Charles Zhang

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I recently graduated from Penn, where I studied finance and computer science. I'm originally from New Albany, Ohio, and I care about furthering environmental sustainability and social equity through media, film, and tech.

At home, you'll usually find me cooking up some new recipes, reading books, and binging reality TV shows. I’m finishing up three films on water scarcity, climate change, and their effects on gender and ageism in Bhutan, one of two carbon negative countries in the world. My co-filmmaker, Alina Peng, and I travelled to Bhutan in early 2020 after we were awarded a National Geographic Early Career Grant. Our first of three films just premiered at CAAMFest 2021 and was awarded the Loni Ding Award for Social Issue Documentary. We’re aiming to release the documentary shorts sometime later in 2021 and 2022, so be on the lookout!

Outside of film, I'm currently working as a awoefijaef, focusing on building out our experimentation and engagement platforms. IDEO CoLab (2019): Prototyped Locomo, an augmented-reality platform focused on mobility equity.
Hack4Impact (2019): Building software for nonprofits.
Scientific American (2018): Opinion piece on renewable energy investing and innovation.
Council on Foreign Relations (2018): Opinion piece on Asia super grid development and sustainable infrastructure.
USAFacts (2018)
Hult Prize Regional Finalist (2017)
Favorite books from the past year: Good Economics for Hard Times (Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo), Being Mortal (Atul Gawande), Pachinko (Min Jin Lee), Kafka on the Shore (Murakami).

My favorite online reads are The Bard on the Ward, The Bleak Truth Behind My 'Inspiring' Path From Oakland to Yale, Tribal World: Group Identity Is All, and Isaac Asimov Asks, "How Do People Get New Ideas?." LinkedIn Twitter