Eesha Patne

From Pune, India to Boston to Mumbai to Delhi to Bangalore—growing up in different places across the globe introduced Eesha to the value of different perspectives early on. As a researcher and designer, Eesha combines her care for people and nature with her expertise in tech, design, and social impact to build systems for a better world. At Civilla, her work is focused on improving unemployment insurance delivery in Michigan and contributing learnings to other states. 

After earning her undergraduate degree from the MIT Institute of Design in India, Eesha’s career started in industrial design, where she became hyper-aware of the industry's impact on people and the planet. Determined to have a more positive impact with her work, Eesha pursued her MA in social design at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). There she honed her passions for environmental and social justice work and developed new skills in biomimicry, and service and ecological design.

Prior to joining Civilla, Eesha taught sustainable design at the Johns Hopkins University, conducted design research for grassroots food access in Baltimore, and worked on UX design and strategy for the Ecological Design Collective.

When she’s not focused on work, Eesha finds peace in nature, deep personal relationships, and material-based art disciplines.