Paola Santana
Social Glass
San Francisco, CA USA
"You don’t need to lean in, you need to jump in. If you see an opportunity, you lead it. If you see a problem, you go and fix it. Commit to something."
Career Roadmap
Paola's work combines: Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Upholding a Cause and Belief
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Be curious and research everything you can about what you want to do. Caring about even the tiniest of details is imperative. Have guts and remember why you are doing what you are doing.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Law
Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra
Graduate Degree
Law
George Washington University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Founder & CEO:
High School
Bachelor's Degree: Computer Science
Bachelor's Degree: Computer Software Engineering
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Born and raised in the Dominican Republic where I grew up surrounded by poverty and inequality.
2.
Seeing the struggles that people like myself dealt with growing up in a poor country, I decided to take on inequity and has made that a central focus of my life.
3.
After receiving my bachelor's degree in law in the Dominican Republic, won a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue my master’s degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
4.
After working as a paralegal and in the Constitutional Court in the Dominican Republic, I realized that the conversations within government weren’t solving problems in the way they should.
5.
Made decision to leave politics and began pursuing paths in technology that might solve the “big” problems I saw countries facing all over the world.
6.
Joined a Global Studies Program at Singularity University in Silicon Valley where I worked with leaders to research and develop ways to apply exponential technologies to the world’s problems.
7.
In 2011, I started my first company, Matternet, a drone company enabling organizations around the world better access to goods—we've partnered with Boeing, Mercedes Benz, NASA, FAA, and the ICAO.
8.
Founded in 2017, my second company, Social Glass, is a software ecosystem that uses AI to help governments digitize, streamline, and scale good processes and decision-making.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Why are you talking about drones and technology if you are a lawyer from the Dominican Republic? You should just go home and leave it to us to figure out.
How I responded:
I dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome early on. I felt like I shouldn't be talking about a technology that I didn't fully understand. I eventually realized that in its early stages, nobody else knew much about drones and their potential either. I dedicated myself to being a pioneer, facing the uncertainty and the challenges, and creating a new path.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I grew up in the Dominican Republic surrounded by poverty and inequity. Seeing this growing up, I developed a strong dislike for inequality and that has persisted throughout my career.
I grew up in the Dominican Republic and came to the U.S. to pursue my master's degree. It was a hard decision, but coming to the U.S. gave me the resources to succeed and pursue my interests.
I started being an entrepreneur before I even really knew what that meant. I've had to teach myself most of what I know now and have had to navigate a lot of this industry all on my own.
Early on, I knew I wanted to create change and I thought that pursuing law and politics was the way. Once I realized that wasn't the right path, I switched to technology. There have been struggles, but I know I'm on the right track.
Profit vs impact is a daily challenge. I'm running a business and we have products to develop which require money, but if I let myself get too far into that mindset I risk missing the big picture. Both are important, it's about finding a balance.