Student, researcher, developer, mentor, mom, dog groomer, birder…
I wear a lot of hats. And boy, it’s not easy. This is why I’m passionate about finding innovative ways to help people find their wellbeing balance.
I design and build technologies to support mental health and wellbeing and bring intelligence and insights through machine learning and data science. By necessity and with passion, I work at the intersection of human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence.
I’m interested in understanding resource tensions and challenges introduced by multiple roles, responsibilities or journeys that individuals experience. This informs the design of interventions and systems aimed at alleviating people’s challenges and helping them prioritize their overall wellbeing and achieve their ideal wellbeing balance.
I design for end-user empowerment and agency over their wellbeing data. From designing technical systems to informing responsible AI guidelines, my research, design and development process is grounded in human-centered design, which I amplify through solid software engineering practices.
I am thankful for my daughter who inspires me to keep going and to make this a better world for her and others. I can’t be where I am today without my husband who supports my crazy career endeavors. I strive to inspire other girls and women to lean in.
Please reach out to chat!
My zen.
It was my daughter who first introduced me to birds almost a decade ago. The first bird she got me to notice was a black-capped chickadee. Since then, I can’t stop noticing birds, their sounds, behaviors, plumage, habitats. We’ve travelled around the world to see the genius of birds. Seeing the same birds around the neighborhood never bores me. Birding brings me joy and calm, purpose and achievement, and suspense and thrill.
My zen 2.
I love making things, especially when there are no instructions. I blatantly and purposefully ignore recipes, and my family unfortunately suffers through my food experimentations. Occasionally, I have brilliant craft ideas that I always regret starting but feel proud after hundreds of hours spent. I love creating!
Circle of influence.
Each circle is carefully designed and painted by the 3rd graders, consisting of 5 spaces and colors each representing an influence in their lives. Each circle is then connected to the circles representing their homeroom teachers since Kindergarten, which are then connected to the school’s administrative staffs and other support teachers. Each painted piece is sealed with epoxy glaze and propped on clear acrylic panel. The layout of the pieces are powered by the force-directed graph algorithm. This art work comes with a companion book that catalogs the color encodings. The wood is sourced from a friend’s backyard, and each piece is sliced, dried, and sanded by hand.
This materialized information visualization is my proudest piece of art work. It was sold at an auction for $4600!
Halloween costumes.
If you like making stuff, chances are your child becomes your guinea pig for costumes. Occasionally, it comes out okay.
Giant miffy. It’s impossible to get it into a car.
There are approximately 100 peacock feathers in this costume.
Jiggly puff! This costume has very little ventilation due to the vinyl adhesive I used to strengthen the paper lantern. My daughter was very hot, and angry.
I got tired of making things that wouldn’t fit into cars, so I went for more a carnival feel. This girl is on fire.