I want to live in, and support, a more equitable society - where everyone has access to opportunities and resources needed to live their best lives.

I bring a scientific mindset to everything I do: I ask questions, I look for reliable evidence, I ask more questions, I challenge answers. But this way of thinking is not just for scientists; the challenges of today and tomorrow demand that we be willing to ask hard questions and experiment with new ideas and approaches. As scientists we have a responsibility to better explain how science is done: the provisional, iterative nature of science, what it means to have a model or theory in science, and importantly recognize what science is not (not just a list of known facts). I work to apply a scientific mindset to our biggest social challenges.

As a bench scientist my PhD work did not align with models in the field at that time and challenging that model ultimately made me a better and more confident scientist. As the launch editor of Cell Reports, the first open access journal at Cell Press, I had the opportunity to reimagine what a top journal could be and how it could function to better serve authors, reviewers and readers. As the first director of the Simons Foundation’s Education & Outreach program (now called Science Sandbox), I developed the vision, mission and goals of a new initiative to unlock scientific thinking. Each of these experiences pushed me to question what I thought I knew, moved me out of my comfort zone, and forced me to consider new ideas from different disciplines. These experiences were challenging, frightening, joyful and exhilarating.

When I'm not reading fiction or poetry, watching films, or walking my two year old Portuguese waterdog, Teddy, you can find me (but don't disturb me!) in a local yoga studio in Harlem, wandering the Whitney, or trying new recipes on unsuspecting friends and family.