News

2025

My book in progress shows the internet is not predetermined. This is a story of agency, ingenuity, and creativity of the people of Cuba. A more accurate picture that shows these people are just like you and me. This research shows that human connection is deeper and more historical than the here and now when it comes to digital connection.

Article, “Relational Infrastructures of Survival: How Social Dependencies Enable Alternative Internets in Cuba,” was published in the Cuban Studies journal in August, 2025.

Dr. Ben Zhang, co-advised by me and Dr. Oliver Haimson, successfully defended his dissertation, “Infrastructuring Data Values: An Ethnography of AI Production, Labor, and Data Marketplaces in the Chinese Datafied State,” in August, 2025.

Our co-authored article, “The Making of Performative Accuracy in AI Training: Precision Labor and Its Consequences,” led by Ben Zefeng Zhang, along with Tianling Yang, Milagros Miceli, and Oliver Haimson, was published at CHI 2025, in April 2025.

2024

Presented the paper, “Embracing Interdependence to Address Climate Migration,” at the HCI, Mobility Justice, and Migration in the Face of Climate Crisis workshop during CSCW 2024 in November, 2024.

Our co-authored article, “Historical Friction: Pacing Ourselves in HCI,” appeared in ACM Interactions in October, 2024.

The paper, “Trans-centered moderation: Trans technology creators and centering transness in platform and community governance,” co-authored by myself, Samuel Mayworm, Oliver Haimson, and led by Hibby Thach was presented at ACM FAccT in June, 2024.

Presented a talk on relational infrastructure in Havana, “Community as Connectivity: The relationality of digital ecosystems in contexts of precarity,” at the University of Washington’s Change Seminar in May, 2024.

Awarded the SUCCEED Faculty Grant by University of Michigan’s ADVANCE Program for my proposal, “Interwoven Infrastructures: The Role of Family in Cultivating Digital Spaces in Havana,” in April, 2024 🏆

Invited as a speaker at the University of Virginia’s Department of Media Studies and the Latin American Studies Program, where I presented a talk titled “Social Webs and Digital Threads: How relational dependencies enable Cuban internet ecosystems,” in April, 2024.

My article, “Evaluating Interpretive Research in HCI,” with Robert Soden and Austin Toombs was published in ACM Interactions in February, 2024.

I was featured in an article by The University Record where I talked about my love for tiny things and building a space for curiosity and play at home in February, 2024.

My article, “Evaluating Interpretive Research in HCI,” with Robert Soden and Austin Toombs was published in Volume 31, Issue 1 of ACM Interactions in January, 2024.

2023

Presented my paper, “Reimagining Ethnography in HCI: A relational approach” at the Annual Meeting for the Society of the Social Studies of Science (4S) in November, 2023.

Presented my work during the Historicism in/as CSCW Method: Research, Sensibilities, and Design Workshop at CSCW 2023 on November 14, 2023.

Panelist on the Families Panel, “Solo parenting, academic research, and inclusive practices for CHI,” as part of CHI 2023 on March 2, 2023.

Invited to speak at Mixed Realities: Ethnographic Approaches to the Virtual, a workshop held at Yale University on February 23, 2023.

Nominated for the Advising Council of UM Outstanding Advisor Award at the University of Michigan on February 1, 2023.

2022

Awarded the Elizabeth C. Crosby Research Award to support new fieldwork in Flint, MI, exploring information technology use and collaborative resistance alongside Latinx communities there on June 21, 2022 🏆

Presented my work on relational infrastructures in Havana, Cuba, at the Cuban and Cuban American Studies Conference at the University of Florida on February 3, 2022.

2021

Presented my paper, “The Relational Infrastructure of Cuban Splinternets” at the Annual Meeting for the Society of the Social Studies of Science (4S) on October 21, 2021.

Quoted in an article for Rest of World about the use of sarcasm and memes in Cuba in the aftermath of a law that prohibits anti-government speech on October 18, 2021.

My paper, Un Grano de Arena: Infrastructural Care, Social Media, and the Venezuelan Humanitarian Crisis was published in CSCW on January 21, 2021.

2020

My workshop paper, Internet-human infrastructures: Lessons from Havana’s StreetNet, with Abigail Z. Jacobs was nominated as a best paper at The Web Conf Workshop on Innovative Ideas in Data Science on April 20, 2020.

