index.html

---
layout: headshot_nav
title: About Me
---

<main>
  <div class="row description">
    <div class="intro-text my-4 col-md-8">
      <p>Hello!</p>

      <p>I am a fourth-year PhD student at the <a href="https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley School of Information</a>, where I work with <a href="https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/people/deirdre-mulligan">Professor Deirdre Mulligan</a> to study how sociopolitical advocates respond to and employ technological and algorithmic tools. I am grateful that this work has been enriched by the <a href="https://csls.berkeley.edu/people/current-bels-fellows" target="_blank">Berkeley Empirical Legal Studies Fellowship</a> and a summer internship with the <a href="cdt.org" target="_blank">Center for Democracy and Technology</a>, and supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the Ford Predoctoral Fellowship.

      <p> Previously, I was the staff technologist at the <a href="https://www.aclum.org/" target="_blank">ACLU of Massachusetts</a> in Boston, where I worked on the <a href="https://www.aclum.org/en/technology-liberty" target="_blank">Technology for Liberty Project</a> directed by Kade Crockford. My role included exploring and visualizing government data in order to inform citizens about the effects of legislation and political leadership, managing our <a href="https://data.aclum.org/" target="_blank">Data for Justice</a> site, and generally supporting ACLUM campaigns that operate at the intersection of technology and civil liberties. I was also an affiliate of the Harvard <a href="https://cyber.harvard.edu/">Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society</a> for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.</p>

      <p>Before joining the ACLU, I was a Research and Instrument Analyst for the J.W. Space Telescope mission at <a href="http://www.stsci.edu/" target="_blank">Space Telescope Science Institute</a> in Baltimore, Maryland. Originally from Hampton, VA, I received my B.S. from Yale in 2017, where I double-majored in astrophysics and African American studies.</p>

      <p>My personal experience <a href="https://onezero.medium.com/a-break-up-letter-with-astronomy-from-a-young-black-woman-a30de24fe209" target="_blank">leaving astronomy</a> and finding a career path applying quantitative analytic methods to social problems was far from straightforward -- for those interested in pursuing similar questions, I maintain a <a href="datajustice.html">webpage</a> of organizations, programs, and thinkers who work at the convergence of data/tech/computation and society/justice/ethics.</p>

      <p>If you'd like to learn more, I invite you to listen to a <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Z1dAolRpfuYqkXRodkXu1" target="_blank">civic technology podcast</a> that I was a guest on in 2021 where I discuss my experiences as a Black woman in astronomy, my journey into public interest technology, and our data advocacy work at ACLU-MA:</p>

      <div style="width: 75%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align:center; padding-top: 0.5rem; padding-bottom: 1rem;">
      	<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/3Z1dAolRpfuYqkXRodkXu1?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe>
  	</div>

      <p>I am immensely passionate about working towards equity and inclusion in all of the spaces that I occupy (and I do intend the <i>original</i> meaning of those terms, rather than the defanged meaning they often  take on in modern professional settings).</p>

      <p>Please feel welcome to <a href="contact.html">contact me</a> with any questions or inquiries!</p>

      <p>P.S. Two of my favorite things are Wikipedia (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future" target="_blank">hmm?</a>) and Google Maps. I actively curate four <a href="maps.html">maps</a> with my recommendations for where to eat and what to do in the Bay Area, Boston, Baltimore, and NYC.</p>

    </div>

    <div class="latest-news my-4 col-md-4">
      <p class="menu-item" style="color:black; display:inline-block; margin-bottom:-5px">Recent Updates</p>  
      <p style="font-size: 12px; margin-bottom:1rem">(<a href="news.html">see all</a>)</p>

      <ul class="fa-ul">
        {% for post in site.posts limit:10 %}
          <li class="fa-li"><span class="fa-li"><i class="fa {{ post.fontawesome-icon }}"></i></span>
            <!-- <i class="fa {{ post.fontawesome-icon }}"></i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b> -->
              <b>{{ post.date | date: "%m/%Y" }}</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;{{ post.excerpt }}
          </li>
        {% endfor %}
      </ul>

    </div>
</div>
</main>

<footer>Updated September 25, 2024</footer>