EDUCATION
University of California, Irvine
Ph.D. in Learning, Cognition, and Development. Expected June 2015.
Ph.D. in Learning, Cognition, and Development. Expected June 2015.
Harvard University
M.Ed. in Technology, Innovation, and Education. June 2009.
M.Ed. in Technology, Innovation, and Education. June 2009.
University of California, Santa Barbara
B.S. in Biopsychology, minor in Professional Editing. June 2005.
HONORS B.S. in Biopsychology, minor in Professional Editing. June 2005.
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. September 2010-2014.
- Used my international travel grant to spend time at the Knowledge Media Research Center in Tubingen, Germany in Summer 2011.
- Leadership in Education Award. Harvard University. September 2008.
- Thomas More Storke Award. UCSB. June 2005. Campus's highest student honor awarded to one graduating senior, for outstanding scholarship and extraordinary service to the university, its students, and the community.
- Frances Colville and Terry Dearborn Memorial Award. UCSB. June 2005. Awarded for outstanding academic achievement to one graduating senior majoring in the mathematical, life, and physical sciences division.
- Distinguished Graduating Senior Award. UCSB Psychology Department. June 2005.
- Outstanding Educator Award. UCSB Chemistry Department. June 2004.
- UCSB Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Grant. 2003 and 2004.
WORK
Teaching Fellow—Summer 2009; Senior Teaching Fellow—Summer 2010; Fellow Advisor—Summer 2011
- Developed curriculums for introductory psychology and advertising psychology courses.
- Taught secondary school students and incoming college freshmen at Hong Kong University and Zhejiang University.
Producer, Formative Evaluation—August 2009 to June 2010
- Planned and conducted user testing, focus groups and needs assessments to inform the development of educational math software and other programs.
- Reviewed research literature and wrote reports as part of the product development team. ! Blogged about current news in math education.
Project Coordinator—September 2008 to February 2009; Evaluation Consultant—2010
- Coordinated the summative evaluation of the first season of Sid the Science Kid, a TV show by Jim Henson Productions for 3 to 5 year olds.Interviewed, hired and trained more than 20 site coordinators and field researchers in Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, and Chicago.
- Collected evaluation data at the Cambridge Science Festival and various science museum.
Chemistry Outreach @ University of California, Santa Barbara
Senior Coordinator & Volunteer—April 2002 to June 2005; January 2008 to December 2008
- Taught more than 500 fifth grade students physical science through interactive workshops.
- Trained more than 50 volunteers to conduct the workshops.
- Co-wrote a grant application that brought in $25,000 to fund the program.
Reporter—February 2007 to August 2008
- Reported, photographed, and designed multimedia for science, business, and education stories.
- Completed investigative reporting training.
Editorial Intern—Fall 2006
- Wrote profiles and features for a monthly life sciences magazine and reported breaking news online.
McGraw-Hill Education
Freelancer—Winter 2006
Freelancer—Winter 2006
- Wrote 80 pages of physical science chapters for a sixth grade textbook.
University of California, Los Angeles
Staff Research Associate, Social Neuroscience Lab—Fall 2005 to Summer 2006
Staff Research Associate, Social Neuroscience Lab—Fall 2005 to Summer 2006
- Collaborated with researchers to help with grants, manuscripts, book revisions, and news releases.
Science Writing Intern—Summer 2005
- Wrote and copyedited about a dozen articles in topics including neuroscience, psychology, and entomology.
- Interviewed scientists and wrote scripts for Science Update, a daily radio segment.
Community Teaching Fellowship in Math and Science
Teaching Fellow—Fall 2003 to Spring 2004
- Student taught a seventh grade life science class at Goleta Valley Junior High School.
- Attended weekly science education seminars in the education department at the University of
California, Santa Barbara.
RESEARCH
Spatial-Temporal Math: University of California, Irvine
Spring 2011 to present
Brain Boost: University of California, Irvine
Spring 2011 to present
KarunaTree: University of California, Irvine
Fall 2010 to Winter 2011
Cultural Psychology Lab: University of California, Santa Barbara
Fall 2004 to Spring 2005
- Conducted senior honors thesis project on how social support relates to stress in East Asian and European-American participants.
- Trained undergraduate research assistants and conducted study at Hong Kong University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Summer 2004
- Conducted a study analyzing the relation among coping strategies, perceived stress, and smoking rate in a cross-cultural sample.
- Reviewed and edited Pathways to Change—a handbook for a smoking intervention program.
Fall 2003 to Spring 2004
- Conducted an independent research project that examined the effects of positive and negative subliminal messages on blood pressure and heart rate.
SKILLS
Statistical packages: Stata and Amos.
Languages: Fluent in spoken Vietnamese; fluent in spoken and written English. Learning Spanish at the moment!
Fun fact: In pre-college life, I was a raccoon in birthday party shows at Superkids Fun Factory (yes, seriously :)), a coach at SCATS Gymnastics, and an arts and crafts volunteer for Boys and Girls Club.
