Kristin Nash, MPH
Sep 24, 2026
We're pleased to introduce a 2026 recipient of the William G. Nash Social Impact Grant, Yasha Zink, a Business Administration student at UC Berkeley, and the founder of SipDisk.
Now in its fifth annual cycle, the William G. Nash Social Impact Grant continues to support college student-run businesses and initiatives that aim to positively impact society by providing grants, support, and mentorship to help them expand and grow.
We wanted to introduce you to a 2026 recipient, building a practical tool to help students protect themselves from drink spiking.
Yasha Zink is a Business Administration student at UC Berkeley, Class of 2026, and the founder of SipDisk. She works alongside Madeleine Park and Julian Bao, both Class of 2028 at Berkeley. In Yasha's own words:
"Safety should not require a tradeoff between reliability and usability."
SipDisk was built to close that gap. The tests people can realistically carry, like pH strips and wristbands, are unreliable in colored or citrus drinks. The tests that are accurate enough to trust require buffer solutions and multiple preparation steps, which makes them impractical in a crowded bar. Neither option works well in a real social setting.
SipDisk is a compact mirror with a drink-spiking test built into it. The user peels back a section of the disk, uses a straw to drop a small amount of their drink onto it, and reads the result within five minutes. The film has a matte, frosted finish that looks like makeup, so the whole process looks unremarkable to anyone nearby. It detects nine of the most commonly used date rape drugs, using the same detection methods relied on in clinical and forensic labs.
The team ran surveys while developing the product. Almost all of the respondents said they would buy or consider buying a reliable drink-spiking test. None of the online respondents had ever used one, which suggests the options currently available are not serving them well.
Yasha and the team sought a grant to move SipDisk from a working prototype into production, covering the technical work that has to happen before any units can be manufactured at scale.
A pilot is scheduled for Spring 2027 at UC Berkeley, with 300 units distributed through campus organizations. Six have already signed letters of intent, including Berkeley Panhellenic and Greeks Against Sexual Assault.
We have been impressed by how thoroughly this team has done its research. The underlying chemistry has been reviewed by Prof. Alan Wu, Chief of Clinical Toxicology at UCSF, who has advised more than twenty companies working on drink-spiking detection. They have filed a provisional patent, confirmed their manufacturing partner, and signed up their pilot partners.
What stood out to us most is that SipDisk is built around how people already behave on a night out, rather than asking them to change. WGNF is proud to support the team through the William G. Nash Social Impact Grant and we wish Yasha and her team every success with the pilot ahead.
You can learn more about the work of Yasha and the SipDisk team on their website.
About the William G. Nash Social Impact Grant Program
The William G. Nash Social Impact Grant program seeks to support college student run businesses with grants of between $2,500 - $7,500, support and mentorship to help them expand and grow.
Your business can be at any stage from idea, through to up and running and we particularly look to support those whose businesses have the potential to impact society in a positive way.
The main criteria for funding include: 1) you and/or others on your team is/are a student or recent graduate and 2) your business makes some type of social impact. Applications for the 2027 grant cycle will begin soon. Please feel free to reach out to info@williamgnash.org with any questions about the application process.
We are proud to honor Will's legacy by supporting young changemakers and their visions for impact. And we look forward to receiving your application!