Hi there! o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o
I started my career as an art kid that also loved science. I was looking for a path that combined both my creative and analytical sides as well as my love for people and that's when I stumbled upon Industrial Design. I received my Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from Georgia Tech in 2021 where I studied both traditional product design work as well as human-centered design theory and ethnographic research. My background has always been a blend of the creative and technical, but I am at my core a people-focused researcher and designer.
I graduated with my MS in Industrial Design in December 2023. During my time in grad school, I worked in academic and professional research around public health misinformation, political news consumption, and civic engagement. I thought a lot about the role design and technology could play in addressing the biggest problems in these spaces. (ツ゚).What keeps me up at night and what motivates me: a deep curiosity to understand people, communities, culture, and ways of working. Most importantly, it's figuring out how these insights can be leveraged to improve and uplift communities.
I'm passionate about social equity advocacy and public interest technology. Outside of my research and design work, I previously spent a year at the ACLU of GA on their Voter Access Project helping to track voting issues across the state, implement program infrastructure and manage LEAD (Local Advocates and Election Defenders) volunteers, revamp the ACLU of GA poll worker resources, as well as reach out to voters and help people vote at their local precincts. I also helped organize and volunteered at Georgia Tech's early voting precinct during the Georgia 2022 Midterms. I then continued on as a volunteer on their LEAD program. In my free time, I also volunteer as a poll worker in my home county!
My interest in civic tech began when I spent a gap semester in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic as a Civic Digital Fellow at the NIH to help with their STRIDES initiative. Interested in learning more about bringing tech talent to the government? I highly recommend checking out coding it forward. :)
I spent 2 years conducting research at the Technologies + International Development Lab under Dr. Michael Best at Georgia Tech, where I did work in investigating health misinformation and digital outreach strategies amongst Black and Latine communities in GA. I previously led the Bits of Good design team with Stephanie He, where we built web apps for non-profit clients. Since then, I have led 2 cohorts of our Design Bootcamp with Joyce Shen and Simon Zhang. The Bits of Good Design Bootcamp is a free, student-led program that teaches students the basics of digital product design + research and helps them put together a case study for their portfolio.
You can usually find me outside of work:
going to museums ⟡˖ ࣪
reading books ᯓ★
making art ⋆˚✿˖°
journaling ⋆. 𐙚 ˚
or playing Pokémon ⟡ ݁₊
I'm also a big public transit enthusiast! I love learning about the history of the transit systems in the cities I visit. ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ ✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩
Small Boat by vincent delecroix
Economics for the Common Good by Jean Tirole
The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels by Pamela Prickett, Stefan Timmermans
