Every morning as I get into work, I check our Slack KPIs channel to see how many of our Crisis Counselors (CCs) churned yesterday (28 days without being being active on our platform). On days this number is above average, our data team typically gets asked, “What happened?” A quick look at our data could […]

I presented a speech at the Strata Data Conference in San Jose last week to a few hundred attendees. This speech is of a particular format (called Ignite): 5 minutes with a 20 slide PowerPoint deck that auto-advances after 15 seconds. The speakers are forced to move quickly through a story and keep pace with […]

Soliciting regular feedback was the single greatest driver of “Aha” moments in my personal and professional life last year. Feedback, particularly constructive, can be uncomfortable. Leaning into that pain supercharges growth. I’m sharing the top three pieces of professional feedback I received last year in that hope that we all become more willing to have […]

It’s gloomy stepping out my door gazing at the Marina. I board and exit my bus without event, continue down Stockton, and turn on Market for the final block of my morning commute. My music’s blaring as my mind gets started on the day’s work; it’s a typical morning. But as I make that final […]

Freshmen year of college – I had it all planned out. I was going to pledge a fraternity, meet my friends for life, get straight A’s, follow my international studies to DC, graduate the top of my class, and find the love of my life. My master plan was beautiful. Then, life happened. I like […]

Fourteen months ago, I came across the New Yorker article, “R U There?” I learned about Crisis Text Line, a life-saving organization on a mission to provide support to those in crisis. I applied to be a volunteer crisis counselor, spent forty hours training, and began taking conversations by the end of 2015. I had […]

As the final votes were tallied, I was confused. My headspace had been dominated by politics for the past six months. Over the course of this period, I had found clarity in my convictions and strength in my impression of positive progress in our country. That underlying belief was dealt an unexpected blow as the […]

Seven days left. Political theory suggests that US Presidential candidates will modify their campaign messages as they shift from targeting primary voters to the wider electorate. This shift is known as the general election pivot. This election has been anything but conventional. I wonder, has this fundamental piece of political theory held true in the […]

TechCrunch Disrupt took place last week at Pier 48 in San Francisco. Disrupt is a melting pot of startups, venture capitalists, thought-leaders, and tech-enthusiasts. For years it has been a staple of the Bay Area tech community. Attendees take part in three main activities: listening to “fire-side” conversations with thought-leaders, engaging in “elevator pitches” from […]

Seeing a friend or loved one go through a crisis can often create a crisis of its own. As a counselor on Crisis Text Line, I have conversed with a good number of these texters. We define “third party” texters as individuals seeking resources to support a friend or loved one who they fear is […]