I’ve had the pleasure of growing up in many different places around the country. After the first two years of my life in Accra, Ghana, my family moved to suburban Chicago, then rural Arkansas, and finally suburban Houston. My upbringing naturally exposed me to many different kinds of people and perspectives, and I’ve learned to make friends with just about everyone as a way to adapt to new environments.

I would say that my strongest awakening to the importance of “civity” came during the 2016 election cycle, when the United States seemed to fracture across political and ideological lines. I spent many of the ensuing years studying the intersection of technology (the foundation of my studies and career) and social cohesion, writing and doing research with the Credibility Coalition and NewsQ. I’ve also written extensively about the role of technology in supporting a healthy democracy, how to create safe online spaces, and how to support a functioning information ecosystem online.

My career has been a mix of product management in technology industry and good old fashioned community organizing. I started my technology career at Google, and left it to be one of the first product managers at a criminal justice organization called Recidiviz. Outside of that, I have organized with the San Francisco Reparations effort to identify housing needs and demands, created frameworks to guide a public-health oriented response to drug use, and facilitated community conversations around homelessness with San Francisco Chronicle. Through experience , I’ve come to recognize the many different faces and perspectives of my neighbors, all of whom wish for a city that can meet our collective needs. I’ve also seen how a lack of trust – both between people and institutions – has stifled our ability to respond to long-standing issues.

Now, I’m particularly focused on building “civic infrastructure”: the tools, methods, and spaces that allow communities to organize themselves towards brighter futures. I run a community-centered design studio called LETS, and am working toward a Masters in Public Policy at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School. I see Civity as a crucial foundation for this pursuit, as it helps community members to recognize their collective value and creates the conditions for healthy, productive discourse.

Other things I like to do: I am an urban explorer and love to walk, run, bike, and bus to new destinations in my city! I can often be found in a teahouse with a journal, film camera, and sidewalk chalk in my bag. I am also an avid ramen connoisseur. 

Things I’d like to do: Run a late-night teahouse with a crowdsourced library, poetry readings, and lo-fi hip hop.