Hellooo!

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I’m Heather. I love data, design, and human connection. I’m a scientist, engineer, trail runner, and High-Intensity Pilates trainer.

I’m an eclectic jack-of-all-trades: data nerd, scientist, designer, and pilates/running coach.

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My background is in data modeling and simlation, where I've done extensive academic research in the brain imaging field. I had a corporate run in biotech, where I optimized the business & commercial side of modeling drugs. I left corporate work to explore more creative and community-driven passions. I feel my best when I'm at the intersection of "hard" things (like data,  optimization, coding, research) and "soft" things (like community, connection, design, storytelling).

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I am a goofy human, fierce hypewoman, and nature simp. I’m enamored by the intersection of science and art. I think the two most beautiful things in this world are 1) Mathematics and 2) The complexity of human behavior.

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I like sugar, optimizating things, ridiculously long runs in nature, visual aesthetic, and telling jokes on a mic.

I grew up on the East Coast with freshly-immigrated Chinese parents. I played violin (with great discipline), which inspired my love for music.

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I went to college at Duke, where I studied Biomedical Engineering. I did my PhD at Yale, where I built mathematical models for PET neuroimaging data. Here I fell in love with optimization, large data sets, and the scientific process. I did not fall in love with New England winters.

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I moved to Denver during the COVID-times, and picked up a passion for improv comedy and trail running. I started my improv journey at Chaos Bloom Theater in Denver. My first trail running foray was a women’s couch-to-trail program. Having a strong community of female friendships and celebrating movement in nature became some of my core values.

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My first corporate job was at Applied BioMath  where I optimized the sales and project scoping process for modeling & simulation collaborations. I learned a ton about business, project management, and the drug R&D world.

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I moved to the SF Bay in Oct 2021. I continued my improv journey at Leela Theater and Endgames Improv, and joined 2 performing troupes, Dr. Mindbender and The Confessional. I became deeply ingrained in local running communitiesv and met my husband, Keegan.

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I took a leap of faith in Jun 2023, leaving my corporate job for an unstructured semi-retirement to explore more personally meaningful pursuits… in elegant terms, “fuck around and find out”!

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I found fulfillment in nurturing my trail running/pilates communities, and experimenting on how to apply my various skills in a non-professional setting. It’s been particularly invigorating to contribute my technical, business, and sales know-how to help Keegan grow his business. I've immersed myself in creative projects, and data visualization.

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I write about living a nonlinear life in my blog, Wiggly.