Q: Where are you right now?
A: At a computer typing this. ;) JK, I live in the amazing city of San Francisco. In the Mission District. I commute by train and shuttle to Stanford/Mountain View daily. It's a great time of reading, writing, and reflection and I need that time so don't feel sorry for me! I left Beijing after 2 years at Microsoft Research Asia. I'm studying and writing towards my PhD at Stanford. I'm very proud of where I've been and where I'm going. I have an incredible team of people that support me in the Bay Area: my advisor, Iranian-American mentors, incredible friends and entrepreneurs that, behind the 'silicon valley' verneer are working to raise global awareness and wake the world up (including ourselves)!

Q: What's next?
A: I'm trying to make a big contribution with my PhD. I know that sounds like a bad idea but I'm hot on the tails of it. It's coming, I can feel it! Following graduation I'm not sure what I'll do - but surely be in a leadership position where I can learn from the people around me and ensure they are in positions to make their own gifts known.

Q: Why Stanford? Why Learning Sciences?
A: While in China I worked on a classroom technology that I became very passtionate about. I found that I loved putting my energy into work that would benefit kids. I love being in schools and around kids. I feel like improving education is one avenue towards global harmony. I then worked at MSR in Summer 2009 and became fascinated by web search - it's a huge part of life for so many people but we don't understand it well. So we gotta fix that. And now it's getting into behavior at large - being aware of it, knowing it. What causes it? So I'm not in a specific field, I'm creating one - based on what needs to be done!

Q: What are your other interests?
A: I enjoy making short films, playing many sports, playing guitar and singing, dancing, cultural studies and history, self-examination, dream interpretation, psychotherapeutic studies, and being around people who challenge me. I love learning and teaching.

Q: Why do you travel so much? How?
A: I believe that large amounts of solitary exposure to foreign cultures and environments gives me a unique perspective on human life and experiences. I enjoy the adventure and I constantly strive to put myself in circumstances that will challenge me to constantly evolve and adapt.

Travel

I mainly travel alone with a backpack and some supplies. I enjoy learning languages and customs. Archaeological sites are usually fun but my real passion is exploration and getting off the beaten path. I took a year off during my undergraduate days to travel around the world. I took six months off after my masters to do the same.

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