Brains and beauty, whoever says the two are incongruent isn’t living in today’s modern world. Today, we can have it all, and a leading force in breaking down misogynistic barriers is Chic Meets Geek founder, Carol Tran. With degrees in neuroscience, theater, law and business, and a role as director of the San Francisco Opera Bravo Board, Tran has had to learn to synthesize her inner geek with her exterior chic, and is helping spread her confidence through Chic Meets Geek.

Chic Meets Geek is a burgeoning community connecting Silicon Valley “geek” professionals with swanky “chic” socials. Believing that everyone is innately both chic and geek, Tran is pushing for cross-collaboration of the two types, rather than dominance of one, to ultimately lead to a successful world change. On Thursday, June 3, Chic Meets Geek hosted its third event at the ultra-chic geek Automattic Lounge, the headquarters of the parent company of WordPress, at Pier 38.

Guests enjoyed food, cocktails and entertainment, including an out-of-the-box thinking lineup of speakers, in an event merging a day conference with a red carpet gala and a non-profit fund-raiser. A power networking event for the extroverts to the wallflowers, Chic Meets Geek auctioned off diamonds, clothing designed by Jay Nicholas Sario of Project Runway, and tech gadgets with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting Glide, a San Francisco non-profit started by the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, providing free meals, health, medical, and housing services for the impoverished.

For more photos from the event, visit the Haute Living Event Gallery.