics, with a concentration in Information Systems, at Cal Poly SLO. He is passionate about calculus and economics. In the future, he hopes to pursue a career in consulting.
Jacob Lebovitz
Jacob Lebovitz is from Seal Beach, California. He loves hiking and going to the beach. He is currently at UC Berkeley studying Data Science and Applied Math. In high school, he co-founded the Environmental Activism Club and ran for the cross country team. During MEP, he developed a prototype for a children’s book to promote inclusion and celebrate diversity.
Jocelyn Urbina-Diaz
Jocelyn is from Menlo Park, California. She enjoys going on long walks with her mom and sister to enjoy the nature around her. She is passionate about environmental issues, and in her robotics team she lead the prototyping of a bike trainer that would help people be motivated to exercise during the pandemic .
Manan Bhargava
Manan is from Sunnyvale, California. He is passionate about robotics—from CAD designing and manufacturing, to business, media and running events. As an Eagle Scout, he loves hiking, biking, and photography while going on adventures. At UC Berkeley he is pursuing Computer Science, Data Science, and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Rashmi Gaitonde
Rashmi is from Sunnyvale, California. She is an athlete who plays soccer and waterpolo, and also recently started her own clothing business. She is passionate about the environment and loves spending her time going on drives to the beach with friends.
MENTORS
Rose Bentley
Chief Operating Officer, Qumu Corporation; Fast Company, Board Member.
Jeff Byron
Former California State Energy Resource Conservation and Development Commission; Member and Investor, Band of Angels; Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow.
Pradeep Jotwani
Former President, Consumer Business and SVP, LaserJet Business, Hewlett Packard Company; Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow.
Karin Underwood
Founder, CoachMe Health; MBA, Stanford GSB.
Saniya Vashist
Founder and Executive Director, codeHER, which she started when she was 13. She is currently attending Stanford University.