About Me

I was born and raised in San Francisco, California. I've lived in SF, Amsterdam, DC, and Oxford, and I hold dual Dutch-American citizenship, which has greatly shaped my international perspective.

My research and intellectual interests lie at the heart of Silicon Valley, attempting to understand the ideologies that underpin technological development—particularly those that have influenced the race for AGI. My highly commended Master's thesis at Oxford, entitled "Coding Utopia: Effective Accelerationism & Evolving Techno-Optimism in Silicon Valley," was a mixed-methods interview and computational social science thesis that used Adorno & Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment to investigate and historicize e/acc.

Elsewhere

Beyond academia, my interests run the gamut from the ancient to the cosmic. I study the Mesopotamian and Assyrian empires, contribute to citizen science projects on black holes, and read at least 52 books a year. I also write poetry, an extension of my minor in Creative Writing. I'm a devoted Giants, Niners, and Warriors fan, though I've also developed an affinity for the Premier League during my time in Oxford.

I love the outdoors: I spent a month in Patagonia in 2024, which felt like a natural extension of growing up with Yosemite as my backyard. These days, I run regularly through Oxford's Uni Parks when I'm there, or Golden Gate Park when I'm home, and play tennis whenever the weather cooperates.