It all started when Bill Rastetter and H. Puentes met in the summer of 2020. They immediately recognized their similar backgrounds and shared belief that incredible talent can be found anywhere.

A San Diego scientist, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist, Rastetter grew up across Latin America and has been instrumental in building some of San Diego’s most influential companies. However, he noticed, many of these companies aren’t very reflective of the communities they serve. He wanted to change that. H. Puentes is no stranger to the challenges that underrepresented students face. The child of Colombian immigrants, he has raised over $5M to increase diversity in tech, helping entrepreneurs and students access the resources they need to succeed.

Out of their shared vision, SD2 was born.  SD2 was founded alongside a group of committed leaders on a mission to increase diversity in STEM careers for underrepresented students and their educators through programming, mentorship, and scholarship.