I am a Chinese-American multidisciplinary designer, illustrator, animator, and entrepreneur currently based in Cape Town. I am passionate about exploring & designing creative solutions that help dismantle systems of oppression, unlock opportunities, and unleash the potential of underrepresented communities (women, children, youth, refugees, underbanked, et cetera). My work spans across a variety of disciplines and industries, from film, e-commerce, and non-profit; to fintech, edtech, and human centered design - and the golden thread that links each career milestone or shift is an inherent desire for impact.
I’m quirky, adventurous, and flourish in meaningful social/work environments. For as long as I can remember, I have been trying to find where I fit in the intersection of impact, creativity, and purpose. As a child, I thought this meant either being a doctor or an artist. The Lord of the Rings defined my adolescence, so I pursued and received a BA in Animation and Digital Arts from the University of Southern California. Yet, even with two fantastic internships with Dreamworks Animation, my curiosity prompted me to leave the Hollywood industry to work on an animated financial literacy comic series in Tanzania.
My life reached a pivotal moment when I decided to join Cinemadamare, a young bohemian international film crew that traveled throughout Italy for a summer. Amidst squeaky air mattresses, sweltering mediterranean heat, the best love stories, and too much gelato; my constant companions and best friends on the adventure were Italians, Tanzanians and Kenyans. My newfound desire to expand my work more globally inspired me to co-found my fintech/edtech startup Mosabi. We decided to launch in Nairobi, where I lived and operated the start-up out of, for two years. This time was particularly formative for me as I explored personal tensions of what it meant for me - a non-African, to contribute in meaningful and appropriate ways in a post-colonial environment.
In mid 2019, I enrolled as an MBA student at the American University in Cairo to gain a better understanding of business acumen and expand my knowledge of the continent. While studying, I helped lead marketing operations at Breadfast, a fast-growing and empathy-driven e-commerce startup in Cairo. Later in 2021, I joined IDEO.org as a Senior Visual Lead to work on some of my most meaningful projects to date - designing economic empowerment and sexual reproductive health programs for rural girls across Sub-Saharan Africa.
I continue to follow my curiosity into spaces that boldly question the status quo, and that innovates with inclusivity at its heart. If you share a similar vision of a more empathetic, equitable, and creative world - drop me a line! I’m always on a lookout for a new adventure.