LOS ANGELES CONTINUES TO LEAD THE COUNTRY IN PRODUCING THE MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND CONTENT.

On June 15th we gathered at PLATFORM to discuss How We Make in Los Angeles where we had beer from Heinekin.

From aerospace to clothing to "content" Los Angeles County outputs more than $544 billion in production every year. During How We Make we'll explore the symbiotic relationship between the myriad of industries in Los Angeles. We want to find the "fuzzy" edges where one knowledge base greatly increases the capacity of the other.

How We Make is the fourth event in the Radical Optimism series and is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

CREATIVE STRATEGIST | NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY

JESSIE KAWATA

Jessie Kawata is a Creative Innovation Strategist, futurist, and educator whose passion is to explore the way humans interact with space, science, and technology. As one of the pioneering forces of creative influence at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead center for robotic exploration of the solar system, Kawata led industrial design projects at JPL and spearheaded the integration of design-thinking methodologies into early mission formulation.

In addition, Kawata was able to utilize her product design background from ArtCenter and business experience from INSEAD to introduce the role of industrial design into the innovation strategies of space technology development as well as the business of space exploration. She initiated ethnographic capabilities for Earth Science missions, design strategy for disaster response robots, and co-led revolutionary mission concept investigations like automaton rovers on Venus and interplanetary cinematography spacecraft. The footprints of her strategic vision for human-centered design also expands across the agency from NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Kawata was a co-founder for a mobile healthcare management startup prior to graduating and in 2016, she was given the Young Innovator Alumni Award by ArtCenter. Her work, vision, and personal career stories can be found in media such as NPR, KCET, TIME, Newsweek, and TEDx.

HOST | THE ART OF MANUFACTURING PODCAST

FOUNDER | MAKE IT IN LA

KRISZTINA "Z" HOLLY

MIT-trained engineer, tech entrepreneur and adventurer, Krisztina “Z” Holly is the host of The Art of Manufacturing podcast and Founder & Chief Instigator of LA Mayor Garcetti’s MAKE IT IN LA initiative. Z is best known for curating and hosting the first ever TEDx (TEDxUSC) in 2009 and founding two innovation centers at MIT and USC. She has an instinct for finding and amplifying undiscovered talent and ideas, whether it’s helping dozens of faculty spin out new venture-backed startups or curating dozens of speakers whose talks have garnered 12 million views online; ten have appeared on TED.com.

Early on, Z played key roles at tech startups, such as Stylus innovation (acquired by Artisoft), Direct Hit Technologies (acquired by Ask Jeeves), and Jeeves Solutions (acquired by Kanisa). She has been advisor to nearly two dozen companies and organizations, including the River LA, World Economic Forum, and the Obama administration. She is an avid traveler, backcountry skier, and mountain biker. Z has two engineering degrees from MIT and currently lives and plays in Los Angeles.

TWITTER: @WEMAKEITINLA  @KRISZTINAHOLLY