Jacques Chirazi M.A.

Bio

Jacques Chirazi is a seasoned sustainability expert with a strong focus on biomimicry and circular economy. His extensive background encompasses design thinking, entrepreneurship, strategic consulting, finance, marketing, public policies, and data visualization. Jacques’ expertise spans, climate change mitigation and adaptation, renewable energy, biofuels, advanced transportation, circular economy, distributed energy systems, smart cities, and machine learning.

Jacques serves as the Director of Student Entrepreneurship at the University of California, San Diego. In this role, he oversees the daily operations of the Basement and, which includes managing grants, fostering partnerships, and developing entrepreneurial programming. He is also responsible for creating and delivering educational courses and workshops that cultivate entrepreneurial skills among students from various disciplines, facilitating the translation of innovative ideas into market-ready solutions.

Through his collaboration with the Biomimicry Institute, Jacques has designed and launched the Biomimicry Launchpad, an accelerator program that supports early-stage entrepreneurs in bringing nature-inspired innovations to market. With a deep passion for the natural world and a vision for its transformative potential in business, Jacques employs a unique biomimicry approach to nurture the next generation of sustainable entrepreneurs and their groundbreaking ventures.

Jacques serves as a faculty at Arizona State University's College of Global Futures, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and the Sustainable Design School (BESIGN). He has served on several advisory boards, including the San Diego Green Building Council, Cleantech San Diego, and the International Organization for Standardization. Jacques is a Certified Energy Manager (C.E.M) and a LEED Green Associate (LEED-GA).