How my life experiences shaped me into the design leader I am today.
WHAT I'VE EXPERIENCED
I was born in a small farming village in China. Our family immigrated to the US when I was six. ✈️
I grew up in Lincoln Heights, a Latinx and Asian immigrant community next to East LA. My family lived in this neighborhood for more than 30 years. As the eldest, I grew up translating everything, from all the mail and school forms to parent-teacher conferences and medical appointments, for my parents who didn’t speak or read English. 📋 |
HOW IT TRANSLATES TO MY WORK
I learn quickly, and can easily adapt to situations outside of my comfort zone.
I'm resilient and resourceful. When navigating unfamiliar spaces, I can often figure out what I need to get to the next step and keep moving forward. I also feel comfortable ordering street tacos in Spanish. 🌮 I'm a good communicator. I am able to take often complex information and explain it in a way that someone else can easily understand. |
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My parents did not work in offices. My mom was a seamstress who sewed tirelessly in sweatshops to make a dime, and my Dad stood for hours on end working as a baker in local Chinese bakeries.
As a kid, I could see the Los Angeles skyline from the corner of my neighborhood street and often wondered, "What type of people go into those buildings? What do they do there?" 🤔 Coincidentally, my first job out of college was working at a nonprofit, the Campaign for College Opportunity, in one of those downtown LA buildings. |
I come from a hardworking family, and carry that work ethic with me wherever I go. It's a great privilege to do what I love for work. ✨
I am a naturally curious person, and ask a lot of questions to learn. I used to feel ashamed that I didn't know everything, and was afraid to admit when I didn't know the answer or understand something. 😬 The more I learn, however, the more I realize that there's so much more to learn, and the first step to learning is acknowledging what I don't know. |
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After being the first in my family to graduate college, I spent 11 years in nonprofits, working to increase access to college and arts education. 🎓 🎨
I went into the nonprofit sector because it was one of the ways I knew I could help empower communities, like the one I grew up in. I served in many capacities, from implementing a statewide scholarship that engaged 55,000+ students to teaching art to families in public libraries and serving as the first Marketing and Communications Manager at a children's chorus. It was A LOT, and I learned so much! But I was wearing so many different hats and felt a lost in focus. 😕 After some self-reflection, I realized that I loved (1) collaborating with people and (2) utilizing my creative skills to solve problems. When I shared this with family, friends, and colleagues, my partner (a front-end dev) said, "It sounds a lot like UX design!" 👩🏽💻 I took that leap of faith and transitioned to tech in early 2015 as a UX designer. It has been one of the best decision I've ever made! 🙌 I absolutely love what I get to do as a designer. ❤️ I get so much fulfillment from designing great experiences for people. |
It's easy and very natural to go with what we know. I definitely keep this in mind when thinking about UX! I was exposed to the arts nonprofit world because of my Getty internship in college.
I approached bridging the opportunity gap (the problem) with nonprofit roles focused on providing access to education and the arts for students from lower-income, under-resourced communities (the solution). I'm immensely proud of the work I did, and learned that I care deeply about mission-driven work. Transitioning to tech opened my eyes to even more ways to think about and approach problems. With each new experience, I gain new perspectives. With more than a decade of work experience, I have many transferrable skills (communication, collaboration, visual design, etc.) that apply to my role as a designer. Jumping into something new was scary, but discomfort is often the catalyst for growth, and I embraced it with openness. I'm continuously learning and growing. I surround myself with design leaders on RETHINK. To give back to the design community, I mentor designers on ADPlist.org. |
Some fun stuff
Favorite food
I absolutely love eating freshly shucked oysters! With a touch of Tapatio hot sauce and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, it's perfection.
I even own a pair of shucking knives and gloves, but mostly prefer to get them shucked by someone else so I don’t accidentally stab myself. If you find me with a plate of fresh oysters, you know I’m in my happy place. 2020 Census
In 2020, our family (minus the little one born in 2021) volunteered to get photographed to promote the Census.
It was a part of the We Count Los Angeles campaign, a community-led effort to ensure all the diverse communities in the LA County were represented in the 2020 Census. We worked with a couple of awesome, talented photographers and had so much fun! Photos of our family were used to help promote the 2020 Census on websites, social media posts, and even physical banners in LA County.
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Cakes by Dad
During weekends, I help my Dad design cakes for people who want a custom cake from Cakes by Dad.
I can’t bake for the life of me, but I’m good at gathering information from the customer, creating a cake design, and translating that vision to my Dad in a way that he understands and is able to implement it. After he’s done, I check the details of the cake to make sure what my Dad made meets customer expectations. Favorite drink
A favorite drink of mine is English Breakfast tea with a bit of sugar and milk. Maybe I was English in a past life? It’s so delicious and soothing.
And YES, that huge tin in the photo is my personal stash of tea…240 English Breakfast teabags! |
Creativity and family
Creativity runs in our family.
My parents are talented with their hands—my Mom as a seamstress and my Dad as a baker. My partner’s Dad and Uncle were in a NYC band called Pride of the Ghetto.
My partner is an incredible bass player, photographer, and senior front-end developer. He also cooks tasty Thai dishes!
I majored in visual arts (and psychology), exhibited and sold my artwork, and taught art. And now, I’m in design and loving it!
As a family, we love engaging in creative activities and getting our hands dirty. Whether it's dancing, painting, cooking, building Legos, or decorating for "trunk-o-treat," we have a lot of fun!
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