Our TEam

MARCUS SHINGLES

CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Marcus is the co-Founder and CEO of Exponential Destiny. Marcus met his co-founder and the leadership team at Exponential Destiny when they were students still in high school as part of an initiative he championed when “adopting” a south-central Los Angeles public high school to establish a new curriculum to teach “exponential entrepreneurship” in 2015 (see: https://www.laschoolreport.com/pilot-program-at-nava-prep-robotics-drones-and-entrepreneurship/).

Marcus has a passion for mentoring youth leaders who show potential for growth, particularly individuals who are overcoming challenges within marginalized and under-served communities and education systems.  As a mentor, he brings his knowledge and insights from his decades of work in industry;  Marcus was previously the CEO of the XPRIZE foundation, a non-profit and the global leader in prize and crowdsourcing models for innovation and technology breakthroughs used to solve humanity’s grandest challenges.  In addition, Marcus comes from the Management Consulting industry, where he was a Partner at Deloitte and Bain Consulting as a leader in the technology and innovation practices.  Currently, Marcus is the Chief Innovation Officer at an international development firm, where he is leading a global team on an initiative to design and build a new future urban community/”smart-city” on over 7,000 acres in northern Thailand.

Marcus’s expertise in innovation and technology has been featured on leading broadcasts and publications.  He is an Advisory Board member of Stanford University’s “Disruptive Technology & Digital Cities” Program, and is also currently a member of the World Economic Forum- Expert Network, focused on “4th Industrial Revolution”.  He also serves on the board and/or is an advisor to several non-profits focused on education for low income and underserved communities.

Marcus grew up in the Midwest (Michigan, Chicago), resided in California for many years, and now resides in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  He has an amazing daughter and a son, both out of college and exploring their destinies.

Follow Marcus on Twitter: @DisruptionAlert

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-shingles-6b01543/

MARCO VARGAS

CO-FOUNDER & Head of community outreach

Marco is highly experienced with developing and managing community events, programs, and projects.

Featured Achievements:

• First Generation College Student
• $1M+ direct financial management experience
• 50+ public speaking events (Spokesman, elected representative, community member)

Career Goal: “Through social entrepreneurship, I will bolster the economies of marginalized communities and increase education and career opportunities for low income students.”

Marco currently is a sophomore at Dartmouth studying Spanish and Economics. While this mean he spends most of his time in Hanover, New Hampshire, Marco leverages tools and technology to coordinate teams, manage events, and give back to low income communities.

Marco founded Fifth Sun Pictures, a marketing agency to support nonprofits and small businesses. The firm is best known for using design thinking to create and execute marketing campaigns for political candidates, advocacy organizations, and movements.

Marco founded Waiters in Distress, an event staffing company that provides youth work experience at weddings, birthdays, and other private events. This business started with a $500 grant from Operation Hope and grew to $75k in gross sales after 2.5 years.

In 2018, Marco joined the fight against gun violence with Students Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. He organizes rallies, host panels, and speaks out against gun violence in South Central and all around the country. From his college dorm room he launched the Students Demand Action Summer Leadership Academy, a summer program that helps low income students of color and survives of gun violence became leaders. In 2020, summer programs will be launched in Atlanta, Baltimore, Nashville, and South Central.

Hobbies; tennis, public speaking, and event planning

SAMANTHA AGUILAR ARAUJO

Executive Mentor & Chief Design Officer

IRIS OCHOA GARCIA

EXECUTIVE MENTOR

Iris Areli Ochoa Garcia was born August 26, 2002 and lives in South Central Los Angeles. She went to Nava College Preparatory Academy for high school where she was Salutatorian. Now she attends University of California Santa Barbara and is a first generation student. She’s currently studying to receive her bachelors in Biology.

PABLO GONZALEZ

EXECUTIVE MENTOR & CTO

Pablo’s first hand experiences with facilitating events and groups traces back to his role as ASB President and a plethora of campus chairman positions. As part of the graduating Class of 2020, he recently committed to attending the University of California Merced.

Pablo is also one of the founding Partners of Fifth Sun Pictures. This is where a lot of his engagement and introduction to the world of social entrepreneurship is derived from.

Pablo holds an FAA certified FAA license and leads sales at Fifth Sun Pictures. His involvement in the startup began after a conversation with Marco on social media that quickly turned into a business venture. While Pablo is new to entrepreneurship, he brings a fresh and ambitious perspective. As a mentor, he understands the importance of cultivating intellectual curiosity and leveraging the power of tools and technology.

JUAN FELIX

EXECUTIVE MENTOR

KEVIN VEGA

EXECUTIVE MENTOR

Kevin Vega is an Entrepreneur, current Chief Executive Officer of LopesEat, he is skilled in Sales, Public Speaking, Social Media, Marketing and Videography. Kevin Vega was born in Los Angeles California and attended Nava College Preparatory Academy in south la, he took part in the exponential entrepreneurship course where he says his passion for entrepreneurship was born. He then took this passion and attended Grand Canyon University majoring in Business Entrepreneurship while attending university alongside with a partner Kevin founded LopesEat a food delivery service for private Universities. Kevin peaked the interest of Sodexo, a multi billion dollar organization and was able to form a partnership assuring the success of LopesEat. Grand Canyon University caught wind of what was going on and offered Kevin a space at the Canyon Ventures Center, Arizona’s leading business incubator, where on a daily basis he is offered mentor ship from business professionals who have been very successful in there field and is able to work along people such as Curt Jones, the founder of dippin dots.

Kevin is now running his business full time and loves sharing his story and inspiring others to find and reach their goals. Kevin mentors several high school students in the Arizona area but would love to be able to give back and focus on the community who made him who he is.

Read More about LopesEat and Kevin’s Story Here!

ZACHARY SHINGLES

EXECUTIVE MENTOR & CHIEF PLATFORM OFFICER

Graduated from James Madison College at Michigan State University with a degree in Social Relations and Policies with a focus on disparities in America. He was first attracted to Exponential Destiny because of its use of XR tech to reach its missions which he believes can help mitigate the disparities he studied in College: Reimagining education, building awareness & empathy for social causes, and upskilling youth in low income communities. Zac is always working to learn as much as he can about creating in VR, and he has managed several projects to create PoC of VR experiences for schools and commercial clients alike. His interests include digital art, story telling, and game design. All of which he uses in order to further the purpose and mission of Exponential Destiny.