2015. Me @SolidCon in San Francisco not long after moving from NYC to California with my husband, two kids (at the time) and one in the oven.
Wondering how I got into fusing 3-D projection mapping, photogrammetry and other new media and technological approaches into my dance performance, choreography, teaching and research? Wondering how User Experiences Design to me means a dance choreography and performance, exhibition, visual art piece, digital experience on a UI… and shall I go on? Follow my journey for a moment…
Story Telling in Silicon Valley 2013-2017
Between 2013 and 2016, my husband, 2 kids (at the time) and I moved from NYC after nearly 15 years to San Francisco Bay Area. Two days before 2014, I popped out my son, so the tour starts in 2014. In 2013 I was volunteering for Los Altos School as an Arts Docent, for their Project Corner Stone program and served on the PTA. I also became a Girl Scout Leader and would serve three years while we remained in the Los Altos School District with our children.
I had never planned to pick up a dual career (other then my dreams of becoming a Lawyer and Dancer by way of pursuing a dual degree at NYU in Law and Dance – an MFA from the Tisch School of the art… Instead it’s been Dance and Tech. Well how about that. I came to Silicon Valley as a naive artist (with one on the way; our third) thinking I would pick up where I left off in NYC now in the Silicon Valley. Not so much. I was already engaged in digital work with the arts given my interest, background and being married to a tech geek… but I soon found myself immersed in a world where like I do when I travel, I do as the Romans. My work as an artist has since expanded and I have even become a UX Design Lead for a Fortune 10 and so while I still consider myself a full time artist and all the things… this is my tech journey that I call: My Tech Tour.
I was on the ground in Silicon Valley over a few years as an anthropologist covering Diversity & Inclusion in Tech and integrating tech into my arts practice and praxis . This was my journey. This was me bringing my world of dance into a new world for me immersed in tech (outside of my husband :).
2015. Me @SolidCon in San Francisco
2015. Me @SolidCon in San Francisco
2015. Me @SolidCon in San Francisco
2015. Me @CultureSummit in San Francisco
2015. My husband @Code2040‘s Kick It event in San Francisco hosted by GitHub
2015. My husbands’s and my badges we received @Rust Camp, an open source programming conference we attended UC Berkeley
2015. My hubby and I @RustCamp at UC Berkeley, an open source programming language conference.
2015. @BossUpHipHop and Technology Tech 808 Conference in Oakland with one of the founders and a fierce Hip Hop Artist with a flare for both performing arts and tech.
2015. Me @BossUpTec 808, Hip Hop and Technology Conference in Oakland
2015. I was a scholarship recipient of Git Hub Universe‘s Developer Conference which was OUTSTANDING!
2015. On my way to AppsforSocialGood @CaravanStudios in China Town, San Francisco
2015. Me on the 2nd Day @GitHubUniversity in San Francisco
2015. My hubby and I @Code2040′s Kick It event in San Francisco
2015. Me @TechInclusion2015 in San Francisco
2016. Me on the mike with Capital One and AT&T @Black Enterprise Tech ConneXt Summit
2016. Jessie Jackson and I @BlackEnterprise‘s Tech ConneXt submit
2016. Volunteering @BlackGirlsCode at Discovery Day in AT&T Park. My daughters hacking it out while my toddler son plays with an ipad behind the table cover.
2016 My daughters and I @BlackGirlsCode demo day on Discovery Day @AT&T Park in San Francisco while my husband and toddler son take the picture.
2017. Me as a speaker at a conference in San Francisco AFTER I moved back to the east coast and was invited to give a talk! And I had chopped off my hair… and also just had baby #4 of 5 a few months before this!
2017-2020. At a Fortune 10, I served as a Lead Designer (UX Designer, UX Design Practice Founding Team Member; #11, Design Strategist and Design Researcher). Here we are about 40 which I helped grow our team to… later I would help grow us to over 100 – and trained our team and the firm 10K a Design Thinking Curriculum I designed myself. Thank you NYU for my degree in Arts Education and Creative Practice!. I would also earn an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts during my time here!
2020 and on. Bringing my world of tech into my world of dance!
