🌱 Just make things better!

In Japanese, Kaizen (改善) is a philosophy of continuous improvement. I am interested in the science of behavioral change, change management, and designing data-driven applications for making sustainable improvements on individual, organizational, and societal scales.

This blog serves primarily as an open notepad to document my learning. I hope that by sharing my process for learning, I might connect with others who are dedicated to software craftsmanship, personal growth, creative learning, and technology for positive social change.

👋 About Me

I'm a former nonprofit community organizer, freelance writer, teaching artist, and government taskforce director, transitioning from a career in the social services to the craft of software engineering. I studied data science for public policy at NYU, and am interested in labor, migration, and deciphering patterns of human behavior in cities. From a UX perspective, I'm interested in the ways in which environmental triggers can help shift cultural patterns and individual actions.

As a former social service worker with homeless youth, I'm also interested in adolescent psychology, addiction, trauma and healing from early childhood experiences, and how people can grow and genuinely change in surprising ways as they get older. I'm a believer in second chances, and a big fan of adult learning and career upskilling programs like Per Scholas and CodeSmith.

Contact Me

If you'd like to connect, please feel free to email me at kaitlin.zhang@owasp.org.