Vahid Motazedian, serves as the executive director for Olinga Learning and the Foundation for the Application of Science (FAS), two California nonprofits dedicated to empowering youth to contribute to the social and economic development of their small, rural communities.
Vahid grew up in Iran, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Oregon. His father studied agriculture and dedicated his life to helping small farmers in rural communities.
Vahid got his BS in electrical engineering from Oregon State University and worked in Silicon Valley for companies including Advanced Micro Devices, Synopsys, Oracle, and Salesforce.
He left high tech in 2015 and moved to Salinas to devote himself to nonprofit work. He dedicates his time and energy to advancing educational programs that equip youth with moral and scientific capabilities and to developing technology solutions that help farmers.
The Wings of Knowledge Initiative, which we'll learn about in his presentation, aims to empower youth to improve their rural communities through participatory action research projects.
It began with simple projects designed to improve some aspect of community life, such as painting murals, planting flowers, teaching children, and trash cleanups.
Over time it grew in scope and complexity to include engineering projects designed to help local farmers.
This presentation shares the story of how small teams of youth in California's forgotten towns are working together to advance processes of science research and technology development within a wider context of improving their communities and the lives of their families.
Video: https://youtu.be/EwuB3pr4FQ4
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More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
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Podcast and Zoom Host, Rushton Hurley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushtonhurley/
Podcast Producer, Elton Sherwin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eltonsherwin/
Audio edited and enhanced with Descript Studio Sound
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