Participated in the Computing Research Association (CRA) Career Mentoring Workshop on Feburary 27, 2020.

Invited panelist at the launch event for the new Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC), led by Christian Sandvig and Silvia Lindtner on January 24, 2020.

Joined the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC) at the University of Michigan as an affiliate faculty member on January 23, 2020.

2019

Joined the Digital Studies Institute (DSI) at the University of Michigan as an affiliate faculty member on December 4, 2019 ✨

Presented my paper, “If it Rains, Ask Grandma to Disconnect the Nano: Maintenance & Care in Havana’s StreetNet” at CSCW 2019 in Austin, TX on November 12, 2019.

I submitted to and attended the Politics and Design of Collaboration: A Grassroots Perspective workshop at CSCW 2019 on November 10, 2019.

My paper, “If it Rains, Ask Grandma to Disconnect the Nano: Maintenance & Care in Havana’s StreetNet”, received a Best Paper Honorable Mention at CSCW 2019 on September 30, 2019.

Started my new position as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow/Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information on August 1, 2019.

Became a member of the 2019 cohort of the Consortium for the Science of Sociotechnical Systems (CSST) on June 18, 2019.

Successfully defended my dissertation, Vamos a Resolver: Collaboratively Configuring the Internet in Havana on June 8, 2019.

I have accepted a presidential postdoctoral fellowship position at the University of Michigan’s School of Information starting Fall 2019 as of March 4, 2019 🎊

Wrote an article for ACM Interactions Mag on Cuba’s offline Internet on January 15, 2019.

Served as a co-chair, panelist, and organizer at ICTDX in Ahmedabad, India on January 4, 2019.

2018

Co-organized a workshop, Solidarity Across Borders: Navigating Intersections Towards Equity & Inclusion, at the 2018 CSCW Conference on November 4, 2018.

Awarded the $10,000 Global Impact Award as part of the ARCS Scholar Awards on August 16, 2018. 🏆

This summer, I’m working with Mary Gray as a research intern at Microsoft Research New England on May 24, 2018.

Presented my paper,  “El Paquete Semanal: The Week’s Internet in Havana,” at the 2018 CHI Conference on April 26, 2018.

Attended the Doctoral Consortium at the 2018 CHI Conference in Montreal on April 21, 2018.

Gave a talk titled “Seamfully Interwoven: Piecing Together Cuba’s Internet,” at the University of Kentucky’s School of Information Science on March 21, 2018.

2017

My paper, “El Paquete Semanal: The Week’s Internet in Havana,” was accepted at the 2018 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’18) on December 11, 2017.

Selected to attend the Doctoral Consortia at the 2018 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’18) on November 22, 2017.

Excited to announce that I will be the Open Sessions Chair at the 2019 ACM Conference on Information Communication Technology for Development (ICTD) on November 19, 2017.

Received the $10,000 Herz Global Impact Award from the Achievement Rewards for Academic Scientists (ARCS) for a second year on August 10, 2017. 🏆

Named a Foley Scholar Finalist for a second year on July 22, 2017.

Presented our paper, “Locating the Internet in the Parks of Havana,” at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2017 on May 10, 2017.

Successfully proposed my dissertation on April 21, 2017.

My 2017 CHI paper received an Honorable Mention Award on February 16, 2017.

Named a Microsoft Ph.D. Research Fellow on January 31, 2017.

2016

My co-authored paper, “Locating the Internet in the Parks of Havana,” was accepted at The Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2017 on December 11, 2016.

Presented my work in a poster session at the 2016 NetHope Global Summit on November 9, 2016.

Selected as a Foley Awards Scholar Finalist on November 1, 2016.

Served as a panelist on The Hispanic Heritage Month Panel on
“U.S. and Cuba Relations: Past, Present, and Future” on September 28, 2016.

Featured in a Reuter’s article: Millenials lead private media opening in Communist-run Cuba on September 16, 2016.

Named an ARCS Scholar and received the $10,000 Global Impact Award on August 9, 2016 🏆

Featured in Columbia Journalism Review’s article: Seven signs Cuban media is moving towards openness on August 9, 2016.