Foster Creative’s mission is to inspire creativity and strengthen connections in the Foster community through storytelling, professional development, and fun creative-themed events. Whether you’re looking for a place to build the creative skills that will set you apart professionally, attend inspiring community events that will offer you the opportunity to connect more deeply with your classmates, or just jam out with the MBA band, we are the club for you!
The Foster Creative board translates creative ideas into amazing creative experiences. And we like to have a blast while we do it!
SOHAM MAHROTRA
CO-PRESIDENT
Full-time Class of 2027
Born in India, Soham brings 5 years of tech and product experience at JPMorgan Chase. Besides technology, performance and expression have always been core to him. He spent years doing street plays in college, bringing energy and storytelling to public spaces. He loves to sing (he's not great at it) and is always ready to dance. As Co-President of Creative Club, he is excited to build a space where students can let loose, without worrying about being perfect.
LISAN KENT
VP OF SPECIAL EVENTS
Evening Class of 2028
Lisan is a Seattle native heavily involved in the arts. She currently works here at Foster supporting the Department of Finance and Business Economics, so it is safe to say she spends a lot of time on campus. In the not-so-distant past, she received a BA and BFA in Fine Arts from Western Washington University, concentrating in printmaking and drawing. Some of her current favorite creative activities include life drawing and sewing. When she is not working, studying, or creating; she spends time enjoying her two cats, gardening, and hanging with family.
In her role as VP of Special Events, Lisan hopes to bring intentional, fun events to the Foster community that can increase creative confidence and knowledge.
VAIBHAV BANSAL
VP OF DANCE
Full-time Class of 2027
Raised in India and Indonesia, Vaibhav is a tech professional by day. Pre-MBA, he worked broadly across product management and analytics at Flipkart, India’s biggest e-commerce company, building and scaling their FinTech product. By night (and weekends!), he’s an avid sketcher, a casual musician, and has even painted 20-foot-wide murals! However, nothing gives him a bigger energy boost than getting on the dance floor. As VP of Dance, Vaibhav is always ready to learn a new style, jump into a routine, or choreograph the next big performance.
NAT FERNANDES
VP OF MUSIC
Full-time Class of 2027
Music has been a huge part of Nat’s life, from learning how to play guitar from age 11, to picking up DJing in undergrad, maintaining a 3000-song Spotify playlist, and now at Foster as one of the VPs of Music. Fun fact - he once played guitar on stage at a charity concert to 600 people including 80s popstar Rick Astley! An engineer by background, Nat has always enjoyed exploring ways in which technology can be used to express creativity through music and make it more accessible to everyone. In this role, Nat is looking forward to being more than Foster’s resident DJ - through organizing trips to support local bands and artists, finding free music experiences around the city and within UW, and helping the Foster Band rock the soundscapes throughout the coming year!
AKANSHA DAS
CO- PRESIDENT
Full-time Class of 2027
Born in India and raised in the UAE, Akansha has a background in Computer Science and spent 4 years as a Software Engineer at AWS. While her professional journey has been in technology, creativity has always been a big part of who she is. She began learning the piano in middle school, loves singing, and is always excited to explore new music and learn new instruments. She also enjoys art, especially pottery painting. As Co-President of Creative Club, Akansha is excited to build a welcoming space where students can express themselves creatively, try new activities, and unwind outside the classroom.
MINI YADAV
VP OF OPERATIONS
Full-time Class of 2027
Born and raised in India, Mini brings 3.5 years of experience in the tech industry, having worked at Fractal. While her professional background is rooted in spotting flaws and ensuring things work as intended, her creative side is all about embracing curiosity, self-expression, and a little bit of imperfection. She has always enjoyed exploring the creative side of life through stories, experiences, and discovering new perspectives.
In her free time, Mini can usually be found with a book in hand, tackling her daily crossword and Wordle, catching up on movies and TV shows, or searching for the next great place to eat. She loves learning through stories and conversations and is always excited to discover something new, whether it's a hidden restaurant, an unexpected plot twist, or a word she hasn't seen before.
