CV

Education

Harvard Law School — Cambridge, MA
Juris Doctor

University of California, Berkeley — Berkeley, CA                                                                      May 2022
Bachelor of Arts; Major in Political Science

University of Cambridge — Cambridge, UK
Pembroke/King’s Programme – Summer 2019; UN and the Politics of Peace / Global Political Economy

Experience

Berkeley Political Review — Berkeley, CA
Staff Writer, September 2020-
As part of the United States section of Berkeley Political Review, I will be writing a series of articles for the journal regarding United States politics and policy. In particular, I was chosen due to my background and expertise in the technology policy of the United States. I will be producing articles covering innovations in the US tech regulatory environment, debates within the US about the policy direction of technology, and the impact of emerging technologies on existing political dynamics.

Technology And Policy (TAP) Podcast — Berkeley, CA
Podcast Host, Fall 2020-
I co-host a podcast with a colleague from the Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department that covers issues related to technology policy from a technical and political science background. Most episodes are structured around an introduction to the relevant technical concepts, followed by an introduction to the key political debates and policy decisions that have to be made, and concluded with an exploration of how the technology may alter or relate to previous political dynamics and alter the political environment in the future.

• Thus far, we have covered the evolution of the international governance regime for space exploration, the rise of cryptocurrencies, the way algorithms can be used in the justice system, the potential of cryonics, the economics of asteroid mining, and the regulation of application permissions.

Science And Technology Studies Department, UC Berkeley — Berkeley, CA
Reader / TA for ISF 60: Technology and Values, Fall 2020
As a reader for ISF 60, I have assisted in the selection and organization of course materials in order to create a course that provides an introduction to the major issues related to modern emerging technologies. This course is based around the work of three Berkeley professors leading the innovation in these fields, who assist in the teaching of the class.  The three primary subject areas of the course are the control of artificial intelligence systems, integrating human and machine components, and CRISPR bioengineering implications (taught by the creator of the technology). I assist with teaching the course and grading every assignment.

Berkeley Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Study Center (BASC) — Berkeley, CA
Research Assistant, Spring 2020 – Fall 2020
I was chosen to be a research assistant at the Center, which brings together scholars from various disciplines, institutes, and centers from Berkeley and around the world to foster collaborative research on APEC and other trade-related issues.

Most of my research work has focused on the regulation of emerging technologies and the international implications of such technologies. Notable issue areas that I have worked on include:

• US-China economic relations, particularly in trade, finance, and investment.
• The Chinese Belt-and-Road Initiative.
• US-China technological competition, in particular:
  • The development of artificial intelligence by the US and China, and the implementation
    of AI programs in the military.
  • Cybersecurity in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Quantum computing and quantum cryptography’s implications for cybersecurity.
• The creation and implementation of multilateral export control regimes for dual-use
  technologies, in particular:
  • The Wassenaar Arrangement, focusing on the 2013 expansion of their control lists to cover intrusion software and the resulting impact on cybersecurity regulation.
  • The Nuclear Suppliers Group
  • The Australia Group
  • The Missile Technology Control Regime, focusing on its implications for civilian space exploration.
• Limits of dual-use technology regulation in the areas of unmanned drones, bioweapons, cyber technology, additive manufacturing, nuclear energy, nanotechnology, and space launch systems.
• Human capital developments in the AI sector, focusing on firms in particular.

My primary role is conducting background research on topics as needed – this often takes the form of writing large policy and research briefs, which need to be completed following a strict timeline and polished to the highest level of academic rigor and accuracy. I also  contribute original opinion pieces to the BASC blog and the BASC annual newsletter.

BASC produces finished research products for various consumers, including government agencies, international organizations, and the academic community. I work in a team environment to conduct high-quality academic research on a variety of topics that informs policy decisions made by the above mentioned groups.

