People

  • Nathan Lessa

    Student Fellow Class of 2025

    Previous Experience:
    Adjutant, United States Marine Corps
    Manpower Officer, United States Marine Corps
    Data Analyst, LinkedIn
    Product Specialist, Apple Inc.
    Previous Education:
    B.A. International Relations, University of California, Davis
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  • Heidi Walas

    Class of 2007. Partner, Gunderson Dettmer.

    Heidi counsels emerging growth companies and investors on a broad range of transactional matters, from venture capital financings to mergers and acquisitions, technology transfers and general business matters. In her role as corporate lawyer, she acts as outside general counsel for startups, providing legal, business and strategic advice throughout their lifecycle, including startup structure formation,
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  • Sai Sumana Kaluvai

    CBL Scholar Class of 2025

    Sumana Kaluvai (Hometown: Roseville, CA) is a 2L at UC Law SF. She studied Bioengineering at UCLA and worked in pharmaceutical consulting at IQVIA prior to coming to law school. Concurrently, she helped found and served as executive director of The Hidden Dream, a non-profit for children on dependent visas. Her experience as an immigrant inspired her to come to law school.
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  • Ricardo Parada

    CBL Scholar Class of 2025

    Ricardo Parada is a 2L at UC Law San Francisco. Ricardo graduated from Occidental College with a bachelor’s degree in Politics and a minor in Latino/Latin American Studies. Prior to law school, Ricardo worked at Morrison & Foerster LLP in San Francisco as a legal secretary in the Emerging Companies + Venture Capital (ECVC) practice group.
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  • Dilani Logan

    CBL Scholar Class of 2025

    Dilani Logan is a 2L student at UC Law SF. She studied Medical Science and Spanish at the University of Western Ontario and then received a master’s degree in Global Health from Duke University. Prior to law school, Dilani worked as a health and human services researcher at the American Institutes for Research.
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  • Sharareh Zerang

    CBL Scholar Class of 2024

    Sheila Zerang is a 1L student at UC Hastings. She graduated cum laude from UCLA with a degree in Sociology. Prior to law school, she worked as a corporate paralegal at a business litigation law firm where she was exposed to the role of venture capital in the formation of technological ecosystems and found that highly intriguing.
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  • Candace Kelly

    Class of 1997. General Counsel, Stellar Development Foundation.

    Candace Kelly is the Chief Legal Officer of the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source blockchain network that connects the world’s financial infrastructure. In addition to being responsible for all of SDF’s legal affairs, she also leads the policy team that focuses on bridging the gap between the public and private sectors,
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  • Daniel Lopez

    Class of 2010. Partner, Orrick.

    Daniel advises private equity funds and their portfolio companies in the tech and life sciences sectors on various strategic transactions, including leveraged buyouts, dispositions, carveouts, debt financings, growth equity investments and secondary transactions. Daniel also counsels boards, special committees, investors and other key stakeholders on fiduciary duty, securities law, corporate governance and equity compensation matters.
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  • Flavia Naves

    Co-Director, CBL Roundtable on Financial Policy & Regulation

    Flavia Naves is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Circle, a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of stablecoins and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications.
    Flavia has decades of experience with legal and regulatory-facing roles at WorldPay, one of the largest payments processors in the world,
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  • Mitchell Carlson

    Student Fellow Class of 2023

    Previous Experience:
    Legal Assistant, Fisher & Phillips LLP
    Legal Practice Assistant / Paralegal Assistant, Perkins Coie LLP
    Legal Intern, Infinitum Legal Counsel
    Previous Education:
    B.A. Political Science, University of Puget Sound
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