Board of Advisors
Dr. Jake Beniflah
Dr. Jake Beniflah has spent the last 20-years working with leading marketing organizations to drive ROI for Hispanic and mainstream consumers in a number of senior-level positions in the advertising industry. His areas of expertise are consumer insights and brand management. Dr. Beniflah is currently the Executive Director for the Center for Multicultural Science, the first think tank in the U.S. dedicated to bridge the gap between leading corporations and academic researchers in multicultural marketing.
Dr. Beniflah graduated with a Doctorate in Business Administration at Golden Gate University in 2010, and now lives in Los Angeles with his family.
Susan Kare
According to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Susan Kare is “a pioneering and influential computer iconographer. Since 1983, Kare has designed thousands of icons for the world’s leading software companies. Utilizing a minimalist grid of pixels and constructed with mosaic-like precision, her icons communicate their function immediately and memorably, with wit and style.”
She began her career at Apple, Inc. as the screen graphics and digital font designer for the original Macintosh computer, initially advertised as the “computer for the rest of us.” Her studio’s work has continued to optimize for clarity and simplicity and to present concepts in clear, concise, and memorable ways.
Recent work includes design elements for web sites, software, and hand held devices; particularly graphics for screens with limited real estate.
Susan graduated from Mount Holyoke College and received MA and Ph.D. degrees from New York University. An avid surfer and skier, she lives in California with her three sons, and Australian Shepherd.
Michael Kreiger, J.D., Ph.D
Michael Krieger has practiced high technology business and intellectual property law for more than 20 years, focusing on securing, expanding and monetizing clients' key IP assets to help grow their businesses. To this end he encourages and assists clients in taking preventive steps not only using patents, copyrights and trademarks, but also well-crafted contracts and due diligence on their potential partners, with litigation when the only effective option. His clients have ranged from start- ups and non-profit organizations to industry leaders, as well as the United Nations and international initiatives. He also serves as an outside expert in technology litigation, particularly where IP and technology issues intertwine (e.g.,cases about failed IT installations, or about software ownership).
With degrees in mathematics (B.S., Caltech; Ph.D., UCLA) and law (UCLA), he spent 15 years on the MIT Mathematics and UCLA Computer Science faculties and as a Fulbright Scholar prior to practicing law. This background catalyzed his involvement in key areas as they emerged, including the Internet itself — born “Arpanet” in UCLA’s Computer Science Department (1969), public key encryption (1978), open source software (2000), and Internet governance (as personal advisor to Internet pioneer Jon Postel, 1998).
Mr. Krieger has served on the Executive Board of the Intellectual Property Section of the California Bar, was Chief Editor of its journal "New Matter," and long time chair of the Section's Technlogy, Internet and Privacy Interest Group.. He serves on several start-up and non-profit boards including the Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum and the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research. His writings range from contract guides to reportage of Internet developments. In 1997 he returned to the UCLA faculty to teach a seminar in law and business issues for UCLA's Computer Science Department graduate program. He is Of Counsel to the trial/litigation boutique Willenken Wilson Loh & Delgado llp.