Aria Safar Email Address

External Network Director

Nike is an American company that designs, develops, and markets footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products.

Growing up in a bicultural environment, I learned how to thrive at the intersection of different worlds. In the professional space, this often means being a broker of innovation by acting as the translator, communicator, and bridge builder at the crossroads of different industries, whether Fortune 500s and startups, government and tech, or the legal industry and tech. Currently, I leverage those skills as I find opportunities for innovation from across the tech, startup, and venture capital world and Nike Valiant Labs, Nike's digital innovation arm. Before Nike, I was an attorney-turned-techie. After seeing through the acquisition of a legal tech startup, where I ran business operations, I served as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's liaison to LA's booming startup, tech, venture capital, and gaming industries, where I built partnerships at the intersection of the private and public sectors. As part of these intersections, I've been deeply involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion issues throughout my work in academia, tech, government, and the law, developing programming to ensure that every level of our institutions and organizations are representative of the composition and experiences of our society as a whole.