ABOUT ME
About Me
Hi there! I'm an odd mixture of research coach, career coach, and life coach for people who work in AI Safety and Effective Altruism, or who aspire to. I coach people on whatever subjects they want, with examples like choosing career paths, developing organization and prioritization skills, improving work-life balance, improving research processes, and many more.
Though I've primarily coached researchers in AI Safety, I'm also happy to coach people who are not researchers, or people who work in other fields, so long as they're pursuing goals aimed at making the world a better place.
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Here's a bit of my work history that's relevant to coaching:
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2018 - 2022 (4 years): Office Manager / Operations Team Member at MIRI (the Machine Intelligence Research Institute)
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2023 - 2024 (2 years): Research Manager at the MATS Program (ML, Alignment and Theory Scholars Program)
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2022 - Present: Private coaching practice for AI Safety researchers and Effective Altruists.
What makes my coaching different:
1. A specific community focus
I primarily work with clients in the AI Safety and Effective Altruism communities, though I'm open to others as well if there's a great fit.
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2. Long-term, pattern-focused problem-solving
I prefer tackling underlying patterns rather than isolated incidents.
For example, if you're struggling to write a research paper, I prefer to use it as a window into your broader challenges with academic writing, rather than treating it as a one-off issue. Together, we'll identify changes to your approach that should help not just with this paper, but with every paper you write going forward.
That said, working on underlying patterns does take more time than treating each problem as a standalone issue, so this approach requires some patience.
3. Ambitious goals welcome
I enjoy working with clients who have really ambitious goals. I'm energized, rather than discouraged, by tackling challenges that seem outlandishly difficult.
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4. Broad problem scope
I work on whatever matters most to you. My strategies are general-purpose enough to apply to the large majority of challenges—I'm equally happy helping you improve your sleep habits as I am refining your research processes.
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5. Adaptive approach
I'm flexible in how I coach, adapting to what works best for you. For instance, while my default vibe is understanding and gentle, if you need someone to be firm in holding you accountable, I can do that too.
6. Support-oriented, not technical
I don't come from a technical background, but I've worked in support and coaching roles at AI Safety research organizations from 2018-2024. I've developed a knack for finding ways to be helpful even in technical domains, though it may require some time for you to explain your work to me first.