Linguistic anthropologist with a writing problem.
Wearer of many hats.
I’m an NPC in World of Warcraft.

I’m a first-generation Japanese American.

I identify as such because it is important for me to show other Asian Americans that if I can succeed in tech, they can as well. I had to learn English through ESL courses, and I moved to America when I was a teen. Being from a minoritized identity, I know the unique struggles of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

I’ll continue to fight until all are treated equally.

I thrive on getting my team out of sticky situations and navigating the terrain of East meets the West with the training I've done as a cultural anthropologist - I work closely with international communications teams to make sure that brand tone and voice are translated properly and representative of the parent language as a linguistics and localization wizard. Ask me about style guides; I’ll show you a wonderful time about my ideologies in localization and why everyone’s profession goes back to anthropology.

In the end, we are all telling stories.

Let me tell you why it’s important to keep localization in mind.

My strengths are in connecting with fellow humans and poking at problems to solve pain points. I like to deep dive into things I’m working on and do my best to make everything work for me. Coincidentally, it also optimizes things for colleagues when it comes to operational work. I’m a producer at heart - while I haven’t worked in AAA environments, I’ve worked roles that translate well to producing. I’m familiar with AGILE methodology. I also like to ask questions to learn from others and see how I can take the knowledge shared and implement it into my daily life. I value mentorship and the best working environment is one that encourages open discussions on the whys and the hows of what makes the business work.

In my past lives, I've done the following:
Circus carnie, baker, writer, blacksmith, lead pastry chef, takoyaki slinger, musician, customer support agent, leatherworker, communications professional, busker, filmmaker, painter, Woodburner, writer, actor, interpreter, soap maker, mixologist, candle maker, beer brewer, operations analyst.

Do I sound cool? If so, keep reading!

Rythm, Inc - Customer Experience Lead
Dec 2022 - Current

  • Provided customer support to the third largest music-related Discord community (320k+ members).

  • Spearheaded the establishment of a new Zendesk platform from inception, overseeing the development of a comprehensive help center from the beginning.

  • Revamped support response procedures, resulting in a 10% reduction in resolution time and heightened customer satisfaction.

  • Mentored and guided a team of 10 community moderators in transitioning to support functions while also establishing new program guidelines.

Discord - CX Specialist
Sept 2020 - Sept 2022

(Contractor, Apr 2019 - Sept 2020)

  • Was a lead for two Employee Resource Groups - DisAbilities (creator) and PRIDE (lead)

  • Directly worked on Discord's Japanese Twitter account (@discord_jp) to increase top-of-funnel awareness and answered inbound questions via direct messages via Sprinklr

  • Managed a team of 5 contractors and monitored premium subscription adoption rates and app reliability metrics on Japanese users by analyzing ticket trends on Zendesk

  • Spearheaded the Japanese terminology handbook, alongside the style guide for international communications and localization to reference in future press releases

  • Created new escalation policies with legal and policy buy-in; established guidelines for the department and assisted in the creation of new workflows

  • Represented Discord in several official servers and engaged with the users.

As a contractor for the Business Development team, I’ve done the following:

  • Supported onboarding for 20+ talent and talent agencies on behalf of the partnerships team and contributed to planning for international expansion across APAC/Japan

  • Provided cultural insight into recruiting Discord partners and researched product-market fit for the Japanese market

Consultations

I’ve worked at several really cool places in the past:

  • Twitch — I was their Japanese Country Manager for the Desktop app - I provided white glove service and answered the questions our partners had! :) I also translated all strings from 20% > 100% in a weekend. Lots of caffeine, that one.

  • Mineko’s Night Market — I provided localization for their Steam page. I love their game; who doesn’t love getting to cat cats?

  • Gamesight.io —I provided market insights and research on potential partners for the primary client.

  • Streamlabs — I translated their database for their app. I also use their software!

There’s some projects that I’m NDA’d for, but rest assured, I’ve got a wide spectrum of experiences so far.

Cool Things I’ve Done So Far

I’ve been pretty blessed with some of the coolest opportunities in the world. I was an interpreter at E3. Here’s a few other things I’ve got to do in my life that are fantastic.

  • International Game Developer’s Association Scholar - Tokyo Game Show

  • Created a viral meme in World of Warcraft - it lead to being honoured as a battle pet and an achievement.

  • I once wrote an essay about overdosing and it was made into a movie that premiered at San Diego Film Fest.

  • Got published in Poetry International, too!

  • I’ve created a lot of monarch way stations in San Diego. I also cross pollinate plumeria to make my own species.

  • I am a former child.