I built my public speaking experience from Tae Kwon Do. I started teaching large-group Tae Kwon Do classes in my teens and steadily gained the confidence to lead students from three to over 50 years of age. My first big speaking opportunity came in 2019 when I spoke on the Pittsburgh TEDx stage at the Byham Theater in front of 900 people. I spoke about my work as a “cookie activist,” using portrait cookies to teach the underrepresented and misrepresented history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The video of my TEDx speech racked up 20,000+ views within the first 24 hours.

I’ve since led in-person and virtual keynotes and lectures, facilitated therapeutic and educational workshops, and joined panels at dozens of organizations, schools, and events including: Google, Duolingo, ACLU of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University, University of Maryland, CreativeMornings, the Asian American Youth Leadership Conference, and the East Coast Asian American Student Union Conference.