Dissertation Plans

I am currently supporting the BizChat project (PI: Dr. Yasmine Kotturi) and learning about the ways that entrepreneurs and small business owners can gain AI literacy skills through the use of the tool. By working on this project, one goal is to uncover opportunities to engage with particular communities that are often overlooked but contribute greatly to the U.S. economy, such as Latinx and Hispanic small business owners. While my dissertation focus will evolve and most likely pivot as I engage with communities, my plan is to focus on investigating the ways that rapid technological changes, such as generative AI, are serving and/or failing the communities that I have unique access to (e.g. Hispanic entrepreneurs and small business owners).

Research Contribution: While my dissertation topic will evolve from now until I propose, the following captures the type of contribution I want to make to the HCI field (including empirical, methodological, and artifact):

I investigate how rapid technological change like generative AI can distribute opportunity unequally by ignoring Hispanic and Latinx entrepreneurs entirely and how community-engaged research can inform how these communities can shape the technology. In particular, I hope to shift the conversation from “who gets left behind when transformative technologies emerge” to one that focuses on “who never gets a seat at the table or gets to reap the benefits when transformative technologies emerge.”

Timeline

The timeline below is an estimate of key milestones.

Self-Assessment of Progress Made

Maintaining a commitmment to centering the experiences of the Latinx and Hispanic community has remained at the forefront of my academic endeavors.

Year 1: During my first year as a Ph.D. student, I was fortunate to work as a Research Assistant with Dr. Patricia Ordóñez in the envisioning of a culturally-relevant and accessible makerspace for a center in the Caribbean. In the Fall 2024 semester, I got the opportunity to assist in a participatory design workshop that brought together experts in accesibility, local academic and industry partners, and people with disabilities to better understand the factors we needed to consider for the creation of the makerspace. In the Spring 2025 semester I co-led another workshop along with Dr. Ravi Kuber and also assisted with the opening of the center. This experience not only brought me closer to my community, but also revealed that it is the collective efforts that are truly transformative, especially when creating something that either doesn’t exist, or requires deep, continuous, and purposeful engagement like a culturally-relevant and accessible makerspace.

Year 2: In year two of the program, I officially became Dr. Yasmine Kotturi’s Ph.D. student and joined the Kotturi Lab. Dr. Kotturi’s commitment to community-engaged approaches, the future of work, and keeping pace with rapid technological changes such as generative AI was inspiring and helped me hone in on the kind of research I wanted to pursue. In the Fall 2025 semester, I was onboarded to the BizChat project and assisted with facilitating a workshop with entrepreneurs in Pittsburgh, co-led a workshop with Qi Zhao for Howard University students, and co-presented BizChat with Qi Zhao at a 1 Million Cups event. This semester (Spring 2026) my aim is to continue community engagement efforts with entrepreneurs and small business owners, run workshops and interviews, analyze log data from BizChat, and contribute to improvements to the tool. Additionally, this semester I will also focus on building relationships with Latinx and Hispanic communities and organizations.

Strengths

• I am deeply committed to community-engaged work and prioritize opportunities that involve being present with communities.
• I am curious about understanding why things are the way they are. I am constantly questioning how people are experiencing different technologies and always engage in perspective-taking.
• I listen. This helps me receive feedback and work on improvements.

Weaknesses

• Maintaining clear communication regarding progress, including asking for help when I am feeling stuck.
• Prioritizing and time management. I am working on learning that doing fewer things and doing them well is what will help me progress in the program.
• Limited knowledge on quantitative methods.