SWATI CHATURVEDI
VP OF DANCE
Full-time Class of 2027
Swati Chaturvedi is an economist with 6+ years of experience in product and data-driven strategy, with the majority of her work at American Express. In the Credit and Fraud Risk department, she led customer acquisition strategy across 10 international markets and managed data-partnerships with co-brand partners. She is passionate about education-led impact and founded Boundless Birdie, a nonprofit mentoring underserved students in India. Outside of work, she enjoys all things creative, and Bollywood music is her jam.
DIPANKAR MOHANTY
VP OF MUSIC
Full-time Class of 2027
Born in India, Dipankar brings 4 years of tech and consulting experience working at the Prime Minister’s Office. He learnt playing piano in COVID and loves bringing energy and comedy to public spaces. He loves to jam and discuss funny stories or roasts. As VP of Music, he is excited to build a space where students can jam and learn music, without worrying about being perfect.
JESS GUATNEY
VP OF SPECIAL EVENTS
Full-time Class of 2027
Originally from Arizona, Jess relocated to Seattle after undergrad to pursue a career in operations management at Boeing. While in the PNW, she had the opportunity to be immersed in the vibrant Seattle artist community and left Boeing to spend five years as a self-employed artist, first doing outdoor brand photography then production ceramics. Joining the MBA and being apart from her ceramic studio made Jess turn these limitations into new forms of creativity including learning to knit, sew, and planning group events for pumpkin carving. In this role, Jess looks forward to continuing to encourage people to try new creative outlets (sometimes including pumpkin guts) while continuing to build community.
SARRAH RENFRO
VP OF OPERATIONS
Full-time Class of 2027
Sarrah is a first-year Foster MBA pivoting into Product Management after years of computer engineering at Boeing, T-Mobile, and Microsoft, which is a fancy way of saying she has opinions about Jira. She writes Sarrah's Sandbox, a Substack that translates AI for people who'd rather not read another LinkedIn post about "synergy," and builds side projects at a pace that suggests she does not understand how weekends work. In her free time (a theoretical concept), she's hand-soldering mechanical keyboards, planning her next Asia trip, or debating whether she can justify a one-hundredth visit to a Disney park. Fun fact, shes been to every single park globally!
SMRITI
VP OF MARKETING
Full-time Class of 2027
Smriti spent six years working across Accenture and Wipro Technologies, where she worked with global clients and saw up close how businesses grow, evolve, and sometimes get stuck. At Foster, she is bringing that experience into her passion for marketing, guided by the belief that great brands are built through clear strategy and real human connection.As VP of Marketing for the Creative Club, she hopes to make the club more visible, engaging, and welcoming by promoting events and helping students connect through creative ideas.
Outside of work and school, Smriti is trained in Kathak, an Indian classical dance form, and is an adventure sports enthusiast. So far, she has tried parasailing, river rafting, and paragliding. As for what adventure comes next, she will leave you guessing ;)
How do we help you unleash your creativity and build connections? Here are some of the things we do together:
· Foster Band: Foster has a rich history of talented party bands that play both on and off campus to build community, offer a creative outlet for Foster musicians, and raise money for C4C. Come live out your rock star fantasies and share your talent in guitar, bass, drums, piano, synth, vocals, etc. with the Foster community!
· Foster Idol: A quarterly open-mic that creates a platform for students to share and connect over their talents (music, dance, poetry, etc.) in a fun and supportive setting.
· Workshops and Speakers: Through workshops and speaker events focused on topics like improvisation or design thinking, Foster Creative aims to equip Foster MBAs with the creative skills they need to excel in their careers.
· Creative Forums: Roundtables where we chat about our creative projects.
· Foster Reading Circle: A space for bookworms to connect over their latest obsession.
· Foster Connects: As Foster’s premiere storytelling platform, Foster Connects offers a safe space for underrepresented voices in business to share their journey.