Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Katie Greaney
CRWN 86
Kati Greaney came to UC Santa Cruz from St. Louis, MO as an undergraduate in the Community Studies department and then returned as a graduate student in the Social Documentation program. Her interest and passion for humanity and storytelling led her to work as a photographer and documentary filmmaker on projects across the US, throughout Southern India, Cuba and Brazil. She is currently teaching the college one course at Crown College and John R Lewis College, in addition to courses in Digital Storytelling and Entrepreneurship.
Peter Koht
CRWN 100
Peter Koht joins CIED after a career that focused on the digital delivery of local government services. He was the founder of a successful govtech firm that went public in 2019. Prior to that he worked on broadband, parking and permitting policy for local government. Long ago, he graduated from UCSC with a dual major in music and history.
Jeremy Neuner
CRWN 100
Jeremy Neuner is a UCSC Crown College Lecturer in entrepreneurship. He currently works at Google where he helps run a global series of startup accelerator programs. Jeremy was also the co-founder and CEO of NextSpace, a startup founded here in Santa Cruz that scaled throughout California and the Midwest. A long time ago, Jeremy was a pilot in the U.S. Navy. He’s the co-author of “The Rise of the Naked Economy: How To Benefit from the Changing Workplace” (Macmillan, 2013). Jeremy holds degrees from Georgetown and Harvard but has learned the most from playing LEGOs with his kids. Fun fact: Jeremy can juggle flaming torches.
Deborah Lindsay
CRWN 95
Deborah Lindsay has her BA in Culture, Ecology, and Sustainable Communities at New College of California and her MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco.
She’s the Executive Director of the non-profit, Environmental Volunteers based in Palo Alto, CA that brings science and nature education to children in the Bay Area, throughout CA and NY, and she has a long career as an operations executive for startups, small businesses, and non-profit organizations.
Once a daily talk radio show producer and host of Tomorrow Matters, dedicated to solutions of today for a better world tomorrow, an elected city councilperson in Pacific Grove, CA who ran on the first carbon-neutral campaign, and a co-founder of a long-standing non-profit, Communities for a Sustainable Monterey County, Deborah is committed to multidisciplinary solutions for regenerative living.
Deborah also has a passion for mentoring women in leadership, public speaking, and entrepreneurship. She resides in Santa Cruz, CA, and enjoys this beautiful, dynamic central coast town she’s called home for 30+ years.
Alexa Loken
CRWN 92, 94
aloken@ucsc.edu
Alexa Loken’s passion is helping people. In 2014, she started Loken Careers, her third company. Since then, she’s been inspired every day by the clients she speaks with that want to make a difference in their lives and move forward in their career path. A serial entrepreneur and do-gooder, Alexa’s career has had many twists and turns. She worked at Indeed.com as a certified career coach for software engineers in both the U.S. and Europe, started a cause-based marketing firm, co-founded a recruiting firm for women in tech, and began her career while working for environmental nonprofits.
She’s also an Entrepreneurship Professor (virtually) in the business schools at CU Boulder and UCSC, and previously taught at St. Edward’s University in Austin. She very recently took on an additional role as a half-time Executive Director for a nonprofit, and is a Board member at Social Venture Partners, Boulder County. She received her undergraduate degree from American University in Washington, D.C. and her Master’s in Media, Culture & Communications from New York University.
She grew up in the Bay Area, and has lived in DC, NYC, Hawaii, Austin and Boulder county. She and her family relocated at the end of 2021 to beautiful San Luis Obispo, CA where they walk and play along the beach and tide pools as often as possible. While she’s happy to coach anyone on “what they want to do when they grow up”, she particularly loves helping clients who are transitioning to a new industry, working with aspiring entrepreneurs, and people who are looking for a cause-based career to make a positive impact on the world.
Nada Miljkovic
CRWN 90, 95
Nada Miljkovic is a UCSC Crown College Continuing Lecturer who has helped developed many of the Crown I&E classes as well as co-curricular programing such as the Lean Startup Bootcamp. She is CEO and co-founder of GetVirtual, a student run Project Management Internship Program, the Board Chair of United Services Agency, a non profit, and founder of the podcast Artist on Art. She comes to teaching after a career in construction project management and getting her Master’s Fine Arts in Digital Arts and New Media at UCSC in 2009.
Yuliya Monastyrska
CRWN 90, 95
ymonasty@ucsc.edu
Yuliya Monastyrska is a UCSC Crown College Lecturer of entrepreneurial and business courses. She is a co-founder and wears many executive hats at GetVirtual, a nonprofit organization providing free services to help small businesses grow their virtual presence. She was a lecturer of the Sustainability and Entrepreneurship Program in partnership between Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development (CIED) at UCSC and Fulbright COMEXUS Bicentennial Ambassador’s Grant Program. She is also contributing to the creation of the CIED Crown Innovation and Entrepreneurship certificate program. Interested in both art and business, she holds degrees from UC Santa Cruz in Economics and Literature, and is working on creative writing and film passion projects. While she is a young educator, she has found success and joy in guiding students in their entrepreneurial paths.
Richard Vargas
CRWN 91
rvarga10@ucsc.edu
Creative director with over thirty years of experience. Created his own advertising and design firm, worked for one of the most decorated Advertising agencies in the world, Hal Riney & Partners San Francisco and later helped Apple computer build one of the most respected and profitable companies in the world.
