BASED ON A TRUE STORY
A SON, A BROTHER, A WAR REFUGEE, A SCIENTIST, A PROFESSIONAL, AN ENTREPRENEUR, A DESIGNER, A HUSBAN, AND IN CONSTANT SEARCH OF MY NEXT ADVENTURE. READ MY LIFE’S STORY.
When life knocks you down, level up.
This is the story of how I found my way—through design, culture, code, and chaos.
I was born in Baghdad, Iraq—the cradle of civilization. My childhood was filled with laughs, friendships, and creativity.
I lived in Rome, Baltimore, Seattle, and today, I am proud to call New York City home.
Origin
At 19, I arrived in the U.S. with $20 in my pocket and no safety net.
I taught myself everything—how to code, how to cook, how to build furniture, and how to rebuild a life. The internet became my first classroom.
The Creativity in Creative Scientist
I started designing clothes at our kitchen table in Baghdad—I was six. By the time I was ten, I had drawn the blueprints for our home’s expansion. My parents built it exactly as I imagined. I was always a designer.
I went on to design furniture, events and experiences, countless pieces of software, and even a few businesses.
The Science in
Creative Scientist
Science gave me structure.
I earned a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from the university of Washington, became an NSF Research Fellow, and spent years exploring how people interact with technology—from research labs at Carnegie Mellon to product teams at Microsoft and Apple.
I Believe that everything is designed. I approach every problem like a system. I ask questions, build frameworks, test assumptions, and iterate with purpose.
Science didn’t replace my creativity. It sharpened it. My dissertation explored how to invite people all over the world with different backgrounds, values, and abilities to participate in the design of future technologies.
Love
Story
I met the love of my life, Paige, in Seattle.
I proposed to her by building a custom crossword puzzle. When it came time to get married, we didn’t just plan a wedding. We created an experience. We went on tour! Like a band we designed our wedding as a series of 3 events in 3 different cities across two contents.
Passions