Shalini Sardana

Shalini Sardana is a human-centered designer & researcher with a passion for social innovation and gender equality. She currently works as a Certified Leadership Ambassador for Take The Lead, an organization focused on preparing, developing, inspiring, and propelling women into leadership roles through workshops and trainings. She incorporates design-thinking strategies in her workshops to innovate and help women solve their leadership challenges. Her design experience spans over more than fourteen years in fashion, graphic, interaction and user experience design. She holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology (Honors) from University of Delhi, Masters in Design focused on Knitwear Design from NIFT in India, and MFA in Design with a focus on interaction Design from California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Shalini has given talks and conducted workshops during San Francisco Design Week 2017 & 2018, Women of Color Leadership Forums as well as Women Returning to Work conversations. She recently spoke at Diversity 4.0 conference about the application of design thinking in Diversity & Inclusion efforts. She also teaches Design Thinking at the Innovation lab as part of the newly redesigned MBA curriculum at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. She’s a mother, designer, amateur photographer and curious culture explorer.

Education

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Design California College of the Arts (2011 — 2014)
• Certification UC Berkeley (2001 — 2004)
• Masters in Fashion Technology NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY, NEW DELHI (1994 — 1996)
• Bachelor's (Hons) Lady Shri Ram College For Women (1990 — 1993)
• High School Diploma Sardar Patel Vidyalaya (1980 — 1990)
• Transcendental Meditation, Silicon Valley Center (2018)
• Seat of the Soul Institute (2019)

Companies

• Co-Founder & Investment Strategist She Raises Capital (2021)
• Founder & CEO Impact by Women (2019)
• Activator SheEO™ (2019)
• Angel Investor Pipeline Angels (2018)
• Venture Partner Republic (2020 — 2021)
• Dot Connector Women's Startup Lab (2018 — 2020)
• Design Lead Social Impact Designs (2019 — 2020)
• Adjunct Professor, Masters of Interaction Design (MDes) California College of the Arts (2019 — 2020)
• Lecturer, Design Thinking University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business (2018 — 2019)