Hi there! I'm Cynthia, a UX Researcher. Currently, I’m a Masters candidate at UC Berkeley studying Information Management and Systems with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction, graduating in Spring 2025.

I fell into design research as an undergrad at UC Davis, where I was lucky enough to work with Prof. Susan Verba in tackling community-focused issues — such as food insecurity — through design thinking. There, I learned to ask larger questions and find joy in doing so. I remember loving the process of investigating a problem, seeking sound solutions through observation, and presenting answers through recommendations, so it's no surprise UX Research was the field for me.

Prior to starting graduate school, I spent a year and a half as an Associate User Researcher at Salesforce, helping bring to life the integration between Salesforce and Slack post-acquisition. While in undergrad I was a UX Research Intern at HBO Max, Salesforce, and the Exploratorium, where I got to understand problems of all shapes and sizes, for users from TV binge-watchers to Sales Reps.

I spent this past summer as a founding UX Researcher at Milliman, a mid-sized actuarial consulting firm, establishing research processes there for the first time. While in school I contract as a Product Designer at FreeWorld, a nonprofit solving recidivism for those formerly incarcerated through technology-first means. Currently, I'm a Graduate Student Researcher at the UC Berkeley School of Information as a Center for Long-term Cybersecurity Grant Fellow, on a team conducting academic research around how to design autonomous AI Agents so that humans are at the helm.