Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda, BS 02 – Enacting World-Wide Social Change

Jan 11 2024 • 30 mins

The OneHaas alumni podcast is thrilled to welcome Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda – a social impact entrepreneur, globally-recognized human rights expert, and a leading scholar on inclusive and accessible smart cities.

After immigrating to the U.S. at seven years old and navigating life with a disability, Dr. Pineda graduated from the Haas School of Business in 2002 and has since gone on to advise Fortune 500 companies, negotiate international sustainability agreements, founded and run the foundation World ENABLED, and is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Pineda chats with host Sean Li about moving to the U.S. from Venezuela, the different opportunities that gave him, his work to enact social change in the world, and why building inclusive environments benefits everyone.

*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The impact that moving from Venezuela to the U.S. had on Dr. Pineda

“My mother was told that I would not be able to be educated, that I would not be able to have a job, I would not be able to form a family. And all of those ended up being not true, because it wasn't my physical limitations that constrained me but the lack of public policies, the lack of institutions, programs, and laws that allowed somebody like me to thrive. That all changed when I came to California.”

How Dr. Pineda is enacting worldwide social change with his work

“We're not going to fix these challenges by only pointing out what's wrong with the world, but rather what's investing in what's right with the world. So what we've invested in, in a partnership with the city of Amsterdam, was a three-year project on leveraging AI to map access barriers. Now that's important for disaster risk management and for emergency preparedness, as well as for infrastructure upgrading and climate adaptations.”

How listeners can make an impact and support Dr. Pineda’s mission

“We can each become advocates for more inclusive innovation, no matter what sphere we work in. I think sharing my research around AI, this playbook on inclusive cities, the autism-friendly design guidelines, as well as some of the work we're doing to build a global advisory council on inclusive innovation becomes ways that the very talented Haas community could connect with real systems change.”

Dr. Pineda’s thoughts on ensuring AI is used as a force for good in the future

“I think we need to open up our hearts. I think we need to be grounded with who we are as individuals, what we value, and really create a more intentional approach to how we direct our attention. Because what you appreciate, appreciates, right? If we're in a fear economy, we're feeding fear. For an economy that's investing in more integrated, holistic approaches, we're building those.”