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    Paul

    Paul Traina

    CEO and Founder, Shockwave
    San Francisco, CA

    Paul Traina is deeply committed to addressing the global climate crisis through innovative investments and philanthropic efforts. His focus is on improving food and water security for frontline communities facing the harsh realities of climate change. In addition to founding Shockwave, Paul serves on the board of the Pacific Institute, is a partner at Silicon Valley Social Ventures (SV2), and a member of Forward Global. He also mentors emerging social entrepreneurs through Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship and consults with Stanford’s Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (Stanford SEED).

    A second-generation Internet pioneer, Paul played a pivotal role in shaping the technology that powers our connected world. He developed key software and systems that allowed the Internet to scale to what it is today, with a 30-year background dedicated to creating technology that brings people together and democratizes access to information.

    Paul was instrumental in the rise of Juniper Networks, where he led critical roles in both Engineering and Corporate Development. Before Juniper, he was a leading engineer and software architect at Cisco Systems, joining in its early days and helping build the foundation of the modern Internet.

    Africa Sand Dam Foundation: Empowering Communities, Transforming Lives

    At the Shockwave Foundation, we are always on the lookout for innovative and impactful organizations that are not just addressing the immediate needs of communities, but are creating lasting, resilient, and sustainable solutions. A little over a year ago, we had the privilege of forming a partnership with the Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), based in Kenya. After visiting three of their projects this past September, we can confidently say that we have found a partner whose work we truly admire and whose approach to community engagement is as innovative as the technology they employ.

    2022 Year End: Focusing on the Long-Term

    Most people view climate change as purely a source of disruption and loss. But we embrace a narrative that recognizes and honors these losses, even as we also understand that our communities, ecosystems, and economies are reorganizing and reassembling in complex ways that present new choices that many of us may not even be aware of.

    Transparency in Funding

    We’re sharing our internal decision making tools in an effort to make our funding more efficient and just.

    2020: A Year of Crises and Opportunities

    The crises of 2020 are a dystopian vision of the future. Our best chance for hope is to leverage lessons from the pandemic, democracy, equity, and climate crises to create meaningful long-term positive change.

    COVID-19 update

    An open letter from our CEO to our grantee and co-funding partners.