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About

From a very early age, I have been fascinated with understanding the behaviors of others. In my work and studies, I focus on how our most data-rich behaviors (language in social interactions) reflect our beliefs and desires. These days, I devote my time to helping teams and individuals unlock their potential by learning to make technology work for them, instead of the other way around.

I have made moonshot innovations my way of life in various ways - from documenting endangered languages to optimizing the decision-making process inside corporate board rooms; from receiving a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to starting a brand new division within the world's largest CPG company and transforming how they do research.

I am a lifelong learner and devoted mentor, coach, and leader.

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Education

2015-2017

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ph.D - Linguistics

Dissertation: “The Linguistic Foundations of Leadership Through Actionable Consensus”

Committee: Rakesh M. Bhatt (chair), Marina Terkourafi, Michael K. Bednar, Curtis LeBaron

2015-2017

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Masters of Business Administration

Areas of Focus: Entrepreneurship, Analytics

2013-2015

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

M.A. - Linguistics

Thesis: “Linguistic Habitus: Identifying and Understanding Serial Innovators”

Advisor: Rakesh M. Bhatt

2010-2013

Brigham Young University - Provo

M.A. - Linguistics

Thesis: “Speaking Like a Brahmin: Social Aspects of a Dialect of Spoken Telugu”

Advisor: Janis Nuckolls

Awards, Scholarships and Grants

  • Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students (formal list at UIUC)

  • NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

  • Summer Workshop in Cognitive Science and Neuroscience (UPenn)

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