Bio

Education
I have a master’s degree in Interactive Technology / Telecommunications from New York University. From 2012 - 2014, I studied the intersections of design, research, engineering, and computer science. I’m well-versed with artificial intelligence and machine learning. I conducted advanced research on computer vision in the Movement Lab at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences led by Dr. Chris Bregler. In 2014, I had the opportunity to be a visiting researcher in the Civic Media group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab.

My thesis on emerging technologies for emergency response and disaster management became a startup, Lifeline Drones, that received pre-seed funding from New York University and UNICEF Innovation. I completed additional coursework in Venture Capital from the University of California Berkeley Law and Harvard. I have a certificate in Strengths-Based Management from Stanford.

Inclusive Design
My grandmother taught me everything I know about inclusive design. She was a furniture designer who made it her mission to consider the needs of people of all abilities. As seen in the photo, she considered every interaction a person might have down to the birthday candles and did everything to ensure accessibility. This transcended into the work that I did as the Vice President of Accessibility Research and Insights at JP Morgan Chase and a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow.

Teaching
Springboard was founded in 2013 by Gautam Tambay and Parul Gupta. I came onboard in March of 2016 and have been a User Interface / User Experience Mentor ever since. I meet weekly with 3 - 6 students to review course readings, assignment, and portfolios. I’ve had over 350+ students throughout the years that have gone onto work at large tech companies and government agencies.

Since August 2023, I’ve been an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Interaction Design Program at the California College of the Arts. I teach courses on the Foundations of Interaction Design, Systems Design, and Experience Design. I’ve been a juror for the 2024 California College of the Arts Impact Awards and the 2024 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

Presentations and Speaking Engagements
I love attending conferences and meetups! In recent years, I’ve been doing more public speaking. I’ve guest lectured at Harvard, New York University, and the University of San Francisco. Some events and conferences that I’ve spoken at include:

•2022 Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator
•2022 Grace Hopper Conference
•2021 Code for America
•2021 XR Symposium
•2021 UXR Conference
•2021 BioHacking Village - DEFCON
•2021 .Gov Summit, 2021 SF Design Week
•2021 Microsoft UX Research Conference Keynote
•2014 United Nations Crisis Information Management Advisory Group
•2013 World Science Festival
•2013 Open Source Hardware Association Summit
•2013 New York City Girls Computer Science and Engineering Conference

Fellowships
I’m always looking for professional development and educational opportunities. I’ve had the opportunity to gain valuable mentorship and develop new skills by participating in the following fellowships:
•2024 Vencapital Fellow
•2023 NVCA / Venture Forward Fellow
•2020 - 2022 White House Presidential Innovation Fellow
•2021 Somos VC Fellow
•2017 IDEO CoLab Fellow
•2017 Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Fellow

Achievements
My work with emerging technologies has been recognized by the following companies and institutions:
•2019 JP Morgan Chase Global Hackathon Winner
•2013 NYU Prototyping Fund Recipient
•2013 UNICEF Innovation Grantee
•2012 Warby Parker Hackathon Winner
•2011 AT&T Action Scholar
•2009 Do Something Awards Finalist
•2007 Reach Film Fellow
•2006 American Eagle Live Your Life Awards Honoree