Superior Court Of California, County Of San Francisco — San Francisco, CA
JusticeCorps/Americorps Litigant Assistance, Fall 2019 – Spring 2020
National service program that works as part of the California Judicial Branch and AmeriCorps. Starting in September of 2019, I have been serving in the Superior Court of California – County of San Francisco, providing a free service to those who cannot afford lawyers. My position is based primarily around educating litigants on their legal options and potential outcomes. Skills gained:

• Extensive experience with legal paperwork and forms. The position required me to learn every form in the entire California Superior Court System, along with how to analyze and complete them; this includes extrapolating from limited information to determine the best legal route to proceed regarding paperwork and the system as it relates to the particular litigants case.
•  I worked on 258 individual court filings across 69 clients.
• Complex problem solving and interpersonal skills. Each case I am presented with is different. In every scenario, I have to navigate the person in front of me (people who often were dealing with difficult and emotional issues) in order to get all relevant information from them in a respectful manner. I then need to apply their particular facts to the California Court System, in order to determine what the proper legal pathway is; I use that analysis to determine which forms to complete, and my training (as mentioned above) allows me to swiftly and accurately complete the legal work in light of their specific case information.
• Ability to maintain focus under immense pressure. The above-mentioned complicated legal analysis occurs not only with time pressure, but also with an understanding of the fact that the decisions I make seriously affect the lives of the people I work with.

Program On Security Institutions And Violent Instability (Police) — Berkeley, CA
Research Assistant, Fall 2018 – Spring 2019
A research project, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative, designed to explain why some states’ security institutions are more effective than others.

• Coded country-specific features of police organization, including mandates, jurisdictions, and deployments, with the goal of understanding how such features affect the effectiveness of governments in pursuing counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. Coded using secondary materials, online sources, encyclopedias, and other reference materials. Wrote case studies of specific countries.
• Learned the tools of intelligence/information collecting and data analysis in a professional/academic setting; specifically focused on aggregating various observed indicators and collecting them into a metric to determine how such indicators affect counterterrorism.
• Learned how to collect data from a variety of different sources, including the development of fluency regarding the manipulation of sources and data into an analytical framework.
• Skills gained: how to collect and process data that can then be used for statistical analysis; how to conduct detailed comparative case studies; how domestic security institutions vary and how that affects counterinsurgency and counterterrorism.

Berkeley Model United Nations— Berkeley, CA
Delegate, 2018 –
Debating member of the UC Berkeley traveling Model UN team (which is ranked 4th in North America as of 2020). Regularly compete against top collegiate teams. Elected member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, a “judiciary branch” equivalent position that analyzes and reports on MUN policy to ensure that standards of inclusion are met. We also serve as the body that deals with reported issues of discrimination or sexual harassment within the organization. Relevant skills obtained:

• My position in the D&I Committee requires a strong fluency in cultural and religious backgrounds. Part of my job entails having a full understanding of all relevant religious and cultural backgrounds, traditions, and calendars, in order to ensure that such diversity is accommodated and problems are anticipated and provided for before they become issues.
• Experience navigating, negotiating, and understanding cultural conflicts. It is my job to deal with such conflicts that arise in order to reach a mutually beneficial understanding or policy change that respects all members – this often involves negotiation among multiple individuals of different backgrounds that seek different things. This can include high-stakes scenarios such as sexual harassment.
• Creation of reports, and presentation of such reports to those higher up in an organization. Parts of my job on the D&I Committee include analyzing the impact of policy decisions on myriad aspects of club life, notetaking and reporting on leadership meetings, interpersonal interviews on difficult subjects, and the presentation of completed reports to leadership in order to recommend policy change.

National Security Language Initiative For Youth— Xi’an, China
Student, 2016
Scholarship awarded by the US State Department. Participated in the Xi’an, China program, in order to gain language and culture skills. Learned Mandarin Chinese to intermediate proficiency. Studied abroad two other summers: at the Chinese Language Institute, Guilin, in 2017, and the Hutong School, Beijing, in 2018.