Aaron Tiao

Hometown: Kensington, Maryland

Major: Economics

Three things I love to do at Stanford outside of class: play sports with friends, slow (like suuuuper slow) hikes through nature, and jam out to Taylor Swift.

I could talk all day about: whether free will exists, the Green Bay Packers or anything football related, international development, mental health, human significance.

I would love to connect with guests who work in fields related to: International development, energy access in developing countries, global wealth inequality, social impact entrepreneurship / entrepreneurship, non-profits, poverty alleviation, nature conservation

Biosketch: In an application for an internship Aaron ultimately got rejected from, he used the following 116 characters to describe himself:

“A Taylor-Swift-loving, tree-hugging, capture-the-flag-organizing, say-yes believer always chasing joy and curiosity.”

While his once-potential employer might not have loved the statement, Aaron believes it captures his vibe quite well.

Aaron is passionate about supporting the world’s most vulnerable populations. Inspired by a Summer in Kenya (‘25), he took a leave of absence this Spring to build a start-up that streamlines the due diligence process for energy access financing in developing countries. After a 12-week break in lovely Sierra Camp land, he plans to rejoin the effort to expand electrification efforts around the world.

However, Aaron has yet to identify a “perfect” career path. For him, every class, experience, and conversation opens a new world of intellectual fascination. While this attitude doesn’t allow for a good answer to the “What do you want to do after college?” question, it fosters a deep love for learning, asking questions, and pursuing unique experiences.