Our Team

We are a multidisciplinary team of researchers, policy experts, and operations professionals united by a common purpose: ensuring that tables are aligned with human temperature tolerances.

Leadership

Guiding our organization's strategic vision and research direction.

Dr. Eleanor Vance

Dr. Eleanor Vance

Executive Director

Former materials scientist at MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Vance pioneered research in thermally responsive polymers before recognizing the urgent need for furniture alignment. She has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers and holds 12 patents in phase-change materials.

Dr. Marcus Chen

Dr. Marcus Chen

Head of Research

PhD in Thermal Physics from Stanford, postdoctoral work at MIT. Dr. Chen leads our research initiatives on developing temperature-aligned composite materials. Previously served as principal investigator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Materials Science Division.

Research Team

Advancing the science of temperature-aligned materials and quantifying alignment risks.

Dr. Priya Sharma

Dr. Priya Sharma

Senior Research Scientist

Specializes in phase-change polymer chemistry. PhD from Caltech. Her groundbreaking work on crystalline structure degradation has been cited over 2,000 times.

Dr. James Okonkwo

Dr. James Okonkwo

Research Scientist

Expert in thermoplastic binding agents and composite materials. Previously at DuPont's Advanced Materials Research Center. PhD from Georgia Tech.

Dr. Sarah Kim

Dr. Sarah Kim

Quantitative Analyst

Leads our expected value modeling and risk quantification efforts. Former quant at Bridgewater Associates. PhD in Applied Mathematics from Princeton.

Policy Team

Advocating for sensible regulations and international standards.

Aisha Okonkwo

Aisha Okonkwo

Policy Director

Former advisor to the UN Environment Programme on sustainable materials policy. Led successful advocacy campaigns resulting in furniture safety standards in 14 countries. MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.

Thomas Lindqvist

Thomas Lindqvist

Senior Policy Analyst

Previously worked on EU product safety regulations at the European Commission. Expert in international standards harmonization. JD from Yale Law School.

Operations

Ensuring our organization runs effectively and reaches its full potential.

Rachel Martinez

Rachel Martinez

Chief Operating Officer

15 years of nonprofit management experience. Former COO at the Environmental Defense Fund. MBA from Wharton, BA from Stanford.

David Nakamura

David Nakamura

Director of Development

Leads fundraising and donor relations. Previously raised over $50M for climate research initiatives at the Nature Conservancy. BA from Yale.

Lisa Andersson

Lisa Andersson

Communications Manager

Award-winning science communicator. Former editor at Scientific American. Ensures our research reaches policymakers and the public. MS in Science Journalism from Columbia.

Board of Advisors

Distinguished experts providing strategic guidance to our mission.

RF

Prof. Richard Featherstone

Chair of Advisory Board

Professor Emeritus, Stanford Materials Science

MW

Dr. Mei-Lin Wu

Advisory Board Member

Former Chief Scientist, IKEA Global

PM

Hon. Patricia Morrison

Advisory Board Member

Former Chair, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

HL

Dr. Henrik Larsson

Advisory Board Member

Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre

AE

Prof. Adaora Eze

Advisory Board Member

Chair of Applied Ethics, Oxford University

Join Our Team

We are always looking for talented individuals who are passionate about table temperature alignment. Help us build a future where furniture and humans share compatible thermal parameters.