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.

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
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Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students (formal list at UIUC)
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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
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Summer Workshop in Cognitive Science and Neuroscience (UPenn)