1.
I love throwing parties (though not so much in the past two years)...I enjoy designing experiences and environments that facilitate bringing people together. As I’ve pursued my academic studies in computer science and interactive media, my fascination with human interaction has expanded to include the way people learn about each other through a screen and connect to their own humanity.
2.
I want to build a world of mutual respect and empathy through my work. I believe using data visualizations and emerging technologies in storytelling strengthens the way people understand the other people and places represented in the stories and information shared.
3.
Overall, I aim to create visualizations that are playful and accessible, where a person is able to interact with data tangibly and flip their understanding of what data is and what data is meaningful. When a person is able to interact with various elements in the data, they are able to reframe their understanding of it -- it becomes less of a black box that they take for granted.
4.
Data has often been used as a surveillance method on non-white and non-male-presenting bodies. Through my work, I hope to subvert who decides what and whose data is collected. I would like to reclaim control of data and use it as a tool to highlight injustice and advocate for change.
5.
I believe in connecting the dots, that creativity is a practice of forming new ideas and new associations between ideas. As a personal principle, I like asking questions and leaving things better than how I find them, whether in my school, workplace, or community.
6.
On my journey of becoming, I'm trying hard not to define myself by what I do, a difficult practice in this capitalistic world. The titles I formally hold right now are "Data Visualization Intern" at FiveThirtyEight and "Early Career Director" on the board of the Data Visualization Society. However, I hope to define myself as a human who is curious, empathetic, loving, playful, creative, and inclusive. In my free time, I currently listen to Brene Brown podcasts, paint, drink chai, and practice yoga.
7.
PS this website is a playground that grows with me. My next iteration of this website will integrate a CMS to manage the pages less messily/include a blog reflecting on my practice of dataviz, be built with svelte.js instead of vanilla javascript, have an about page with custom D3 visualizations, and have better writeups of projects.