I am a tenure-track faculty member at CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, which is part of the Helmholtz Association. Previously, I did my Ph.D. at the University of Michigan School of Information and Department of Computer Science & Engineering. My advisor was the incomparable Kentaro Toyama.
I lead the Real-world Interactions and Systems for Change (RISC) Group, where we develop digital systems that give users more agency over their online interpersonal interactions and data. Currently, we focus on designing and building social media and AI systems that center the consent of users—who often hold less power than system creators. Consent is fundamentally about ensuring individuals—especially those who tend to be vulnerable—have full agency to decide whether and how an interaction should occur. I research these topics because I believe they are important for creating positive social change (hence, my group name).
My interest in consent and agency also extends to the complexities of power imbalances, which I find important to study to understand social change. For example, I've built a platform to help PhD students navigate power dynamics in advising relationships.
I started off as a Human-Computer Interaction researcher and mainly publish in ACM CHI and CSCW. But I am pleasantly surprised that I'm now also welcomed by security and privacy communities.