Our Team

Dan Boneh

Faculty Director​

Dan Boneh heads the applied cryptography group at the Computer Science department at Stanford University. Professor Boneh's research focuses on applications of cryptography to computer security. His work includes cryptosystems with novel properties, web security, security for mobile devices, digital copyright protection, and cryptanalysis. He is the author of over a hundred publications in the field and a recipient of the Packard Award, the Alfred P. Sloan Award, and the RSA award in mathematics. Last year Dr. Boneh received the Ishii award for industry education innovation. Professor Boneh received his Ph.D from Princeton University and joined Stanford in 1997.

Lisa Nestor

^{Director of Research}

Lisa Claire Nestor is a seasoned strategist known for her expertise in fintech, financial inclusion, and digital assets. Lisa’s background includes building out the early enterprise ecosystem at the Stellar Development Foundation and serving as Chief Strategy Officer at Airtm, a digital dollar wallet and payment platform serving users across the global South. Prior to joining the digital asset space Lisa spent three years at the Centre for Microfinance in India overseeing randomized control trials (RCTs) exploring the impact and adoption of financial products targeting the underbanked. Lisa holds a Masters in Business Administration from UCLA Anderson and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Appalachian State University. LIsa is our new Director of Research.

David Lee

Advisory Board Member

David is an investor, entrepreneur, producer, and tech and media executive with over 20 years of experience spanning Silicon Valley, Asia, and Hollywood. He joined Google as one of its first 200 employees in 2000, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s international expansion, overseeing the launch of their global offices and advertising operations. After leaving Google, David shifted to investing and advising early-stage startups, focusing on entrepreneurs at the intersection of AI, Web3, and entertainment. To date, he has invested in more than 150 companies across Silicon Valley, Asia, and Europe.

In 2013, David co-founded an accelerator funded by Google and SK Telecom, where he incubated Korbit, South Korea’s first cryptocurrency exchange. He also co-led SK’s $100M corporate venture fund in Silicon Valley. Following this, David continued to invest into and advise Web3 companies, including RNDR, Metaplex, Xterio, Hinkal, and Story Protocol.

David serves on the advisory boards of the Stanford Entrepreneurship Society (ASES) and the Harvard Project for Asian & International Relations (HPAIR), is a member of Gold House, and an LP in Y Combinator and SV Angel. Outside of these activities, he is also a writer and film producer, and has spoken at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and TedX, as well as at the Zurich Film Festival.

Mohak Goyal

PhD Student

Mohak is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University and is advised by Professor Ashish Goel. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 2019. His research interests are in game theory, optimization, and their applications in decentralized finance. Outside work he enjoys powerlifting, tennis, and social dance.

Tony Chan

Advisor

Tony Y. Chan the Managing Broker at North American Real Estate Investment group. He is also the Chairman of the City of Redwood City Canyon Neighborhood Association. He is co-founder of Pledge, one of the earliest on-chain gaming platforms. He has started crypto investment since early 2017. Tony also did 21 high tech angel investments which gives 25% return. Tony is the creator of a popular app: “One Chinese a Day”. This app was the #1 paid educational app at the Amazon app store. He was also the founder of Facio software, the redberry company in China. Tony helped the company grow from 0 to US$2mill in sales in 3 years. He and his company were interviewed by Businessweek. In 2003, Tony worked at Rhapsody networks where he was responsible for storage management. This company was acquired by Brocade Communications for US$175MM. Previously, Tony was at Vitalsigns Software, Inc. where he was responsible for Vital Suites, which received a Network World award. This company was later acquired by Lucent Technology for US$128MM. Tony started his career at Microsoft and was part of the Windows 95 development group. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley and his Master’s degree, also in Electrical Engineering, from Stanford University. 

Jonathan Rufrano

Advisor

Jonathan has close to a decade of experience in public policy and research at the intersection of emerging technology, human rights, and international affairs. His passion is stewarding the development and implementation of emerging technologies responsibly and for the benefit of humankind, and in democratizing access to the promises digital currencies hold. Jonathan is invaluable to FDCI as a digital currency policy subject matter expert and the bridge between international policymakers, technologists, and private sector leaders. He also works with the Global Ecosystem team at Chainalysis to de-risk and demystify digital currencies for regulators, law enforcement agencies, and commercial clients. Prior to joining Stanford, Jonathan worked in the United States Congress and the Texas Legislature. He graduated with Honors in International Relations and Technology Policy at the University of Texas at Austin and holds professional certificates from Harvard, MIT, the Intern-American Development Bank, and Duke Law.