Berkeley Visionary Awards | Berkeley Chamber

Why we have the Visionary Awards

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce created the Visionary Awards in 2013 to celebrate people with the imagination and persistence to innovate in the city of Berkeley. Long known as a city on the vanguard of public policy and social activism, Berkeley is growing its reputation as a place for world-leading companies. These enterprises represent the latest generation of Berkeleyans working to change the world. Their visions are key to the vitality of Berkeley and the greater Bay area.

With the unique attributes of the UC Berkeley, the Berkeley Lab, and our dynamic community, ingenious entrepreneurs are choosing Berkeley as the place to launch their ventures. Their companies are creating high quality jobs and striving to meet the challenges of the next generation. The Chamber has partnered with the City of Berkeley, the University of California and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to showcase these brilliant people.

Together we encourage Berkeley talent to launch in Berkeley, hire in Berkeley and grow their enterprises in Berkeley.

Thank you for a successful 7th Annual Berkeley Visionary Awards!

Mike Witherell, Keynote Speaker
Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Michael Witherell is a leading physicist with a highly distinguished career in teaching, research and managing complex organizations. He has received numerous honors and recognitions for his scientific contributions and achievements. Witherell is the former director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in northern Illinois and last held the Presidential Chair in Physics at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) where he was also vice chancellor for research. He was named director of Berkeley Lab by the UC Board of Regents in January, 2016.

2019 Award Recipients

Chloe Alpert, Medinas Health
Chloe Alpert is the CEO and Co-founder of Medinas, whose mission is to help reduce a portion of the $765 billion in yearly US healthcare waste through its trusted pre-owned medical equipment marketplace and asset management software. Medinas has helped hospitals save $30M in sales equivalency to date. In 2019, Chloe won the $1 million grand prize at the Global Creator Awards Finals, and in 2018 she won the $360k grand prize at the Regional San Francisco Creator Awards. Chloe also won the 2017 Forbes Under 30 Global Change the World Competition.

Bhavin Parikh, Magoosh
Bhavin is the co-founder and CEO of Magoosh, a company that creates web and mobile applications to help students prepare for standardized tests like the GRE, GMAT, SAT, and TEOFL. Parikh co-founded Magoosh in 2009 while studying at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business with a mission to make studying accessible, effective, and enjoyable for students all over the world. Among numerous accolades, Magoosh was named one of the Bay Area’s 50 fastest growing businesses by Inc. Magazine each of the last four years, twice awarded the Happiest Company in Education by TINYpulse, and ranked the 9th best ‘Small Company” Place to Work in the Bay Area by San Francisco Business Times in 2017.

Jason Haight, GIG Car Share
Jason is the President of GIG Car Share, the first service introduced by A3Ventures, AAA’s innovation lab and capital investment engine in Northern California, Nevada and Utah. The company operates a fleet of Toyota Prius Hybrid vehicles and all-electric Chevy Bolts, with roof-top bike racks and features one-way point-to-point rentals. GIG’s fleet of hybrid and electric vehicles yields affordable travel with a lighter environmental footprint. Jason is responsible for formulating the vision and setting the long-term strategic direction for GIG with input from a board of directors. Recently, GIG expanded to Sacramento, where Jason and his team of 35+ employees launched the nation’s largest all-electric car share fleet.

Berkeley Visionary Catalyst Award

Wareham Development
We are pleased to recognize Wareham Development for their outstanding contributions and critical role in developing Berkeley as a hub for entrepreneurial and technological innovation.

Thank you to our 2019 Sponsors!