About Me
I'm Karen, a Product Designer & Researcher currently pursuing a Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS) at UC Berkeley with a focus in product design and research and HCI (graduating May 2025). I hold a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan.
I strive to create products, services, and experiences that solve real problems for real people and businesses through leveraging my strengths in iterative and innovative problem-solving grounded in diligent research and user advocacy.
My enthusiasm for the human side of technology, combined with my long-standing passions and curiosities for understanding human behavior and cognition and designing people-centered, delightful, and functional experiences, fuels my eagerness to do so.
Outside of work and school…
Figure skating has been a defining part of my life. I began skating at 6 years old and skated competitively for over a decade, continuing my career at the University of Michigan, where I competed at the highest U.S. Figure Skating level in sectional and national competitions. Now, after a long and rewarding competitive career, I've transitioned into coaching skaters of all ages and skills in the Bay Area.
I found joy in expressing myself creatively on the ice, and I believe my identity as a designer stems from the same affinity for creativity. I told stories on the ice through a sport that mixes art, music, and athleticism, crafting performances that evoked emotion while maintaining technical precision.
Aside from shaping my creative side, skating built me into a disciplined worker able to adapt and thrive under pressure. In skating, I set and followed through on big goals and smaller ones. To do so, I had to consistently refine my skills, break down complex routines, and adjust based on feedback — skills I now apply to how I approach design problems, stakeholder critiques, and iterative cycles of product design.
