Lover of Data, Design, and Relationships. Deeply Scientific, Deeply Creative
![Heather in autumn cornfield](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/659db30844b385afe103144a/65e1d56cf9d5df22996932fa_about-photo-min.jpg)
The short
Hellooo!
I’m Heather. I love data, design, and relationships. I’m a researcher, engineer, trail runner, and community woman.
The Medium
I’m a recovering academic researcher with a background in mathematical modeling. In industry, I worked on the commercial side of QSP modeling services, orchestrating contract deals with biotechs developing drugs. Currently, I’m pivoting my career toward something more community-focused & creatively-driven.
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.
You’ll find me trail running, performing improv comedy, finding things to optimize, and eating sugar.
The Long
I grew up in Maryland with freshly-immigrated Chinese parents. I played violin (with great discipline), which inspired my love for music. 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.
I moved to Denver in 2020 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.
I started my first “real job” at Applied BioMath in Jan 2021, where I was responsible for orchestrating drug modeling services deals for the company. The goal was to structure collaborations to maximize the ROI of modeling & simulation for clients, while also maximizing the revenue margins for our small company. I learned a ton about business, project management, and the drug R&D world.
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 communities. I met my partner, Keegan, with whom I share many miles on the trails. He is my most consistent and all-encompassing source of inspiration.
I took a leap of faith in Jun 2023, leaving my corporate job for an unstructured sabbatical to explore more personally meaningful pursuits… in elegant terms, “fuck around and find out”! 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. Notably, I've immersed myself in creative projects, and data visualization.