Hi! I’m Angela. I help teams understand people, design smarter learning experiences, and make better product decisions. With a background in cognitive science and design thinking, I specialize in making complex things (think: user behavior, abstract concepts, and nebulous problem spaces) feel intuitive and actionable.
Experience
2026 — Now
San Francisco Bay Area
2023 — 2026
San Francisco Bay Area
Pathstream’s mission is to unlock the untapped potential of the frontline workforce, and I contribute by working on research and learning design projects for AI-powered career development tools and programs. Most of what I do lives at the intersection of mixed-methods research, learning science, product thinking, and behavior change, especially for folks in frontline roles at companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Mastercard.
That looks like:
• Prototyping and testing AI-powered simulations that help contact center agents practice complex real-world scenarios
• Interviewing agents, managers, and stakeholders to design programs that do more than "check the training box" but actually lead to measuable improvements in confidence, skill, and retention
• Helping Fortune 100 teams rethink how they onboard and coach their people in an AI-driven world
• Translating learner insights into things like product features, curriculum strategy, and partnership decisions.
This work pulls together a lot of threads for me: user research, learning design, product thinking, and lets me solve messy, important problems in a way that still feels deeply human-centered and mission-driven.
2025 — 2025
2025 — 2025
San Francisco Bay Area
At Handshake AI, I designed human-in-the-loop learning experiences to teach domain experts how to evaluate and improve large language models.
My work blended instructional design, UX thinking, and AI literacy to transform complex AI concepts like prompt writing, rubric development, and preference ranking into hands-on lessons to empower PhDs and subject-matter experts to make AI systems more accurate and ethical.
2022 — 2023
2022 — 2023
San Francisco Bay Area
I joined SVB’s in-house venture studio and innovation team to imagine and build the future of financial services and the startup economy (before, you know...the collapse). My role lived somewhere between discovery research, business strategy, and future-facing concept development, and involved lots of ambiguity, FigJam sticky notes, and hard questions like “Should we build this?” and “Is this a real problem or just a cool idea?” and "Is SVB the right org to make this happen?"
Some things I got to do:
• Lead discovery research for early-stage ventures, interviewing founders, funders, and future users across fintech, climatetech, HRtech, and more
• Partner with business and product designers to size markets, run concept tests, and build TAM/SAM/SOM models
• Co-develop an opportunity evaluation framework to help the team prioritize ideas based on white space, market need, and right to play
• Facilitate working sessions to turned insight into action and map journeys, reframe problem spaces, and co-create pitches to our C-suite execs
• Help move one concept into MVP development and got three greenlit by strategy leadership
This was one of the most energizing roles I’ve had, and I loved every minute of trying to turn ambiguity and broad white spaces into clear opportunities for investment.
2021 — 2022
2021 — 2022
San Francisco Bay Area
I joined Pathstream as the first full-time employee and spent nearly four years building the company from the ground up: designing curriculum, managing programs, leading research, and wearing just about every hat.
What started as building courses by hand turned into leading cross-functional teams, managing Fortune 500 partnerships, and running foundational research that shaped product and learning strategy. Across every role, my focus was the same: make complex learning feel intuitive, effective, and human-centered.
Some things I’m proud of:
• Launching a 4-course career certificate with Salesforce that reached 75,000+ learners on Coursera
• Conducting 40+ learner interviews and usability tests to identify behavioral barriers and unlock engagement
• Leading research and program development that improved course completion rates by 65% and contributed to multiple partner renewals
• Facilitated workshops that brought curriculum, product, and design teams into alignment around user needs
• Prototyped and tested new learning experiences, including a project-based experience for a major automotive client that earned an NPS of 85
This was where I developed the hybrid muscles I rely on today: thinking like a researcher, designing like an educator, and operating like a strategist and owner.
Education
University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
De Anza College