Boryana Straubel

Boryana Straubel died on June 19 2021 after being struck by a car while riding her bicycle in Washoe County, Nev. She was 38. A former Tesla executive, she ran a family foundation that focuses on environmental sustainability. Her jewelry company uses recycled metals. When she arrived in the United States in 2005, she spoke no English. In 2008, she graduated from the College of San Mateo, a two-year community college in Silicon Valley, along with her younger brother, Stoyan. After earning a degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, she became a star executive at Tesla, the electric car company, where she led teams in human resources and market expansion, among other roles. She also met Jeffrey Brian Straubel, known as J.B., who, along with Elon Musk, was one of Tesla’s founders. As chief technology officer, Mr. Straubel, an engineer, was in charge of Tesla’s battery cell design and other innovations. Forbes magazine has estimated Mr. Straubel’s net worth at $140 million. He stepped down from his position as chief technology officer in 2019. The couple married in 2013 and started the Straubel Foundation, which focuses on environmental sustainability, in 2015. Ms. Straubel was its executive director. Ms. Straubel conceived Generation Collection when she learned that precious metals like gold were a large component of electronic waste. She earned a master’s degree in management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2019 and a master’s degree in management science and engineering the next year from Stanford’s School of Engineering. In addition to her husband, Ms. Straubel’s survivors include their two young sons.